our internal newsletter. Autumn has certainly brought an array of colour and change this year. We have seen our new Chancellor deliver the Autumn Budget delivering an array of changes and with it brings conversation and deliberation for us as professional advisers and our clients. As we draw to the end of November Christmas starts to become centre stage.
Inside this edition you will find out all the news from across Ward Williams, our Christmas arrangements and more...
Looking ahead, our next edition will highlight the achievements of 2024 so far. If you have any personal or team accomplishments to share— whether they occurred within or outside of Ward Williams—we’d love to hear from you! Please send your contributions to the Marketing team by Friday, December 6th.
Lastly don’t forget to enter the Newsletter naming competition - see the back page for details,
CHRISTMAS ARRANGEMENTS OUR PEOPLE POWER
SPOTLIGHT FEATURE
NEWSLETTER NAMING COMPETITION
Dates for your diary
02 Dec: Christmas email footer
06 Dec: Content deadline for internal newsletter
11 Dec: Expenses cut off
12 Dec: Christmas Jumper Day
13 Dec: WW Christmas Party
23 Dec: Payday
24 Dec: Open as normal
25 Day: Closed
26 Day: Closed
27 Dec: Gratis day off
30 Dec: Open as normal
31 Dec: Open as normal
01 Jan: Closed
02 Jan: Open as normal
03 Jan: Open as normal
15 Jan: Expenses cut off
Please note that Christmas Eve and New Years Eve are normal working days with the usual discretionary early leave for drinks.
NEWS
The Budget
The recent Autumn Budget, announcement delivered on 30 October by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, has introduced a number of significant changes that will impact our clients. Ward Williams has been breaking down the Budget and supporting clients, new and old, through client meetings, articles, a live Q&A event and production of our
budget report which also appears on your new email footer By providing information at their fingertips, positions us well in supporting clients when they need it most.
If you have missed any of this activity, take a look at our social pages on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or view our news pages on our website to read the blogs and download our budget report. Visit our website here
REAL LIFE STORIES: Do you have a real-life case study or client scenario that illustrates the changes brought about by the Autumn Budget? If you have an example to share or can help create a hypothetical case study based on your experiences, please reach out to the Marketing team.
Budget special HUBB event
On Wednesday, 13 November, Ward Williams hosted a live round table Q&A event for business owners in the Hillingdon and Uxbridge area. The
event provided an opportunity for attendees to gain insights into the recent Budget announcement from various perspectives and ask questions. Our Tax Director, Simon Boxall, was joined by Josh Paine, IFA from Affinity, Andy Sharma, CEO of Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce, and Andrew Halford, HR consultant from Pink Fluff, HR Consultancy.
The event was wellattended, with engaging discussions and questioning. Take a look at the video on our socials accounts.
We will be sharing more on the questions asked shortly so keep a look out on our social accounts and like, share and comment to support WW externally.
Assisting Business growth
Ward Williams has been invited to take part in Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce Business growth programme. Colin Hamilton, Frank Harding and Jo Philip have all offered up their time and experience in finance and marketing to help mentor local businesses. Read more >>
Great British ‘cake-off’
Following the successful Macmillan cake bake and Creatives networking day at the Weybridge office, we are pleased to announce we raised an amazing £491 for the charity. Thank you to everyone who participated in the cake bake competition, congratulations to our worthy winners and huge thanks to those who bought cakes and helped raise funds. We will look to do similar events across Uxbridge and Sunninghill offices in the spring.
Estate Planning campaign
Estate Planning takes centre stage in Elmbridge. We are currently running a local advertorial campaign in Elmbridge, focusing on estate planning and raising awareness that we offer a estate planning and a Will writing service. Our campaign includes an article in 'Your Elmbridge Magazine' to educate and demonstrate our capabilities in estate planning. This initiative is designed to position us as trusted experts in this field and expand our service offerings to clients. Take a look at our article in the ‘Your elmbridge magazine,’
Client Newsletter
The latest Client Newsletter for October has been sent out to our clients. This is sent out quarterly. You can find it the latest copy here:
Sickness & Leave update
As we enter winter, it's crucial to be mindful of how we report sickness and leave at Ward Williams, especially with our diverse working patterns and locations.
Here’s a quick reminder of our policies, which can be found in our Employee handbook held within ‘Company documents’ in the ‘My documents’ section on BreatheHR system:
Sickness Reporting
Call in daily: If you're unwell, please call HR or your line manager by 9 AM each day of your absence. Texts, emails, or messages via WhatsApp are not acceptable unless previously agreed.
Record keeping: HR will log your absence in Breathe, noting the reason.
Sick pay: We follow the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) policy by default. Full pay during sickness is at the discretion of the Directors.
Holiday and Leave Requests
Submit requests on Breathe: Ensure that all holiday and absence requests are properly submitted and approved by your line manager.
Accurate reasons: When requesting leave, choose the most appropriate reason from the options available. If you need a different category, let your line manager know.
Timesheet consistency: If you complete timesheets, ensure they match the leave recorded in Breathe.
If you have any questions please refer to the employee handbook or ask your line manager.
