West of England accountancy firm Old Mill has been shortlisted for one of the industry’s most prestigious awards, thanks to its innovative way of rewarding employees.
The firm, which operates from offices including Melksham and Wells, is in the running for the Most Innovative Practice category at the British Accountancy Awards.
The shortlisting recognises it adoption of a process that allows staff who perform well to acquire equity, no matter their grade or status.
In 2012 Old Mill more than doubled the number of shareholders to 22 and then doubled them again to 44 last December – meaning that nearly a fifth of all staff own shares in the firm. Old Mill plans to increase this further in the years to come.
Managing director Ian Carlson, pictured, said: “We have abandoned the traditional partnership model in favour of a true meritocracy that allows everyone to share in the success they help to create.
“Our innovative model allows staff who perform well to share in the success of the firm. We believe this is a much fairer way of rewarding those who work in the business.
“In addition, our approach also helps to solve the problem of succession, which is becoming common within the accountancy industry, and indeed, for professional services firms in general.
“A positive consequence of this is that we have a business that will be sustainable over the long term, which is great news for our clients as it provides them with the continuity of service which we know they value.”
He said being shortlisted for the award gave Old Mill confidence that its innovative approach was having a positive impact on both staff and clients.
“We believe passionately about providing our clients with outstanding service and the key to achieving this is having extremely talented, well-trained, motivated members of staff, working in a business that is continually investing to be great over the long term,” he said.
“By adopting a more progressive approach to share ownership, we hoped it would motivate our staff and encourage them to invest time and energy to build a career with Old Mill which, in turn, helps ensure high standards of service for our clients. Being nominated for this award is great independent validation that we are on the right track.”
Laura Wylie, a tax planner working in the Melksham office who acquired equity in December, said it was wonderful to be offered the chance to acquire a stake in her business without having to reach the upper echelons of the corporate ladder.
“Both the client work and the colleagues I work with help make this a great place,” she said. “And knowing that I own some of it really makes me feel part of a special team that I want to help go places.”
Judges at the British Accountancy Awards will be looking at four key criteria when judging the entries – project, culture, technology and the positive impact the project has had on the business.
Old Mill, which also has offices in Exeter and Yeovil, is up against online accountants Crunch Accounting, manufacturing specialists Hurst, and South East firms PKF Cooper Parry and Rouse Partners in its category. The awards ceremony takes place on November 29 at The Brewery in London.
