Gary Woodhall shares his career journey, the importance of communication and emotional intelligence in his role, and what it means to be a new Audit Partner at Bishop Fleming.
Can you share with us your career journey and role at Bishop Fleming?
I’m currently an Audit Partner - predominantly based out of Worcester but I spend time across several offices notably Cheltenham and Bristol.
In terms of how I got here – I’ll try and keep this brief! I’ve spent the best part of 20 years in the profession having joined a Big Four firm as a school leaver in the early 2000’s. I’ve held senior positions at Partner or Board level for the last 10+ years across several firms, albeit with a slight hiatus as a technical consultant and lecturer to the profession.
Before joining Bishop Fleming, I sat on the Executive Board of a Top 40 firm, leading the Midlands region and driving the firm's People Strategy.
I was also honoured in the Accountancy Age 35 under 35…albeit a couple of years ago now!
What is a typical day like for you?
In my role, there is no such thing as a typical day. My days are filled with a variety of activities, such as:
- Supporting clients with their regulatory audit needs including issuing audit opinions; but more importantly acting as a sounding board for them and their business on a much wider range of ideas and problem-solving activities.
- Working with the wider team on client work, but also spending time to understand their ambitions and how I/the firm can help deliver on these.
- Spending time in the local business community, building connections and a network of interesting and talented people.
- Remaining active on social media (hopefully) offering insights and value to my online community.
- Researching changes in the industry or regulatory landscape which might impact my clients, ensuring I’m across these key changes.
- Involvement in bids and tenders to ultimately help grow the business and continue to work with ambitious businesses and owners.
- Supporting other members of the senior team on the strategy for the business, where I can leverage my skills and attributes.
What are the key skills you have that help you succeed in your role?
The reality is our business is a people business. Yes - the technical skills are a fundamental part of what we do but this is kind of a given.
The real valuable skills are that of communication and emotional intelligence. If you can combine this with a strong commercial awareness, then these are invaluable. I’m always trying to hone these skills and recognise that I need to continue to develop them to succeed in my role. The notion of being a ‘lifelong learner’ is far more than just the technical.
What is a moment in your career you are most proud of?
I’m going to be greedy here and have two. First is the more obvious, and that’s when I qualified. It was such a defining moment and having come through all the exams the first time round, it was great to finally say I was Chartered.
The second was winning my first client. This taught me so much about what was important in the relationship and validated my ability to succeed in this profession.
How does a Partner at Bishop Fleming differ from other firms?
I’ve been fortunate to have worked with some exceptional people throughout my career, and its given me a pretty clear idea of ‘what good looks like’. And I can say being a Partner at Bishop Fleming has lived up to expectations.
I love the fact Bishop Fleming operates like a ‘true’ partnership where all the senior team are working towards the same goal and wanting to be a part of something great. The firm is also exceptionally forward thinking, open to ideas and isn’t content to sit on its laurels. These lead to a fun, exciting and inspirational environment.
What attracted you to the firm, and what has kept you engaged and motivated since you started working here?
A lot of what I talked about earlier is exactly what attracted me to the firm. I have my own ambitions and wanted to be part of a firm that could match them.
Those ambitions also encompassed things such as the culture of the business, the types of clients we work with and the nature of the projects to get involved with.
What’s kept me engaged is that my level of enthusiasm for forward momentum has been matched by everyone in the business, at all levels. Nothing is more motivating than speaking to members of the team who are still relatively early in their career but already have aspirations of where their career can/will take them.
If we asked you to describe Bishop Fleming as a place to work in 3 words, what would those 3 words be?
Exciting, inclusive and fulfilling