Hutcheon Mearns, now part of Cooper Parry, can help fill staffing gaps and success is seeing it expand across the Central Belt
Working on a variety of projects for different companies was among the features of the job that drew Michael Caldwell to the role of head of accountancy services at Scottish professional services firm Hutcheon Mearns, now part of Cooper Parry. And it’s this unique range of services under one roof that helps the firm attract and retain clients.
Hutcheon Mearns, now part of Cooper Parry, prides itself on providing sought- after specialist services, including corporate finance, finance support, finance automation and finance staffing solutions.
From starting out in Aberdeen a decade ago, the firm now has offices in Dundee, and more recently, Edinburgh and Glasgow. It operates under the pillars of deals, people and insights.
Caldwell joined the Edinburgh office in March as part of the company’s drive to expand its specialists offering across the Central Belt of Scotland. He previously worked for EY for many years, including in Australia, and for Grant Thornton.
He says: “What really appealed to me about Hutcheon Mearns, now Cooper Parry, is that you’re not doing the same thing month after month. You’re meeting different clients on a variety of projects.
We provide short-term finance cover, project- related work, and support with audit via our in-house, employed specialist team. Short-term cover fills staffing gaps by putting in place a flexible interim resource, for example, when someone is off on maternity leave, or on sick leave, and the company doesn’t know when they will be back.
And if someone is leaving their role and a firm wants to take time to hire someone new to make sure they get the right person, we can provide interim cover during that period, including the time it takes to onboard the new employee.
I’m currently working with a client where a person is leaving in a few weeks. We’ve helped the company find the most relevant candidates through our recruitment channels as we understood the role very well. We were able to suggest people that were more suitable than those found by traditional recruiters.”
Through its broad service offering, Hutcheon Mearns, now part of Cooper Parry, is helping clients deal with various challenges in the market, such as ensuring they find the best candidates for senior roles and avoid the mistake of hiring the wrong person.
A company might advertise a finance role and not find the person that meets the requirements, but a month later there are three or four outstanding candidates. It can be a big challenge to get the right candidates and that’s where we can come in to fill the gaps. This helps avoid the situation where a firm appoints the wrong candidate and incurs time and money in having to recruit again,” adds Caldwell.
Another scenario he describes is working for a client which has recently made an acquisition. This means the finance team will have a lot to do, such as getting accountancy policies aligned, that will add to their usual day-to-day tasks.
Firms are also having to prepare for the Financial Reporting Council’s revisions to accountancy framework FRS102, which are being introduced from the start of next year. Caldwell says: “The UK accountancy framework is aligning with international frameworks with respect to accounting for revenue and leases. That’s quite a transition.
We can go in and support teams and provide guidance. Then with audits, we can manage the process for clients from start to finish. They still need to be involved, but we alleviate a lot of stress.”
Hutcheon Mearns, now part of Cooper Parry, also helps improve processes within client companies to make them more efficient by going in with a fresh set of eyes, according to Caldwell.
The firm has evolved over time to meet the needs of clients. Just last year it unveiled CFO Advisory Services, an expert-led, bespoke offering to support business owners and chief financial officer candidates in achieving their ambitions.
Caldwell explains: “From speaking to clients and working on projects, we’re able to find out what companies are looking for and expand our teams appropriately. For example, one of our specialists is now trained in sustainability reporting to provide guidance through the evolving ESG landscape.
We also have specialists who are well trained in the area of tax and a digital team focused on data. We work closely with others across Hutcheon Mearns, now part of Cooper Parry, to make the most of opportunities out there.”
Looking ahead, Hutcheon Mearns, now part of Cooper Parry, plans to continue to expand its business and is investing across the Central Belt to grow its presence.
This was featured in The Scotsman on Saturday 28 June.
