Martin is the first to point out he’s not a ‘Big Four’ trained accountant. His first experience of the industry was working for an aluminium die casting firm in the Midlands, where he literally had to get his hands dirty doing stock takes as well as record all the bookkeeping of the business manually as it was 4 BC (4 years Before Computer). The company was struggling, and he came to realise that it was the accountant (his boss) who kept the business afloat. It employed over 100 people and still trades today.
Since then he has worked for some incredibly successful businesses and some very poor ones which are no longer with us. They were in the retail, manufacturing & distribution sectors. The thriving firms all had strong finance teams with good control, up to date information and an eye on the future. The ones that closed were vain, had very little control and no real financial plans or forecasts.
Which would you rather be? Martin suspects the first group 🙂
Q&A with Martin
What is your favourite song?
Disco Inferno (for dancing) – Story of an Artist – Daniel Johnston (for crying)
Do you have an all time favourite film?
Gregory’s Girl.
Tell us one of your favourite TV shows?
Taskmaster
Do you have a favourite book?
Powder – Kevin Sampson
Finally, what is your favourite game to watch or play?
Football or Dutch Blitz
