GROWTH FOR ACCOUNTANCY FIRM WHICH EMBRACES WORKING FROM HOME

Sunflower Accounts, the Wiltshire-based accountancy firm set up ten years ago, has recruited four new staff members and adopted a permanent working-from-home model.

The company which specialises in being more than an accountancy practice, has seen rapid growth since the day it was set up by founder Steph Rickaby. Now Sunflower has a team of eight and all work from home. 

“It’s been a wonderful, challenging and powerful journey over the last decade,” Steph said. “Little did we know that during that time we’d face a global pandemic yet in some ways that experience has shaped us positively.

“Today we are not ‘just’ an accountancy practice, we work with our clients to understand their goals in their own lives and businesses – and we help them achieve those goals. We adopt the same strategy with our team. We want them to achieve their own personal goals and to have the work/life balance that works for them.

“We have fully embraced the ‘working from home’ model and moved away from a nine to five mindset. We are task focussed, we meet up face to face regularly to connect, have fun and we communicate daily to support each other and our clients.”

Initially Steph set up her practice alone and then was later joined by her husband Mark. Now she has four further team members working alongside her. These are chartered certified accountant Lauren Matthews, client manager Claire Avery, operations manager Helen King and most recently management accountant and book-keeper Shelley Pritchard.

Helen (41), who lives in Melksham, was formerly a history teacher at a secondary school with her own small ‘side hustle’ business. She said:

“I genuinely love this job and the Sunflower team. I was unhappy in my teaching role for several years and Steph suggested I join. Being from a totally different background and running my own small business means I bring a different set of skills and Steph could see how that would help her – before I saw it!”

Shelley Pritchard, also 41, of Calne, has just joined the Sunflower team, having formerly worked for larger companies.

“I’m still pinching myself that this opportunity came my way. I’m able to share my expertise with clients, work from home and around my family. I knew Sunflower in my previous role and I know that this is a team which genuinely supports each other. There’s no pretence here, we all support each other. I don’t think there’s many companies out there where support and honesty that is central to the company values.” 

The Sunflower team work with ambitious and ethical businesses all over the UK which are looking for an holistic, strategic approach to business growth and development, including the numbers. For more information visit https://sunfloweraccounts.co.uk