A SCOTS business adviser is looking to strengthen its team with the recruitment of two more trainees as it focuses on further growth.
Chartered Accountant, tax adviser and auditor Russell & Russell is seeking to strengthen its team with two more trainees, taking its headcount to 22.
The Glasgow-based business advice specialist got through the pandemic years offering practical, impartial guidance, and reported increasing its client portfolio by 20%.
Now, Russell & Russell says it will be casting its net wide to find new candidates.
Stuart Clark, Managing Director, said: “Because of the notable success of recent years, it is important that we find new talent to help with the ever-increasing workload.
“We will, of course, welcome people who have followed the normal progression into the profession, but it is not by any manner of means a prerequisite.
“In fact, I trained as a physiotherapist before changing career and entering accountancy.
“We have two senior members of the team who started as trainees – Rosslyn McMaster, who is now a director, and Daniel Breen, who is now a tax manager.”
Perhaps one of the most unconventional routes into the firm has been taken by trainee accountant Paul Smith, 43, who spent 15 years in Japan, where he built up and ran a successful English language school.
Paul, from Currie, Midlothian, worked in fund administration with JP Morgan and DeutscheBank before travelling to Yokohama where he founded his business which eventually grew to 40 pupils a day.
He said: “I started studying for my ACCA qualification while I was in Japan and applied to Russell & Russell, who invited me to interview.
“It is a friendly and approachable firm with a supportive and encouraging working environment and I am now working towards my finals.”
As part of its growth trajectory, Russell & Russell aims to treble its turnover within two to four years.
The firm has expanded from its keystone sectors of manufacturing, engineering and professional services to gain clients in construction, consultancy, medical and renewables.
It is now also eyeing potential acquisitions as an add-on to its organic growth, with a focus on firms which have not been proactive about the changes which are sweeping the profession, particularly the implications of Making Tax Digital.
