For accounting, tax, audit, advisory and business services firm Azets, 2023 has been a good year. Despite a volatile economic environment, Azets has achieved impressive growth in its Aberdeen office.
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We sat down with David Booth, regional managing partner at the firm’s Aberdeen office, to take a look back at 2023 and discover what has fuelled Azets’ success.
In the last year, the Aberdeen office team has grown by 40% – an impressive feat for any business in the current environment. But what exactly has driven this growth? David told us: “We’re continuing to work with ambitious and growing businesses both locally in Aberdeen and globally, across accounting, tax, audit, advisory and business services.
“We’re finding that when we work with a client on one service, owing to the quality of our expertise we are then asked to provide additional support.”
Another factor that has sustained the growth is the firm’s highly successful secondment service. David explained more: “Our staff will go and work inhouse or remotely for a client where there is a need for resource in their finance or tax team.
“The secondments can be as little as a week or up to several months. For example, it can be short term cover for the gap in a finance team who have recruited a candidate but have to wait for that accountant to work their notice. A handover period to the permanent recruit is included to ensure minimal disruption to the business.”
A sustainable future
Azets’ purpose is to improve the lives of their colleagues, their clients and their communities in a sustainable way. Azets reflects on a great 2023 and is looking to the future with ambitious growth plans. Investing in both its future and in the local community, Azets has also partnered with universities in Aberdeen to offer placements, internships and graduate roles. David said: “We’ve done a huge amount with local universities, particularly Robert Gordon University.
“Our intake of placement students has grown every year over the last 5 years. We’re also taking on interns for the first time from Aberdeen University and other universities, in addition to providing work experience to secondary school pupils too. There are also graduates starting with us, including returning placement students who have now completed university.”
David added: “When you do a placement with us, it’s not just a one-off placement. There are jobs available at the end of it given the demand for our services.”
Looking forward to 2024
Among the intake of new staff are several established names in the industry, notably Graeme Sheils, who has joined the senior management team as an executive chair, Fraser Stark, senior manager in audit and Darren Hannan, senior manager in accounts and business advisory services.
Despite a very busy year, the staff in Aberdeen have also been heavily involved in charity fundraising initiatives, raising over £12,000 for the Archie Foundation.
So, what does 2024 hold for Azets? David said: “Azets has a plan to grow by 50% in the next five years. The only way to do that is to continue to provide local, trusted business advice and have talented, expert staff who are engaged with our vision while continuing to build on the great work culture and environment we have in our Aberdeen office.”