Do you know how to use Breathe? If you feel you need additional training, please reach out to your line manager to arrange.
New organisational chart
You can now access the Organisational Chart directly on Breathe HR!
We've moved away from using Org Chart Now on your desktops, so please log in to Breathe HR to view the updated chart along with all your HR activities. If you need a new photo for the chart, just reach out to the Marketing team, Jo Philip or Hannah Peyton to arrange a time.
Did you know?
You can update parts of Breathe yourself. Please check that all your ‘personal details’ are correct.
EmailFooters
You will have all received an email from Marketing regarding updating your email footers. It is important that this is actioned. We noticed inconsistencies in the footers from a legal and brand consistency perspective so all colleagues need to action the update as a mandatory exercise.
Regulatory compliance - We need to ensure that all company emails meet legal requirements.
Brand consistency: A consistent email footer across the company reinforces our brand identity and professionalism
Personal details: That we share the correct contact details.
Lastly, Its important that we collectively share what WW is needing to communicate - in this recent example we wanted to share the new ‘Budget report’. We will soon be sharing a new footer for Christmas opening hours and there will be a further footer in the New Year which will stay with you for a longer period of time you will be glad to hear. It’s important to keep them up-to-date.
Please ensure you have updated the ‘new email’ and ‘reply’ with the recent email footer. If you need any assistance, just let us know. Once the task has bee completed, please email Hannah Peyton in marketing so that she can check that the formatting and links are working correctly.
Our Christmas hours Christmas arrangements
Our offices will be closed on Wednesday 25 December and remain closed until 8.30am Monday 30th December.
Please accept Friday 27th December as a gratis day holiday, Merry Christmas!
We will also be closed for the New Year bank holiday on Wednesday 1st January.
On both Christmas eve and New Years eve we invite you, at your discretion, to finish a little earlier for a festive drink. Timing and arrangements are organised by the local office:
Weybridge - Andy, UxbridgeColin/Simon;
Sunninghill - Phil/Kath
December
payday: 23 Dec
Christmas jumper day
Thursday 12th December
Join us in supporting Save the Children charity by digging out your festive knit and wearing your Christmas jumpers to work on Thursday 12th December.
By dressing up and being silly you'll be helping children facing serious issues like war, hunger and poverty. Wear your Christmas jumpers to the office and take part. Donations will be welcome.
Christmas donations
We will not be sending Christmas cards this year, we are instead redirecting these resources to make a
charitable donation to the Sam Beare charity. This decision is part of our ongoing effort to support local causes and make a positive impact in the community and areas where we operate.
Agifttoyou
As we approach the festive season, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for your hard work and dedication throughout the year. To show our appreciation, we have organised a couple of bottles of wine for each of you as a special gift from the Board, to you.
These will be delivered to the offices by midDecember ready for collection.
We understand that not everyone may drink wine, but we hope you can share these with friends or family over the festive period.
Thank you once again for all that you do and being part of the Ward Willams team.
Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and new year. Phil, Malcolm, Andy, Colin, Simon and Kath
W W
Christmas parties
‘Tis
the season .....
Ward Williams party
We are looking forward to seeing you at the Ward Williams Christmas party on the 13 December where we will be able to come together and celebrate hard work and team spirit togetherplease see the following page for your invite and details on timings Please leave plenty of time for travel and arrive at 5.30-45 so we can board and leave the pier promptly, they cannot wait for late comers.
Travel: We will cover return train tickets/travel up to the value of £20 to get you home safely.
Team Christmas lunches
You will have received invites to your department team Christmas lunch If you are organising the event, please can you contact Lisa Bevan with the date/time of your event so she can arrange the cover for phone calls.
Festive Expenses
Please ensure that all expenses incurred over the Christmas party period are submitted latest by COB 15 January 2025.
Conduct at Christmas
As we approach the festive season, we want to ensure everyone enjoys the Christmas parties while keeping our workplace values in mind. To help with this, HR will be sharing a friendly reminder about appropriate conduct during these celebrations. We encourage everyone to take a moment to review the guidelines that will be sent out. Remember, while it's a time for fun and festivities, we still represent Ward Williams, and maintaining a respectful atmosphere is key. Let's make this enjoyable for everyone!
You are invited to our
WW CHRISTMAS PARTY
Friday 13 December
17.30-22.00 Festival Pier, Southbank, London
Enjoy a party boat trip down the River Thames with dancing, entertainment, food and drink.
Dress code: Christmas sparkle (No jeans or trainers)
Event timings:
14:00: Leave work & travel to London.
17:30: Meet at Festival Pier, South Bank, London
17.45: ‘All aboard’ - Please board the boat.
18:00: Christmas Party boat departs promptly.
22:00: Boat returns to Festival Pier, in time for last trains.
OUR PEOPLE POWER
A big WW Welcome
We would like to welcome Lorena Espinosa who joined the Finance department on 13th November as a Finance Assistant based in our Weybridge office.
Team News
Promotion
Congratulations to Aaron Carvalho who has been promoted to Audit Semi-Senior
We would also like to welcome Caitlin Mckinnell to the reception team today, covering Maddie for a week.
