As the founder and Managing Director of Smith Allen Chartered Accountants, I set out to create a firm that would offer more than just compliance and year-end reporting. Built on nearly three decades of experience in finance and leadership across a wide range of SMEs, Smith Allen is the culmination of everything I’ve come to value in professional services—honesty, clarity, responsiveness, and most importantly, a genuine commitment to helping business owners succeed.

We’re a modern firm with traditional values, working in partnership with clients who range from sole traders and start-ups through to well-established multi-entity groups. Our ethos is simple: we exist to make business life easier. That means no jargon, no unnecessary complexity, and no surprises—just sound advice, proactive planning, and reliable numbers when and where they’re needed.

Smith Allen is intentionally boutique in scale, but wide in impact. Our clients benefit from direct access to senior expertise, with a hands-on approach that larger firms often struggle to provide. We pride ourselves on building lasting, trusted relationships—many of our clients have been with us for years and refer us on because they know we care, and because we deliver.

Our services cover the full suite of compliance and advisory functions: annual accounts, corporation tax, VAT, payroll, and personal returns are all part of the day-to-day. But where we really stand out is in strategic support—cash flow forecasting, systems implementation, process improvement, growth planning, and helping businesses navigate inflection points. Whether it’s raising finance, preparing for exit, or simply scaling up with confidence, we bring a commercially-minded and solution-focused approach.

What truly sets Smith Allen apart is our grounding in real-world business. I’m not an accountant who’s only ever worked in practice; my career has taken me deep inside businesses, building teams, managing change, leading restructures, and sitting at the Board table making high-stakes decisions. I’ve experienced first-hand the pressures, politics, and pitfalls that clients often face. That empathy informs every piece of advice we give.

Out of this real-world grounding came the idea for Strategic Business Limited, a separate but complementary venture I also founded and now lead. Strategic Business is a consultancy and publishing platform focused on equipping business owners, directors and leadership teams with the strategic tools, insights and resources they need to thrive.

Where Smith Allen delivers hands-on financial support, Strategic Business is about stepping back and seeing the bigger picture, helping business leaders understand their environment, evaluate their options, and make informed decisions for the long term. We publish practical guides, thought leadership articles, and insight pieces on everything from governance and compliance through to leadership, technology, and scaling a business in an uncertain economy.

Strategic Business also supports a range of clients directly, offering tailored consultancy around business planning, process optimisation, digital transformation, and financial leadership. For many clients, there’s a natural overlap between the two businesses and we’re proud to offer a joined-up approach that goes beyond the numbers and gets to the heart of what makes businesses tick.

Both companies share the same DNA: a passion for helping business owners succeed, a refusal to settle for the mediocre, and a drive to make professional services feel human, relevant, and genuinely valuable.

As Managing Director of both Smith Allen and Strategic Business, my role is to set the vision, lead from the front, and make sure we continue to deliver exceptional service. I’m hands-on with clients and proud of it because I believe that the best outcomes come from real relationships, where trust is built through action, not words.

I also lead on growth and innovation, constantly looking for ways to improve our systems, streamline our operations, and stay ahead of the curve. Whether that’s adopting new cloud technologies, building integrations between platforms like QuickBooks and Google Sheets, or automating reporting tools, we’re always thinking about how to save clients time, money, and stress.

Above all, I see both Smith Allen and Strategic Business as platforms for impact. We’re here to support the people behind the businesses, the entrepreneurs, the family firms, the grafters and game-changers who keep the economy moving. They deserve more than just compliance; they deserve a partner who understands their world and has the experience and insight to help them grow.

Running two businesses is never dull. It demands energy, clarity, and a strong sense of purpose. But it’s also incredibly rewarding to know that we’re playing a small but meaningful role in helping others achieve their goals.

If you’d like to find out more about how we can support you, or you’re just looking for a conversation about what’s next in your business journey, I’m always happy to connect.