Baldwins are a Top 7 UK accountancy firm operating over 100 offices pan UK offering value added service across a multitude of accountancy disciplines including audit, tax, corporate finance and accounting. They are PE backed by HG Capital and are a spearhead within the Cogital Group alongside Wilkins Kennedy, Campbell Dallas and Blick Rothenburg, as well as the Nordic BPO powerhouse Azets. Their client base boasts everything from sole traders to large multi-national businesses across an agnostic portfolio. Baldwins contribute circa £300M of the Cogital Groups £500M turnover.
The Brief
Baldwins approached Mitchell Adam with a vision in mind to build a regional audit hub from their Birmingham offices in order for them to complement their impressive growth trajectory, alongside driving efficiencies and improving quality across the Midlands region. We had to deliver a team of 14 audit professionals from top tier accounting firms ranging from Associate to Partner level. This flagship team was the first to be created outside of the firm’s usual acquisition model with a view to continue to win business across the SME space.
Our Method
Challenges that firms face at this level are competition both in the marketplace for winning new client business, but also for staff. The Birmingham market is fortunately fluid with talent across audit. However, finding the right candidate can be difficult. It is important to find a candidate with the right personality, depth of experience and looking for a genuine career within a business and not just a stopgap – this can be a bit harder to find.
- Spent time with all hiring partners to understand vision and agenda – then provided counsel on proposed team structure and target firms within the Birmingham Colmore finance district. We advised this project should be completed with full anonymity without any disclosure to or across the Birmingham or wider market – Mitchell Adam provided NDAs for all candidates engaged.
- In line with proposed organogram, we began the search with business critical roles which were both Partner and Senior Manager roles – longer notice periods and gaining their involvement in this recruitment project was paramount to the success.
- Due to the sector specific mandate, we conducted targeted headhunted approaches for candidates as well as reaching out to our existing network across banks, legal firms and accountants to secure senior appointments.
- Provided candidates with full profiles of everyone they were due to meet, and fully debriefed them the minute their meetings were completed.
- Provided real time audit report on project at agreed deadline proving useful data for both this project and future projects with Baldwins.
