Leading regional accountancy and business advisory firm MHA Larking Gowen is to welcome two new partners who will be based at its Norwich and Colchester offices.
John Atkins currently works in the Norwich office as part of the Corporate, Audit and Advisory Team.
He qualified as a member of the ACCA in 2014. He moved to BDO specialising in audits of UK and overseas groups, and owner managed businesses. He joined MHA Larking Gowen in August 2016 from Grant Thornton where he had worked as an Audit Manager.
“It was an honour and privilege to be invited to join the partner group at MHA Larking Gowen, and I am thoroughly looking forward to starting in my new role on 1 April,” he said.
“When I joined the firm, the key values of Passion for Our People and Client Service shone through. This was recognised when the firm won the Best Employer Award in the Norfolk Business Awards in 2019.”
“The partners knew from the outset my overall ambition, as such I sat down with my partner mentor and together, we created a development plan to make sure that my ambitions matched the firm’s. There is always an open and honest relationship in a very supportive environment,” he said.
“I have been fortunate to work with some brilliant clients across East Anglia and look forward to working with many more in the years to come. I have been supported by a great team throughout, and I look forward to continuing to train and develop our people to help them achieve their career aspirations, while also developing the firm for future generations.”
John has significant experience in accounting and financial reporting, audit and advisory services, and has mainly focused mainly on the firm’s corporate business.
Louise Dean, who has been working as a Senior Manager in the firm’s specialist medical team in Colchester, is to oversee expansion of its work in Suffolk and Essex in her new role as a partner.
Louise became ACCA qualified in 2007 and became part of MHA Larking Gowen when the business merged with Hubbard Lloyd in 2014. She has helped look after the finances of the firm’s client list of 600 GP partners and 130 practices, and has built up strong relationships with practice managers and GP partners.
“This is something I have aspired to throughout my career. I had previously worked with Hubbard Lloyd, and their merger with MHA Larking Gowen opened a lot of doors with more opportunities for me to progress. I was able to get advice from senior staff and there was a lot of support to develop,” she said.
“With maternity leave and two young children to look after, I did work part time for a while but none of that stood in the way. I currently have flexible time, with one day off in the week, and I am able to make up the hours in the evenings and at weekends. It’s a perfect balance of being a mum and focusing on my career at the same time,” she said.
As well as looking after her client portfolio, Louise spends time talking to trainee GPs in hospitals, and running training courses for practice managers.
“A lot of our business is word of mouth, so I see my part of my role as helping to build up our reputation. We have some challenging growth targets for the Colchester and Ipswich teams, and I will be spending my time between the two sites,” she said.
MHA Larking Gowen provides a full healthcare accounting service for all medical consultants, locums, salaried GPs, other medical professionals and private health companies.
Services include help with annual accounts and tax returns, personal taxation, pension contributions, partnership changes, capital tax planning, benchmarking, profitability monitoring and administration.