A leading East Midlands accountancy practice has marked the achievement of 48 colleagues who have completed 25 or more years of service with the company.

The long-serving staff were recognised at a Duncan & Toplis team meeting at the Lincolnshire Showground.

Adrian Reynolds, Managing Director of chartered accountants and business advisers Duncan & Toplis, said: “We employ 350 staff in ten offices and it is outstanding that nearly 50 of our colleagues have completed a quarter of a century of service with us.

“The firm prides itself on maintaining employee satisfaction and the fact that so many staff have spent such a long period of their life working here is testament to our success in this area. We congratulate them and wish them many more happy years with us.”

Duncan & Toplis was named last month by Accountancy Age as one of the UK’s top ten employers in the accounting sector.

The 2015 Accountancy Age Best Employer Survey sets out to identify the best accounting firms to work for in the UK. Surveys were completed by both employers and employees and firms were judged on their working environment, training, remuneration and employee benefits packages. The outright winner will be announced in November.

Ian Phillips, who is Deputy Managing Director at Duncan & Toplis based in Newark, celebrated 40 years with the firm in July – and his son Oli has qualified as an accountant after joining the company in 2011.

“The main reason I have stayed for over 40 years is that the job is far more than just sorting out accounts, and you never know what today is going to bring,” said Ian. “There’s a never-ending variety of work and you just don’t know what will happen when you answer the phone.

“I’m sure that when I started computers had been invented but we didn’t have one in the practice so the way in which we work has changed enormously too. By adapting the way in which we work I feel that I have actually had a succession of jobs – just with the same firm!”

He added: “What clients do in their businesses never fails to amaze me and the real satisfaction comes from seeing a piece of advice taken on board and a client thrilled with the results – job satisfaction personified!”

Oli Phillips, who is based at the Lincoln office, added: “I started as an ACA trainee in 2011 and four years later I’m now an audit senior working with a variety of clients.

“In my four years Duncan & Toplis has evolved to meet new challenges from increasing competition, changes in accounting and audit practices and changes to the work environment, such as the introduction of flexible working hours.

“There are now opportunities to work across all the offices rather than the traditional one-desk, one-office approach, and recently there have been opportunities to work abroad too.

“There is also an emphasis on career development and when I see how far I have come in four years it shows what can be achieved at this company.”

Duncan & Toplis staff who complete 15, 25 and 40 years of service are presented with a Duncan & Toplis lapel pin and a gift of their choice up to a specified value.  For 15 years the pin is silver, for 25 years it is gold and for 40 years it is silver with a ruby stone.

This year has seen the retirement of Barbara Armstrong from Duncan & Toplis’ Grantham office after 45 years of service, Dennis Lowe from the company’s Melton office after 45 years of service and Sue West from the company’s Skegness office after 48 years of service.

The 48 long servers are: Adrian Reynolds, Jeff Hodson, Diane Johnson, Christine Newitt and Nigel Nundy (Boston); Duncan Andrew, Mike Argyle, Valerie Bigwood, Andrew King, Phil Maplethorpe, Lisa Pask, Andy Severn and Stuart Whatton (Grantham); Ros Hare and Wendy Lord (Lincoln); Nick Cudmore, Paul Dobbs and Marina Storr (Louth); Mark Bullimore, Neil Clark, James Green, Theresa Green, Kevin Newman, Clare Roome, Linda Steel and Nicky Stott (Melton); Ian Phillips and Tony Shearer (Newark); Michael Cope, Scott Patten, Sharon Shucksmith, Mandy Whittam (Skegness); Sandra Clements, Karen Deacon, Judith Dent, Judy Payne, Keith Phillips, Diane Porter, Amanda Scarbrough and Stuart Seng (Sleaford); Angela Anderson, Deborah Barnard, Andrew Briggs, David Gratton, Catherine Smith and Garry Wilkinson (Spalding); Richard Hardy and Tom Hindmarch (Stamford).

Seven colleagues were not on the photograph: Jeff Hodson, Nigel Nundy, Neil Clark, Tony Shearer, Michael Cope, Diane Porter and Catherine Smith.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• Duncan & Toplis was established in 1925 and has since grown into one of the largest independent firms of chartered accountants in the Midlands.
• The company appears in the top 40 UK accountancy practices list published by Accountancy Age.
• Duncan & Toplis was named ICAEW East Midlands Medium Accountancy Firm of the Year in March 2014 and 2015.
• The company has 10 offices throughout the East Midlands: in Grantham, Boston, Lincoln, Louth, Melton Mowbray, Newark, Skegness, Sleaford, Spalding and Stamford.
• Duncan & Toplis offers a wide range of services to small to large-sized family businesses, from accountancy, audit and tax to payroll and human resources.
• The business employs around 350 staff, of whom 85 are currently engaged in professional training.
• Duncan & Toplis is a member of Kreston International, the global network of independent accounting firms. Kreston UK, a brand representing firms based in the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, provides national coverage, a resource of over 1,950 professional and support staff and generates annual fee revenues of £122m. As a combined organisation, it would rank as the 11th largest UK firm.

For media information please contact:
Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star
01522 528540
jez@weareshootingstar.co.uk
@jezashberry
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