As he celebrates this key milestone with Alex Picot Chartered Accountants, we asked Andy a few questions about where it all started and what has changed since he began his trainee contract.  

Tell us about your first impressions of working at Alex Picot? 

Before I stepped foot in the door of Alex Picot, my introduction to working life was certainly character building.  Day one I was on a flight to London with a fellow trainee to undertake a week-long introduction to audit and accounting.  We were full of excitement until we checked into our hotel, and bearing in mind this was in the days before Tripadvisor, we found ourselves in extremely unsuitable accommodation; I won’t go into detail! 

In true Alex Picot style, the problem was fixed first thing the next day and more comfortable lodgings for a pair of trainees were found for us.

The early years were spent working really closely with the partners at the time and gaining practical experience on some very interesting client work. I started by supporting the audit team on a number of Jersey businesses that were household names at the time, but most of which no longer exist or have been bought and changed names.  Progressing to go out on audit visits alone was the next step and I haven't looked back.

What qualifications have you gained? 

I chose the certified accountant route rather than chartered accountant as it enabled me to work and study in Jersey. This worked well for me as the team around me had also been through the same experiences so I was well supported. I qualified in 2006, passing most of the exams first time. 

What are the biggest changes you have experienced over the last 25 years? 

Starting in the audit team I remember clients would come into the office to hand over their ‘books’ for us to work on.  The amount of paperwork in those days was enormous and we could be handling boxes of farm office cash books to bags of receipts and banking books.

Technology has speeded up this delivery process and reduced the paperwork burden, naturally that has changed the way we interact with clients but we have been mindful to uphold the importance of building relationships with clients and keeping face-to-face interactions with them.

In most cases, clients have trusted us to help guide them when adopting the new technologies and we've seen how their businesses have been transformed. For all the changes our clients and we have experienced, it has been our commitment to building good relationships with each individual that has stood us in good stead for retaining their work for the long term.

How has your role changed? 

As I have moved into more senior positions, I have become involved in overseeing new trainees and watching their development through qualification and in many cases to senior roles.  I learnt 'on the job' about mentoring and taking my predecessors lead, I have shown the Alex Picot way, ensuring that the support I give helps the individuals to achieve their best. 

We have never encouraged long working days and, the managers and senior team, always make sure that the wellbeing of our team comes first. 

The actual audit and accounting tasks have changed in many ways and I have enjoyed being involved in introducing new technology to keep our business and their moving forward. I like to reminisce about the old ways of doing things but am very conscious that we are relied upon to ensure we are keeping accounting practices up to date.

Can you pick out any favourite clients along the way? 

One long-standing client is a law firm with cross-jurisdictional representation.  Being involved with them for many years has presented probably the most challenging work for me but this has also been very rewarding for me personally. 

When we talk about providing a personal service for clients, I believe we have many examples where our team has become integral to client success.  I have really enjoyed working with one of the parishes over the past 10 years to guide them as they developed the processes and adopted new technology to enable them to make improvements across their administration.  

Are there any standout moments? 

There are many highlights which mostly involve me putting on a pair of trainers and pushing my physical limits, including overcoming very difficult obstacle courses, running in the Canaccord Corporate Cup and the Jersey marathon relay alongside my colleagues.

The Alex Picot five-a-side football team had a number of successes over many years and I am really proud to have been a part of that. Maybe one day this will be reinstated!