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Practice Excellence growth firms revealed

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26th Jul 2016
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Judges were looking for fast-growing but sustainable firms in the ‘Practice growth of the year’ category of the Practice Excellence Awards.

In particular, entrants needed to be able to summarise their growth strategy, provide evidence of consistency in growth and describe any initiatives that have driven results.

Last year Kinder Pocock picked up the practice growth gong, and for them growth wasn’t just about the numbers. Kinder Pocock embraced technology to help its existing clients grow, but also measured and saw results from social media and blogging.

The competition this year was no less compelling.

Strong financial performance was an indicator of success, but was often not the key factor the judges were looking for. It often came down to client service, continuous improvement and innovation.

Judges were also on the looking out for firms that could demonstrate an understanding of how they managed challenges associated with growth.

Martin Bissett, one of the Practice Excellence judges this year, was specifically looking for behavioural change:

“Anyone can have a good year. But who had they gone out to, how well had they forecasted, how sustainable was the growth, and how did they manage the process?

“I wanted to see deliberate action, not just by chance, a sense of control and a story to tell,” he added.

Bissett said the firms who stood out were the ones who knew who their clients were and advisers who knew what they were doing.

While many of the applicants were pushing technology, very few were relating the results or showing how tech was benefiting their clients.

“The most successful firms had a growth strategy or a three-five year plan, and not just growing by continuing to do the same thing,” commented another judge.

The 2016 shortlist includes the following firms:

Infinity

Aberdeen-based Infinity Partnership demonstrated impressive growth and was marked highly on their recent focus on R&D tax credits services and overall practice behavioural change.

The entrepreneurial firm was able to qualify its claims with numbers, knew what was happening everywhere, and had a high retention rate which showed clients were being well looked after.

Charterhouse

Charterhouse has a strong strategy for dealing with growth and for growing in the right way, including moving to a larger premises, recruitment and training.

The Harrow firm focusses on empowering staff and that boosts client satisfaction. This in turn is important for the business to retain talent alongside its leadership development activity.

Wilson Wright

This well-established London firm has a five-year plan, with KPIs employed, and is looking to diversify its offering and reach out to a wider area.

Having dealt with succession challenge had few years ago Wilson Wright is still innovating and staying fresh in a much changed landscape.

Crunch

This firm clearly articulated what it had done and what it was going to do to improve with key metrics and a plan for innovation.

Leaving very little to chance, Crunch is a sustainable success growth story, achieved mostly by focusing on clients and products.

 

For more details about the award categories and the ceremony taking place in London on 20 October, visit the Practice Excellence website.

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