Legal/Finance
Adrian Rann, of James Cowper, looks to the future
After eight years in charge, Adrian Rann is looking forward to spending more time in front of clients and working with Newbury’s business community as he steps down as managing partner of Thames Valley accountants and business advisers, James Cowper.
Being a managing partner is both rewarding and arduous – the buck stops with you and that means 50 hour weeks become the norm and you have to ensure a balance between running the business and advising clients.
The role chiefly involves delivering the firm’s strategy for business growth and monitoring financial and marketing performance. This has become more of a challenge to manage as James Cowper has grown. However, my successor will be able to call on the specialist expertise of both financial and marketing directors – two new positions we have created in the past 12 months – when they take up the reins on 1 May 1.
The last eight years have been exciting – turn-over has grown by 50 per cent, we have opened an office in Oxford, joined an international association of accountants and launched a completely new corporate identity to reflect the firm’s vision and values. We now have one of the best tax teams in the south of England, which, allied to a range of specialist sector teams, has enabled us to win new clients who are either AIM listed or listed on the full market.
The core of the firm though remains looking after owner-managed businesses, whether they are in the technology sector, an overseas company looking to set up a UK operation or an agricultural or bloodstock business. Working with business owners and entrepreneurs is what makes the job enjoyable and I am delighted I will have more time to do this.
James Cowper’s expansion also means we have a strong second generation of managers and support staff which allows partners to be more client facing and have more scope to think strategically on their behalf.
As managing partner you are involved as a line manager for each of your fellow partners, making sure each one is on budget, developing both the firm and personally . I was only supposed to do the role for six years but ended up staying for eight so I suppose I must have got something right.
However, come May 1, I am looking forward to getting out of the office more with existing and new clients and also meeting fellow professional intermediaries on a more regular basis – preferably on a golf course although a coffee or a bowl of pasta will always do.
For further information contact Adrian Rann on (01635) 35255 or arann@jamescowper.co.uk
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