A Shropshire accountant and tax specialist is in the midst of a busy start to 2017 after reporting a bumper year in 2016 – resulting in a doubling of staff at the firm.
While many reports of doom and gloom seemed to dominate the world of finance last year, Karen Whitehead, who runs KEW Accountants and Tax Specialists in Telford, said she had seen evidence of many new businesses starting up and people making a success of a variety of ventures.
“We are doing a huge amount of business this month,” she said. “Part of this is down to the tax assessment deadline looming at the end of January but we are seeing a major increase in business on the corresponding period last year.
“The number of tax returns we complete on behalf of clients has leapt from 298 this time last year to well over 400 this January.
“Last year was particularly busy for us and we had many new clients joining us.
“We are delighted with the success of the last 12 months, success that has seen us doing so well that we have doubled our staff on this time last year.
“I see no reason why our expansion should not continue and look forward to a very healthy 2017.”
Karen added: “January is always busy with the self-assessment deadline and more and more people are turning to us for help with completing the paperwork.
“We are optimistic about the future, both for ourselves and for those clients who have set up in business during the past year or so.
“Fears over Brexit may remain in some quarters and it’s fair to say no-one really knows what the full implications will be, but it isn’t putting people off starting up on their own and they are determined to make a success of it.
“I started KEW in April 2014 and never dared to imagine it would take off as it has. I was always confident about what we could achieve and the high level of support, service and advice we could offer, but the volume of work has been unbelievable.
“The firm has grown steadily over the near three years we have been in operation and I think we fill a vital need in keeping individuals and a variety of sizes of businesses up to date on all the tax and financial legislation.
“It can be a major headache if you are not up to speed with it. We are, so it makes perfect sense to pass those issues on to us – what is a time-consuming, potentially mind-boggling never-ending job for most people is bread and butter to us. That is what we are here for.”
For more accountancy advice, contact Karen on 01952 216872 or visit the website at www.kewaccountants.co.uk.
Karen Whitehead
