The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 34: Dec/Jan 2017/18 | Page 43

IN PROFILE
What did you do before joining
the firm?
I trained with Spicer and Peglar and then Kidsons Impey
(two top 20 national firms) in Bristol with a couple of years
at a local practice in between. Before that my career is best
described as varied!
Share three things you enjoy outside
of numbers and work?
I enjoy going to music festivals and concerts in the UK and
abroad as music has always been a large part of my life. I
love cars and often go to track days and I look forward to
time with my family - (not necessarily in that order!)
Who is a typical Haines
Watts customer?
Mike Lloyd
Managing Partner
Haines Watts Swindon
Mike Lloyd is the managing
partner at Haines Watts
Swindon based at Old Station
House in Old Town. He has
been the managing partner
at the Swindon firm – which
is part of the national brand
Haines Watts for more than 20
years. Outside of work he lives
with his partner Pat and has
two grown-up daughters.
We enjoy working with SMEs where the owner or team
want more than just a reactive compliance service. That
want advice and a sounding board from an accountant and
business advisor who is also a business owner. This means I
understand the issues as well as the technical solutions.
In your opinion what are the top
attributes of a good accountant?
What sets us apart is we work hard on looking after our
own team. Many of our employees have been with us
over ten years (some over 20!). We look after them and
in turn they look after our clients. We believe the best
accountants:
1)

2)
3)

Listen - you can’t provide the right solution if you don’t
completely understand the problem or opportunity.
Keep in touch – showing clients they matter.
Keep up to date technically – and bring in specialists
when needed because you can’t know everything.
How important is the not-for-profit
sector to your business?
What’s your vision for Haines
Watts Swindon?
To continue to expand the practice and add to the range of
services we already provide.
To build on the reputation for quality we have worked
hard to establish over the last twenty plus years.
To become the advisor of choice for Swindon and
Wiltshire SMEs, UK subsidiaries and the charity and not for
profit sector. And to do it whilst having fun!
What are your top business tips
for 2018?
• Keep abreast of new technology. Doing what you
have always done the way you have always done it, is
no longer an option. If you don’t progress then smaller,
younger, hungrier businesses will walk away with yours.
• Cash is king is an old saying but with interest rates
beginning to rise and the uncertainties as to what
Brexit will hold for the UK, it has never been truer.
Businesses will fail and the domino effect will take their
customers and suppliers with them if they allow their
debtors to get out of control. Cash flow management
and credit control will be essential to continued success
and for some just survival.
• Care for your key employees and look to incentivise
them. Finding good people is not easy and neither is
keeping them. It is important though to find out what
motivates them as it may not be what you expect and it
will vary from individual to individual.
When you know, look to build packages that will
make those key people want to stay. Share options and
profit related bonuses are just a couple of examples
alongside potentially more emotive and personal things
such as company cars.
In recent years the charitable and not-for-profit sector of
our business – led by specialist partner Sue Plumb - has
continued to expand.
Many small firms have stopped working in this arena
because of the specialist nature and complexity.
However, we do specialise so trustees and executive
officers can be comfortable they are fully complying
with their responsibilities to the charity, its funders and
beneficiaries.
WORK - MEET - EVENTS - CAFÉ
@MikeHWSwindon
For more info:
www.haineswatts-swindon.co.uk
––
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01249 700 000
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Just off M4 Junction 17
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017
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