Bigger doesn’t always mean better. Take the example of Louise Smith CA. Her first role post-university was with a Big Four firm, which followed a placement year in industry. She soon learned a valuable lesson. “I realised that I needed to find a place where I could truly thrive and develop my potential,” Smith recalls. “Failing one of my exams turned out to be a pivotal moment as it pushed me to seek an employer where the work was challenging and rewarding, but with a strong support network for study and exam leave.”

Determined to become a CA, Smith received several offers from various employers who recognised her potential. “I just got a good feel for Hall Morrice,” she says. “I thought it was the right size of firm, I got great support as a student, qualified with the firm, gained valuable experience, and have risen through the ranks in the years since.”

Smith has advanced to the position of Director at the Aberdeen-based firm, which is currently experiencing its most rapid period of expansion since being founded in 1976. This growth has seen the team expand from the mid-40s to its current headcount of 75 employees.

Hall Morrice recognises the importance of finding future leaders from within, and Smith is a prime example of this commitment. She continues to be a driving force for change within the firm, leading initiatives that contribute significantly to its ongoing success and growth. And these initiatives are paying off. As Smith says: “Future leaders in the making are already involved in strategy discussions at the firm, reflecting our commitment to developing talent at every level.”

Return of the Mackie

A key figure in that expansion is Ian Mackie CA, who returned to Hall Morrice in 2022, some 18 years after leaving. “I planned to enter the voluntary sector and spend my time volunteering, which I still do to a certain extent,” says Mackie. “But two of the partners, Derek Petrie CA and Shonagh Fraser CA, said they needed a wee bit of help modernising the practice from a software perspective. The digital journey wasn't as far advanced as they wanted, and I’d previously worked for a tech company [Mintra Group].”

“I have the grand title of Operations Director,” he adds, “but it basically means I am tinkering with the wiring across the business to ensure the firm remains relevant to its current and future staff and clients.”

Digital transformation will be crucial to Hall Morrice continuing to attract and retain the next generation of talent. “I’m sure I’m not the only person to say recruitment has been a nightmare,” Mackie says. “So last year, we made the decision to really invest heavily and grow our talent from within.”

Where previously Hall Morrice would take in three or four trainees per year, in 2024 the new intake will grow to 10 – seven ICAS CA students and three third-year placement students from Robert Gordon University. And they ensure those students feel part of the firm. Smith explains: “In the past, partners conducted all the interviews for prospective trainees, and the rest of the team would only meet the students when they started with us. Now, we also include our current trainees in the process.”

Smith has delegated student recruitment and interviewing to managers and current students. Recognising that Gen Z values peer validation, Hall Morrice ensures prospective CA students gain real insight into what it is like to work and study with the firm through interactions with their future peers at every step of the recruitment process. 

“So they’re gaining valuable experience at a very early stage and we are developing people and careers in a very different way," says Smith. “That’s been a massive change for us.”

Both Smith and Mackie attended the recent ICAS Practice Conference, where the latter was struck by a talk given by Saskia Cochrane, of the agency, Wiser, on attracting Gen Z talent.

“The way that under-30s or Gen Z apply for jobs is very different to the older generations and I was staggered to hear that 80% of leads, if you like, come from their own peer group. They want validation from their peers,” says Mackie.

Mackie had left Hall Morrice in 2004 because he couldn’t see a pathway to progress to partner in what was then a much smaller firm in terms of headcount and client base. “That’s absolutely not the case now,” he says. “We now have a much larger senior level structure to manage the inflow of talent at the trainee and student levels. When we go to the RGU fair later in the summer, it’ll be the trainees and the first years that will talk about Hall Morrice. Again, that’s exciting for us as well.”

The growth strategy goes beyond the trainees. As Smith stresses, “We want to grow but we also want to maintain our independence – so how to balance the two? We need to hire and train people from the bottom up, but it’s also about getting our managers and senior managers to become effective leaders. We want to grow at every level.”

As the largest independent firm in north-east Scotland, its client base has transitioned from a traditional focus on local partnerships and sole traders to include a significant number of audit clients, focusing on up to £50m-turnover groups and private equity-backed businesses. Hall Morrice’s challenge, as with many other firms, is to ensure it maintains quality of service while also continuing to innovate and adapt.

“Last year, we made the decision to really invest heavily and grow our talent from within”

Ian Mackie CA

“We have invested a lot of time and resources in researching and adopting best-in-class software solutions, as well as revisiting key processes to create greater efficiency and free up capacity within the team,” says Smith. “Focusing on talent recruitment and retention remains paramount, but working smarter is also an integral part of the mix. Our youngest team members have never known a world without tech, and we need to remain ahead of the tech curve.

“Once we have created exceptional newly qualified CAs, we partner and mentor them to create a career path at Hall Morrice. The landscape is changing. With compliance becoming so much more price-sensitive, we need to add value for our clients in other ways. We’ve introduced a data analytics focus group, which our current generation of students are immersed in from an early stage.

“Ultimately, the strength of any company comes down to the people. We’ve got great people here and we’re looking for more of the same.”

hall-morrice.co.uk