NIGEL MERCER
ST ALBANS AND CAMBRIDGE OFFICE SENIOR PARTNER : DELOITTE Here at The HBI we are always on the hunt for people in the area who would like to contribute to our Local Executive Profile. This month, we caught up with Nigel Mercer, the St Albans and Cambridge Office Senior Partner at Deloitte.
Tell us a little more about Deloitte as a company Deloitte is one of the leading business advisory firms in the UK and the largest professional services organisation globally, making it a world force in its chosen areas of business – audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance. We serve a broad range of clients, including UK Government and public sector departments, major international and UK corporates, mid market and high growth smaller companies and many private individuals. The firm’s roots are over 100 years old. It was originally called Touche Ross but we are now Deloitte. There are over 12,000 people working for Deloitte in the UK across 24 offices.
What does your current job role entail? I was appointed senior partner of St Albans and Cambridge at the beginning of June. My role is to harness the talent and expertise in our existing team of 15 partners and 350 staff across these two offices, for the benefit of our clients. These are already successful offices with high calibre people, known for their commitment to high quality client service across a range of sectors. I am focussed on developing and rewarding our talented people and improving our client service by teaming up to provide clients locally with better insights and support where needed to successfully run their business.
What career choices did you make to get to where you are today (university, placements, internships, worked your way up, post-graduate training etc) I completed a degree in Economics at Durham University where I became interested in finance. I then trained to be an accountant at Touche Ross, becoming ACA qualified after three years. After a couple of years working in the pharmaceutical industry, I moved back into the profession, to Deloitte, where I enjoy working with a variety of clients.
Deloitte has a great reputation as a top company to work for and you’ve been there for 30 years now. What attracted you into working for Deloitte in the first place and what keeps you there? I was first encouraged into accountancy by my uncle who was the finance director of a major stockbroker. In 1982 I applied to, and was offered my first full-time job by Touche Ross. At the time I started Touche Ross was eighth of the “Big 8” accountancy firms. Over the past ten years we have grown faster than our competitors and are now the second largest firm in the UK”. We are working hard to distinguish ourselves and become number one.
What do you see as the biggest business challenges for your clients at the moment? In the current climate, our clients face major challenges against a backdrop of an uncertain economy and reducing public sector expenditure. Whilst remaining cautious, companies are trying to be more expansionary, introducing new products or services or entering new markets with a cost base that continues to be under pressure. The more we can work closely with our clients, the better we are able to support them and encourage them to have confidence in delivering their plans.
EXECUTIVE PROFILE
What advice would you give to someone wanting to enter the professional services industry? Now is a great time to get into professional services, in fact we have already opened our 2011 and 2012 graduate recruitment programme. We have a Summer Vacation Scheme starting shortly which provides graduates with work experience. There is also “BrightStart”, a programme to give talented school leavers an opportunity to embark on a rewarding career and gain a full professional business qualification. Whether a graduate or school leaver, you get a fantastic grounding in business and the business life cycle, and the variety and challenge of working with a range of business.
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Away from your busy career do you have any hobbies and interests? Most of my spare time is spent with my wife, Mandy and 12 year old son, Henry. I have always been an enthusiastic but mediocre sportsman. I am Chairman of Welwyn Garden City Cricket Club, and play very occasionally. I spend a lot of time watching my son play for several of the junior teams there. I also play golf and am a keen watcher of rugby (Welwyn and England) and football (Tottenham). www.deloiitte.co.uk