February Talk with Mike Lloyd

As February dawns and Valentine’s Day approaches, February is known as the month of love – or historically a month of ‘new beginnings’. Today we're talking to Mike Lloyd who is managing partner of Haines Watts Swindon which has its office in Swindon's Old Town, Mike has been leading the team for over 25 years and they support business owners across Swindon and Wiltshire. Haines Watts as a brand has offices across the UK and is the 15th largest accountancy company in the country.

What do you love about running your own business? 
Being able to make the key decisions (with my partners).

Never knowing what the day will bring, who will “walk through the door” or what new opportunities will land on my desk.

Not being answerable to anyone (apart from my partners!!). After over 20 years I am probably unemployable anyway! 

What do you love about your business community? 
Some huge characters that make working with other local professionals fun whilst still focussed on providing the client with the best we can give them. 

What do you love about your business which has changed over the last year? 
The fact that we have learnt what we can do differently in the face of adversity.

The willingness of the team to accept and embrace doing things differently and to learn to use new software to enable that.

What have been the main challenges you’ve had to overcome in the last year? 
The lack of face-to-face meetings is a barrier despite Zoom and its peer softwares, it isn’t the same as being in the same room.

We are a close-knit team and working remotely suited very few of us so being back in has lifted everyone.

Recruitment to deal with our growth has been and continues to be a challenge.

Did you know that Feb 7 to Feb 13 is National Apprenticeship Week? Do you employ apprentices? 
We currently have two apprentices doing their professional exams and a third will commence soon. It gives young people the option not to rack up huge debts but still gain a professional qualification focused on their chosen career path.

In the yearly cycle of your business – what do you expect during February? 
Spent doing all the things promised when we were dealing with December and January deadlines!

Are there any key moments or events within your business that you’d like to share?
Just to say how proud I am of the team and all of the efforts they've made to stay connected and how hard they've worked over the last year. We've still supported several local charities and I'd also like to thank them for that. 

For more information visit https://www.hwca.com/accountants-swindon/