50 years of accounting in North West: Blackpool firm can cover all your audit, accounting and taxation needs

Meet the directors (from the left) Martin Wigley, Stewart Case, Phil Crankshaw and Charles Bryning

If you’re looking for a well-established, friendly and forward-thinking company to give you peace of mind for all your accounting and taxation paperwork, then this firm is the one for you.

This year chartered accountancy firm Jones Harris celebrates 50 years in business and whilst many things have changed one thing remains the same – commitment to its clients and a bespoke customer service.

And whilst they are proud of their past, the firm is constantly looking to the future ensuring it is ahead of the curve when it comes to new technology and changes to compliance and taxation.

The company, whose main office is situated where it all began in Fleetwood, went paperless back in 2007, and has invested hundreds of thousands in new technology to ensure they give the most up-to-date service to its clients – but that doesn’t mean they’ve lost the vital human connection with individual clients.

Charlotte Edwards is part of the admin team.

Charles Bryning, a founding director at Jones Harris Chartered Accountants in Fleetwood, explained: “The structure we have enables us to deal with the needs of a sole trader taxi up to a larger company needing full company audits we offer a service that fits your needs.

“It’s a bespoke service and you’ll have a named person who you deal with – many of our clients still come into the office to talk to us, and we have the expertise in house to cope with a range of accounting needs.”

It means not only do they get to know your business really well, they can also connect with customers throughout the North West and beyond. Whilst many of their clients are based between Lancaster and Preston video conferencing facilities mean they can always connect with people – wherever they happen to be.

Tax experts

Martin Wigley, compliance director, has been with the company for 25 years. He explained that as well as general accounting services such as doing audits and bookkeeping the company has four tax specialists, including VAT experts.

“We have got a lot of specialists under one roof, and we are here to give our clients peace of mind. After a full day working people don’t want to have to come home and have to sit down to sort out all their accounts and tax,” he said.

Digital tax returns are coming down the line and at Jones Harris, they are already preparing for the changes to come, when Government legislation will mean filing tax returns quarterly, online, throughout the year.

Looking to the future

“The changes that are about to come are the biggest since self-assessment,” explained Stewart Case, another director who has been with Jones Harris for 10 years. “It’s going to require people to keep regular records in a more formal and digital way.”

Even though the changes are in the future the company is internally getting ready for the changes, which will mean even more interaction with their customers, who will have to file accounts every quarter rather than once a year.

“Plans are well advanced for gearing up to that,” he said.

Find out more

Charles, Stewart and Martin, alongside Production Director Philip Crankshaw, who has been with the company for 20 years, are part of a staff team of more than 35 people, including specialist IT staff.

So whether you’re a start-up business, an SME or a larger company see what Jones Harris can do for you.

For more information, online guidance, and accounting news and updates visit their website, phone 01253 874255. Or you can email [email protected] or call into their offices at 17, St Peter’s Place, Fleetwood, FY7 6EB.