“ Amanda first came to stand in for our accountant , who had sadly passed away . Amanda came highly recommended to us ,” begins Tina . “ She worked with us for three years , just a few days a month .

“ When I first met Amanda , we just hit it off straight away . Amanda offered practical helpful tips on the accountancy side , but more importantly to me , she helped to develop my skills within the business and gave me tools on how to manage the team and make them accountable .

“ She helped us reach targets and milestones that we had never reached before and this was just from a few days a month . Amanda had to step away from Oakland Glass , as she had other commitments and we tried to poach her for about five years , but to cut a long story short , eventually she agreed !”

Amanda continues : “ Anyone who knows Tina , knows she will win you over with her positivity , passion and a desire to work with her .

“ I started my career as a Chartered Accountant , before putting myself forward to take over the management accounts department . I went on to start my own management accountancy business , offering not only the preparation of budgets and cashflows , but also advice with regards to growth , problem solving and strategic planning . At the core of this was drilling down into the practices and processes of businesses , at all levels and in various sectors , including manufacturing .”

Tina : “ Amanda officially joined Oakland Glass at the beginning of 2019 as Finance Director . After just five months , Amanda ’ s role quickly changed from finance to looking at the whole operations of the business . Which seemed like a natural progression and a breath of fresh air for me .”

Amanda : “ Finance is more than the numbers on the page , it tells a story and points you to the right directions . But we can ’ t use it alone . Tina , her managers and staff had some really great ideas on how to advance the business and work as team to deliver these ideas .”

Tina was one of the main driving forces in improving upon Oakland Glass ’ success so far , which was built on years of good relationships , with not only her customers and staff , but suppliers and people in the industry .

Amanda : “ I wanted to put together a new management team that shared the workload , drawing on people ’ s existing skills , knowledge and experience and developing them . If you involve people and listen to them , explaining why you ’ re doing things

and showing them the benefits , they soon start to see the difference and believe in it . I am a great believer in developing and mentoring those people that are enthusiastic and willing to learn .

“ For me , it was essential that we moved away from manual systems to automated , as much as possible ; to capture KPIs and live data , enabling us to respond to business / market changes quickly and effectively .”

Tina : “ Some of Amanda ’ s recommendations were difficult to see how they would work , but Amanda ’ s calm and inclusive approach helped us take those steps and guide us through it .”

Amanda : “ When Covid hit , we had all the right systems and plans in place , which minimised the impact . When lockdown lifted , we brought back people gradually

; again , assessing how we could optimise production and schedules according to our customer needs and available stock .

“ From the customer service point of view , Oakland has always tried to do right by its customers . Even during the worst of the glass shortage , we were open and honest . Above all , we tell our customers everything they need to know , often before they even ask .”

Tina : “ The results have been remarkable . Amanda has not just improved our figures and processes , she has shown us how to work together as a team . By constantly looking at what we do and why we do it , we can continuously progress .

“ Even though we can ’ t plan for everything – the last few years have taught us that more than ever – we have a strong base for

whatever is thrown at us and a clear set of values that we have all bought into : people , respect , teamwork , service , quality and growth .”

Tina added : “ After seeing what Amanda has brought into the business and working together to get us through some very difficult times in our industry , I felt confident in her abilities . I can now start to take a step back and pass the baton over to Amanda , who is now the sole Managing Director at Oakland Glass . I am still involved daily with the business , which I have always loved and enjoyed . Now Amanda has allowed me now to have a bit of freedom to enjoy my homelife , and grandchildren ,” she said smiling …

www . oaklandglass . co . uk