After 25 years’ working in industry, the last 20 of these in Financial Services, Bari Singh decided to take up the opportunity to change his life in October 2019. He had been at his firm for 12 years and was offered the option to take redundancy or change his role.
He explains: “With the package available, it seemed a good time to work locally and have a better work life balance with a very young family. With the hectic schedule and travel to and from London I hardly got to see my children during the week and I also did not want to be 65 years old and still travelling on overcrowded Tubes.
“That evening I chatted to my wife about it and she said her best friend (an ACCA) had been on a Discovery Day with TaxAssist a few years before, why don’t I look into that instead of going on my own.
“I’d never heard about TaxAssist, so I called and was pleasantly surprised to find my local area was available. I booked and attended the Discovery Day. Driving home from Norwich I was convinced this was the best option for me. I can use my experience to work locally, make a comfortable living and possibly have a decent sized asset to sell when I call it a day.
“TaxAssist had the working model, fine-tuned over decades of proofing, in multiple locations by numerous individuals. They would provide the tools and know-how and I would provide the drive and personal touch. It gave me the comfort of having the support behind me having not worked in practice before.”
Bari made the move to his shop from a serviced office in May 2021 and has been blown away by the increase in enquiries this has generated.
“I thought things might slow down a bit once I got into the shop, but in fact it’s been the exact opposite,” said Bari.
“Every day, since making the move, I can really see the TaxAssist model working in action. We have had many prospective clients call in and some existing clients who have popped in to congratulate me and see the physical location, as well as new business contacts keen to forge partnerships. I signed up one new client last week and two this week and have some other proposals waiting on decisions.
“I feel a part of this community and I’m here to help as much as I can. Some people have come in with a question and I am happy to advise there and then. I have also consulted the Support Centre technical helpdesk, who have a wealth of knowledge and experience to call upon and have been brilliant with my queries and are a fabulous resource.
“I would like to thank the whole TaxAssist Accountants team who have helped me to launch the practice so successfully and I’m really excited about what the future holds.”
May 2021