Harris Lipman News

Harris Lipman case study

03/01/2008

If you do your shopping at Asda, Sainsburys, Waitrose or Tesco, you will almost certainly have bought food items wrapped in A.S.P. Packaging products.

A.S.P., based in Watford, specialises in flexible packaging, including perforated film to wrap hot bread prepared in in-store bakeries, clear bags for chilled salad items, and eco-friendly options such as netting, trays and film wraps which are home-compostable.

The firm was founded in 1988 by Maurice and Rosemary Hartley, who are still at the helm, and is enjoying significant success. Three years ago, the business was at a crossroads, and chose to expand by investing £3.5M. Its last accounts showed a 40% growth in turnover and a very impressive growth in profits.

For many years A.S.P.'s audit was carried out by one of the biggest names in UK accountancy but, over time, the company became less happy with the service it was receiving. Finance Director Bob Beazley explains "We felt we were slipping lower and lower down the pecking order in terms of the attention we received and the lines of communication were not always as good as they could have been."

After the firm's quote for the 2007 audit "went through the roof" A.S.P. decided to seek other options and contacted a number of other auditors - including Harris Lipman - to a "beauty parade" to select an alternative.

Bob says "Harris Lipman partner Martin Atkins gave an excellent presentation. We had good options to choose from, but felt Harris Lipman had made a bigger effort."

With a quote for the audit that also represented good value for money A.S.P. appointed Harris Lipman to carry out the work, which took place in September 2007. Bob says "I like the Harris Lipman approach. If something doesn't balance by a few pounds they won't spend the morning looking for the difference, but while they are pragmatic they are also disciplined and do the job properly."

Harris Lipman have particular business advisory expertise and while Bob says that A.S.P. have not yet sought the input of external consultants to develop the business, the fact that their accountants offer that resource is something to bear in mind.

And with Rosemary Hartley describing Harris Lipman as "like a breath of fresh air" compared with the company's previous auditors, the relationship with A.S.P. is certainly off to a promising start.

 

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