Emma Peterson, Director FinTech Awards Wales & Finance Awards Wales Meets:
Andrew Beckley,
Director
Barford Owen Davies
In this series of ‘Emma Meets', Emma Peterson, Director of Recruit 121 Finance & Accounting Solutions, finds out more about the sponsors of the up and coming Finance Awards Wales 2023. Finance Awards Wales is designed to recognise, attract and invest in the talented finance professionals working in Wales, showcasing the best of the best in the finance industry. In this edition, Emma meets Andrew Beckley, Director of Barford Owen Davies.
Tell me about yourself and career to date?
I spent the first 17 years of my career at PwC in Cardiff. During the first 7 years I sat within the Government & Public Sector assurance team working with local authorities, colleges, health boards and charities. It was during this time I qualified as a chartered accountant (ACA). In the next 10 years, I sat in the Transactions Services team which focused on providing due diligence services for businesses looking to complete a transaction. I worked with businesses across most sectors and with SMEs, Corporates and Private Equity. In Sep-21 I moved to become the Finance Director at Genmed, a vendor neutral managed service provider to the NHS. I joined BOD as Director in Oct-22.
I am married with two boys (9 and 8) and spend most of my time taking them to their various footballing commitments. I am also a Trustee of 2wish, a Welsh charity that supports those that have suffered a sudden bereavement of a child or young adult.
Can you give me an overview of your company and what you do?
We provide a range of services for growing SMEs that want support with their Finance functions, whether on an interim or on-going basis. In simple terms, we can provide all the services that an in-house Finance Director can provide and therefore offer an alternative option for those businesses that are at the stage where they feel they need this input and experience but are not ready to employ a full time FD. Our core offering is the production of monthly financial information for businesses. Again, this best works for growing businesses at a stage where they want more financial information and direction but don’t yet have the resource to do it themselves. We have a team of 12 qualified accountants, each with considerable experience working in Practice and Industry. When engaging with clients, we assemble a team that best suits their needs based on their own stage of development and we flex our offering as they grow.
My role will be to grow our client portfolio, both in our core offering but also in bringing my transaction experience to enable us to help businesses that are preparing for or working on a transaction.
What has been the biggest challenge the company has faced and how have you responded?
Having only joined in Oct-22, this is a question I have deferred to Emma and Carrie who founded the business in 2017. Their response was being able to successfully navigate the challenges that Covid-19 posed for both BOD and its clients, whilst also facing the usual challenges of any growing business. They are proud of BOD's agile response during the pandemic, but equally proud of how they supported the team through such a difficult period.
How do you feel the Welsh economy will fare over the next 12 months?
I’m reasonably optimistic about the next 12 months for the Welsh economy. Whilst there are clearly significant issues that are currently affecting the whole of the UK economy, I am positive that many businesses have now had time to understand the impact of the last 3 years and are ready to look forward again. I’m also hopeful that disputes both locally, and further afield will be resolved sooner rather than later, giving the stability needed to allow businesses to invest with confidence. There are many high-potential businesses across Wales and I’m confident that they will be a key driver for the Welsh economy going forward.
What plans do you have for your business in 2023?
We have big plans for BOD in 2023. I joined a month after Steph Pettit, meaning we have doubled our senior leadership team in the last six months. With this additional resource, experience and skill sets, we are now able to significantly increase our offering to new and existing clients. One of the key reasons why I joined Emma and Carrie was due to their focus on staff wellbeing and their desire to work with like-minded businesses – this remains a key focus for us again this year.
Why did you choose to sponsor the Finance Awards Wales 2023?
We have been involved with the Finance Awards Wales for the last two years, but as nominees rather than sponsors. We are delighted to have won best Independent Accounting Practice both years, so now want to give back and instead be sponsors. We are extremely proud of what we do and are keen to celebrate and support the talented finance professionals and businesses in Wales. We have chosen to sponsor the new Corporate Social Responsibility Excellence category which we feel passionately about and fits well with our company values.
If you have sponsored the awards previously what were your highlights from last year’s ceremony?
This will be our first time sponsoring the awards, but we were nominated for the awards in 2021 and 2022 and hence the team attended both ceremonies. Last year was particularly special. Not only did we win best Independent Accounting Practice for the second year in a row, but the whole team was able to attend and celebrate together. They tell me what an amazing evening the Finance Awards Wales at City Hall is, and I am very much looking forward to joining them in attending this year’s ceremony as sponsors.
