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Grant Thornton chief goes solo after 25 years

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5th Aug 2013
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The former head of Grant Thornton’s Manchester and Liverpool offices has gone solo after 25 years with the firm to start up his own consultancy.

“My wife, Sarah, said that I will die a busy man,” Shinnick surmised, while discussing his new venture with AccountingWEB.

Shinnick startedwith GT in 1987 after qualifying with KPMG. He worked as audit manager at the firm and became partner after four years.

He described his time with GT as “five careers under the one roof”, including running three different offices, helping to formulate the international audit approach, leading entrepreneurial advisory teams and being a large company audit specialist.

Under the name Shinnick LLP, he now advises small to medium sized businesses in Manchester on a range of issues, including growth and mergers, change management and CEO coaching.

“I am working with entrepreneurial people and businesses. I work with people at points of change - buying, selling, merging, growing, restructuring, changing direction, incorporating new ideas.

“I am working with four or five businesses at a time and always have room for another conversation because that's how it works.”

Shinnick said he made the move as he had done all he was going to with GT, which the firm also recognised.

“I received a polite tap on the shoulder in April and was invited to retire from the partnership at the June 2013 year-end,” he said.

“Grant Thornton have been a fabulous group of people to work with and the process was empathetic and only what you would expect from people who you have worked with for 25 years.”

Despite being in practice for little over 30 days, the former GT partner said that he is already operating at half capacity, gaining lots of work through the extensive network built up during his career.

“If you have an effective network, it is something worth investing time and effort in maintaining it,” he said.

Shinnick’s advice for those following a similar path to his would be to “keep it simple”. He operates mainly with cloud-based systems and the only software he runs locally is Microsoft Office. The set allows him to piggyback off clients’ software where accounting is required.

“Perhaps it is the accounting training, but we can disappear into planning, spreadsheets, processes and more planning when the focus should be actions,” he said.

Shinnick said he was concerned about moving out from the protective umbrella of a large, international accounting practice, but the first few weeks of successful practice have eased his worries.

With the UK moving out of recession and offering opportunities for growth, Shinnick is confident that his new firm will prosper with its flexible, quick-footed business model. But he has no plans for massive growth.

“You have my permission to shoot me if I ever had a Christmas party with 100 employees in attendance. This is going to be a personal and collaborative venture. I am declaring the next 10 years as the decade of collaboration,” he said.

Outside of his day job, Shinnick is a fitness enthusiast and a professional photographer who coaches individuals and works with a local charity.

“Well, you have to keep your creative mind going, haven’t you?” 

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