One Year at Peregrine: 12 Months of Doing Things Our Way
It doesn't quite feel possible, but this month marks 12 months since Becky and I took over Peregrine.
When we became directors, we already knew the business and the clients, but over the last 12 months we've had the opportunity to really start shaping Peregrine into the practice we want it to be.
Peregrine already had a great team and longstanding relationships with many of our clients, so for us the last 12 months have been about building on those foundations and gradually putting our own stamp on the business and creating a practice that our team enjoy being part of and where our clients feel they have people around them who genuinely understand and care about their businesses.
A lot can change in 12 months
We've made plenty of changes both behind the scenes and ones that our clients will hopefully have noticed.
We've spent time looking at new software and apps that we can recommend to our clients to make running their businesses that little bit easier and cut down on some of the day-to-day admin. We've also made changes to some of our own processes to make things simpler for us and our clients, as well as finally upgrading the internet in the office, which may actually be one of the changes the team have been happiest about!
We've introduced Client Manager roles within the team, giving clients a clearer point of contact and allowing our team to take more ownership of the businesses they look after.
We've also launched our new website, giving Peregrine a much-needed refresh and hopefully doing a better job of showing who we are, what we do and the type of practice we're trying to build.
But one of the biggest things we've focused on isn't really about software, websites or processes at all. We genuinely believe your accountant should add value to your business. For us, that means being more than the people who prepare the accounts and tell you how much tax you need to pay. We want to feel like an extension of the businesses we work with, almost like an external member of their team.
Taking over Peregrine ourselves has probably reinforced that more than anything. We've had to look at cash flow, finance the purchase of a business, plan for the additional costs that come with investing in it and make decisions where the impact isn't necessarily going to show in the numbers straight away.
It's also given us first-hand experience of the things we help our clients with. Whether you're considering buying another business, selling your own, selling part of your company to an investor or simply trying to work out whether you can actually afford the next big decision, having someone alongside you who understands the numbers can make the whole process much easier.
The same applies to tax planning. We'd much rather be having those conversations with you while there is still time to plan than after the year end when the options can be much more limited. That's what we mean when we say we want to be an extension of your business. The accounts and tax returns will always need doing, but we want to be there for the decisions that happen in between as well.
We've also continued to focus on making Peregrine a great place to work, listening to our team, offering flexibility where we can and creating an environment where people feel trusted and valued.
What about year two?
There is still plenty we want to do in year two, continuing to develop our Client Manager roles, improving the experience for our clients and finding more ways we can add value to the businesses we work with.
Outside of that, one director has decided that training for the London Marathon is a sensible addition to an already fairly busy year, while the other has decided that what she really needs is a new puppy, please meet Norman! I'm not sure which of us has made the more questionable decision.
As for the marathon, if you'd like to make the 5am training runs feel slightly more worthwhile, I'm running the London Marathon for Heart Research UK and you can sponsor me here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/sophie-musins
Looking back at our first 12 months, we're really proud of what the whole team has achieved and excited about what comes next. Most importantly, we're incredibly grateful to our clients who have supported us, recommended us to other businesses and trusted us to be part of their plans.
And while we're asking for favours... if you've worked with Peregrine and have been happy with the support you've received, we'd really appreciate you taking a couple of minutes to leave us a Google review. It makes a genuine difference to a small business like ours and helps other businesses find us: https://g.page/r/Ce_D8HQZoOLxEAI/review
Here's to year two - and finding out whether training for a marathon or training an office puppy turns out to be harder.
Sophie, Becky (& Norman)
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