AAT success stories: using the skills learned at AAT to build a resilient business

Ian Morgan MAAT talks us through his story of emotional strength and hard work to create a successful business.

Ian Morgan at a glance…

Age: 40
Years in accounting: 20 years
Name of business: MBS Accountants
Top tip for students: If you don’t try to be everything to everybody, you can end up being really important to somebody.

Having endured a series of traumatic business and family experiences in a short space of time, Ian Morgan has needed to adapt over the years to meet the needs of all challenges that life can bring.

MBS Accountants has been reinvented several times since 2010 to meet both client requirements and the needs of Morgan and his team.

“Both my wife and I trained with AAT,” he says. “When we went into business together, we initially focused on small companies such as sole traders and start-ups.

“But that was very hard work, so we changed tack by having fewer clients but taking on more businesses that were three to four times the size of our typical clients.”

After growing and flourishing for many years, the practice then became something of a victim of its own success about a year ago.

Adapting to your business to be successful

“One of the services we provide is to help businesses with the process of selling their companies,” Morgan says. “We help them to turn things around where needed and be ready to sell for a good price.

“However, when several of our biggest clients exited at the same time, it was a great result for them but less so for us.

“We lost about 20% of our income in one go and had to take a step back and cut costs in the short term, including making some redundancies.

“It was tough but we got through it by always being honest with our colleagues and having an open and communicative management style.”

This business is now back on track and growing again, this time by acquiring rival firms.

Juggling your personal life with running a business

In the past year, Morgan has also faced several personal challenges involving family members.

His eldest daughter suffered a fractured eye socket after being attacked while on a camping trip to celebrate finishing college.

Then his mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer , followed by his younger daughter, who was 16 at the time, being run over by a tractor trailer after falling from it while participating in a carnival parade.

“My wife and I really had to concentrate on the needs of our family at that time,” he says.

“That period certainly tested the business’s ability to function without us, which is something we have tried to develop.

“In the accounting sector, most businesses are built on the back of the founder or founders being good accountants. In the earlier days of our business, for example, we had 600 clients on the books but 99% of them wanted to deal with me.

“Now we take a more team-based approach that allows other individuals to shine and takes the focus off me, which proved very useful at that time.”

Providing the space to be great

Having been based in an office in Gloucester, MBS Accountants is now a fully digital business with team members located around the UK and in the Philippines.

“All the members of the team work from home now,” Morgan explains. “Going remote gives us a lot more choice when it comes to taking on quality candidates.

“We are careful to seek out people with the right characteristics and skill levels for each role. The aim is to ensure the team has all the required skills as a whole and then let each individual play to his or her own personal strengths.”

This way of working is based on his management philosophy, which involves giving people the space to be great.

“Workplace relationships often resemble those between a parent and a child in that the boss makes all the decisions and solves any problems that arise,” Morgan says.

“But for everyone in the team to reach their full potential, I think workplace relationships should be adult to adult. It’s amazing what people can do when they are given the opportunity.

“This approach also allows you to run the business rather than struggling to do everything with lots of assistants.”

Due to his ability to keep moving forward when everything seemed a little too much, Ian Morgan was chosen as the recipient of the AAT Triumph Award for his dedication.

The accolade, which is part of the AAT Impact Awards, is given to an exceptional individual who has achieved success while overcoming significant challenges during their accountancy journey, demonstrating resilience, perseverance and determination.

This article was first published in Feb-March 26 edition of AAT Student magazine here.

Further reading

AAT success stories: building a seven-figure accounting firm in five years

AAT success stories: swapping animal care for a career in finance

AAT success stories: a fresh start in a new country

Jessica Bown is an award-winning freelance journalist and editor.