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A LEADING North-East firm of chartered accountants and business advisors has unveiled plans for significant growth with two key appointments.

Benson Wood Limited, of Stockton on Tees, describes the promotion “from the ranks” of directors Danielle Carolan and Sharon Woolley, both previously associates, as a long-term investment in the business.

The move increases the senior management team from three to five, but comes as director and co-founder Peter Wood eases towards retirement.

Established in 1971, Benson Wood has grown from a small accountancy practice to a dynamic group of companies providing financial services, payroll and consultancy advice alongside mainstream accountancy.

The Benson Wood Group, which includes independent financial advisors Benson Wood Financial Ltd, payroll, VAT and bookkeeping firm Benson Wood Bureau Services Ltd, and management consultants Benson Wood Consultancy Ltd, is Business Link accredited and works closely with the North-East Chamber of Commerce.

It has enjoyed rapid growth in recent years and currently employs a total of 25 people at its main offices in Yarm Road and at its financial services bureau in Durham Tees Valley Business Centre, in Orde Wingate Way, Stockton

“We have not been immune to the recession, which has certainly set back our expansion programme,” says Managing Director Graham Thompson, “but the diversity within the business has made us more recession-proof than most, and the appointments of Danielle and Sharon are an indicator that Benson Wood is well-positioned and ready to push on with plans to grow the business significantly and quickly.”

While a general accountancy practice, Benson Wood is one of a handful of North-East firms specialising in the legal and medical sectors, considered by many other firms as high-risk.

“Legal professionals have to deal with a lot of regulation because, by and large, they are looking after other people’s money and this places their accountancy, financial management and taxation practices under a high level of scrutiny,” says 29-year-old Miss Woolley, who runs IN-LAW, Benson Wood’s dedicated department for legal clients.

Miss Woolley, from Darlington, joined Benson Wood in 2002, one year earlier than Mrs Carolan, who looks after many of the practice’s larger clients, ranging in turnover from £1m to £50m.

Mrs Carolan, 28, from Sunderland, says: “Benson Wood is a company very much driven by the needs of its clients, and it’s fair to say that its own progress and development reflects that of the many and varied businesses on whose behalf it works.”

Benson Wood is one of the first accountancy firms in the region to commit 100% to a “paperless office” after investing more than £35,000 in new IT and document management systems, and has given clients added assurance by further investing in a robust disaster recovery system.

Mr Thompson credits much of the company’s success to its client care programme, developed in-house, which ensures every client is guaranteed a level of quality care and attention, regardless of its size or value of the account to Benson Wood.

Adds Mr Thompson: “We are proud of the long-term relationships we have built with the majority of our clients and believe this success is due in part to our proactive client care programme. Even a one-man operation, who might normally expect to see or hear from his accountant only once a year to do his returns, will receive as a minimum service two or three unprompted contacts a year to see that everything is alright and to provide proactive advice.”
For more information about Benson Wood, call 01642 607 047, email: enquiries@bensonwood.co.uk or go to www.bensonwood.co.uk

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