To all of you who have forthcoming exams or awaiting results, we wish you the very best of luck!
Aaron Carvalho – Audit and Assurance and Financial Accounting, Reporting and Business, Technology and Finance exams
Usman Butt - Accounting and Assurance exams.
Don’t forget to share your exam success with your line manager, HR and Lisa Bevan so we can celebrate with you and keep your training and development files are up-to-date.
Lorena Espinosa
Congratulations to Samantha Allen-Pinto
Congratulations to Samantha Allen and her now husband who got married on 5th September.
The wedding took place on 5th September 24 at 3pm in Arouca, Portugal in the mountains but you can’t really tell from the pictures.
Congratulations, we wish you a lifetime of happiness together!
Congratulations to Maddie Heslop
We want to wish Maddie Congratulations on what we hope was a wonderful Wedding Day this last Saturday.
We wish you many years of happiness together and look forward to hearing all about your special day after when you return after your mini-moon!
“ “
It was a lovely sunny afternoon, still warm for September time, think it was about 25 degrees. I have changed my name to Samantha Allen-Pinto. I decided to keep mine and adopt his as well.
Baby News
Tom Kirk
Wishing you all the best on the forthcoming arrival of baby number 2 this week.
We look forward to hearing all about your news!
SP TLIGHT
Andy Webb
Role: Business Services Director
Qualification: FCCA
Years with Ward Williams: 25 years
How many years have you been with Ward Williams?
I was working in a practice based in Bracknell when WW came knocking to acquire that practice in 2002
What does your job entail?
I am the Business Services director with responsibility for managing a diverse portfolio of clients ranging from owner managed to small businesses. My role is to advise clients on all taxes and ensure that the accounting and tax services are delivered in a timely way. I assist clients with buying and selling businesses and provide general advisory services to them. Many of the existing clients I have acted for over 25 years I enjoy solving their accounting and tax issues.
I am also the Money Laundering Reporting Officer and undertake the practice assurance role for the firm
What has been your career path to date?
My first role was working in local government working in Housing Finance for the Greater London Council, based at County Hall. Interesting times Unfortunately, due to a tiff between the GLC leader (Ken Livingstone) and the PM of the time, Margaret Thatcher,
all promotions were frozen. I decided a change of career was required Working in a small practice I got my AAT and after a relocation from Kent to Surrey then qualified with BDO Guildford I then moved to a smaller practice Anson Gowing in Bracknell for the opportunity to work with an inspirational practice owner and work on some interesting audit clients.
What do you believe sets WW apart from other accountancy firms?
Client service and that its staff genuinely care Our processes have evolved over the years, and we mostly get it right Our client surveys tend to score 9 and 10’s for client satisfaction.
What’s the most common work-related question you get asked at a social gathering? Other than how to save tax - it tends to be after a social meal – ‘Pass the bill to Andy to work it out as he’s an accountant!’
What’s the most valuable piece of career advice you’ve received?
Prepare thoroughly and ask if you are not sure. There are plenty of senior people who would be happy to help
For colleagues that find the busy periods or complex cases a challenge, what advice would you give them how to manage these?
I recall a time when involved in assisting in a tax due diligence for the business sale of a Pharmaceutical company with many complexities including transfer pricing issues, an ongoing HMRC corporate enquiry and some accounting complexities. Matters became very time driven and quite challenging with meetings with senior advisers. The best way through is to seek support and guidance from colleagues/peers. Acting within a team pulls you through
How has the industry evolved since you started your career?
In my very first job, every Monday a colleague and I would take a trolley from the Island block (a building in the middle of a roundabout) through the underground corridors to the main block to collect the weekly wages printouts and payslips, then take back to the office to check for distributing to the wages teams.
The introduction of PC’s was a big change to how things were done.
Andy Webb on a walking holiday.
Any memorable client interactions that stand out?
On an overseas visit to audit a subsidiary of a client – someone walked off with my suitcase at the airport which meant next day I turned up at the clients in the same casual clothes I arrived in. Quite an entrance as the whole open plan office was there to see me arrive nonsuited etc (this was when times were more formal). Quite an icebreaker. Fortunately, they managed to get my case back later
If you weren’t an accountant, what alternative career would you have pursued, and why?
A policeman – sense of public duty or maybe a landscape gardener But accountant was the best career move for me.
What emerging trends do you see shaping the future of accountancy?
Increasing digital transformation of accounting software which feeds into Making Tax Digital requirements Rise of AI to allow more time to focus on higher value activities. Uptake of Workplace wellness programs.
How do you maintain a work-life balance?
A great advocate for being active, when possible, around other commitments. I like running (regular park run runner), badminton and walking breaks Many a problem has been solved on a run!
Name our newsletter!!
So far the suggestion names for our Internal newsletter are: ‘The Ward’ 1. ‘WW Wrap up’ 2. ‘Team Times’ 3. ‘Ledger Life’ 4. ‘Newsy McNewsface’ 5. (thank you Andrew!)
There is still time to enter .... Send your suggestions to Marketing by Friday 29 November!! Win £20 Amazon voucher for the winner
