BRAG WALL
BRAG WALL
You hate those email footers from people who include every award, membership and swimming certificate they’ve ever won. Nobody cares! It just makes it harder to read emails and wastes screen space.
Our footers are as small as they come – just three lines. Send me an email if you want to see for yourself…
But it does leave us with the burning question: where do we showcase our awards and professional memberships which you might be interested in before working with us. Or, let’s be honest, somewhere we can indulge ourselves (just a little bit).
Welcome to the Brag Wall. It’s a horrible American phrase, but it seems to fit the bill. And because it’s tucked away here, we’ve actually got space to explain why you might give a toss about them, and the fact Blue Penguin has taken the time to gain these qualifications and recognition.
Anyone can call themselves an accountant – outrageously, it’s not a protected title! So how do you know your ‘accountant’ is any good? Simple: #ChooseChartered!
We’re Chartered Accountants, with a practising license from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) no. 3230491
It’s not easy to get – an intense three year course, followed by at least three years’ post-qualification experience. And, as the regulatory body for the profession, you can rest assured we keep up to date with all the required CPD and Professional Indemnity Insurance to boot.
(Whilst we’re in brag mode, Peter was awarded the highest mark in the South West for the Corporate Reporting paper in his final exams. So we really do know our stuff when it comes to looking after your company).
Pricing, eh? It seems accountants just make up a price depending on how long they take on some arbitrary hourly rate. Or what you paid last year. It’s not cool, and we HATE it.
All our pricing is done using GoProposal. We take time to work out what your business needs and we turn that in to a simple monthly fee, broken down by each service. It helps your cash flow, it gives you certainty over what you’re getting and, best of all, there’s no surprise bills.
You won’t go away thinking ‘I wonder what the last person paid?’ If they had a similar business to yours, I can tell you the answer now: They paid the same.
If your accountant calls themselves a “Cloud Software” specialist, they are missing the point. Any accounting package worth its salt is cloud based – we don’t even bother with desktop software any more.
Xero and Quickbooks are the “Apple and Samsung” – it’s all we do! We use it for our own practice, too.
So What? So we know (almost!) everything there is to know about them. If you’re using it for your business, you know you’ll be in safe hands with us.
The Association of Accounting Technicians is aimed at supporting the practical side of the accounting world.
You’ll find their members taking charge of the finance function in small businesses, as well as providing support to more senior Chartered Accountants in practice.
We look for AAT as a minimum qualification for all our staff. Many – including Peter – entered the world of accountancy as an AAT student.
Nothing to do with accountancy here, this is more about our commitment to the UK’s Armed Forces.
Blue Penguin has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, which at its core states that when recruiting new staff we will consider employing someone who is either a reservist, a veteran, or the spouse of someone on active service. We’re only a tiny firm so we’re pretty happy with Bronze!
But don’t think for a moment this is some sort of charity gesture. As we’re a 100% paperless firm, and don’t subscribe to the 9-5 ritual, our staff can work flexibly. from anywhere. We don’t mind if they have to work around the school run whilst their partner is serving. And we can work around the dates when a Reservist is giving up their time for their country. Get in touch if you’re good with numbers, we might have something for you.
The Association of Taxation Technicians – think “AAT for Tax”. They are practical tax people and ensure than on a day to day basis, you’ll get great advice to pay all the tax you need to and, er, none that you don’t.
The UK tax code runs to over 17,000 pages. We don’t know them all. What we do know is when to refer you to one of our trusted Tax Specialists who hang out in the obscure corners of tax legislation.
As with the other professional organisations, a practicing certificate from these guys takes a while – six examination papers followed by experience in practice. Look for a Chartered Accountant who has also taken the time to gain additional tax qualifications.
OK, stop looking. You’ve found us!
Speak to the Penguin
We don’t take ourselves too seriously (you’ve probably got that message). But we do take your finances and your business success very seriously. It’s why we do what we do.
If you’re tired of being just a ‘client code’ and are ready for an accountant who is more in tune with your business – and with you as a person – give us a call.
Most of our clients pay between £200 and £300 per month for “the works”, and a really close relationship with their Chartered Accountant. For smaller businesses, your minimum investment is £125 per month. If you are just starting out, we might not be for you yet.
Not running a business but simply need your tax affairs taken care of? The minimum investment here is from £35 per month. All costs are +VAT.
Waddle over to our PRICING page for more information. Or, if you’re ready, click the CONTACT button to pop a date in my diary.