Quirk Solutions is a UK-based consultancy, whose team members work both nationally and internationally with CEOs and Human Resource teams across a range of blue-chip companies, helping them with their most valuable assets – people.
The company was founded and is led by Managing Director, Chris Paton, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Marines who formerly advised the Government on strategy during the Afghan war.
Chris explained: “I enjoy bringing people together to collaborate and solve intractable problems – it was a key aspect of my previous career, so I now use this experience to help business leaders and their teams to overcome resistance to change.”
As a people-centred consultancy, it was natural that Chris decided to seek out an accountancy firm that he felt he could click with on a personal level and the business relationship between Quirk Solutions and Condy Mathias has been going strong for more than seven years.
Chris said: “In the past, my experience of accountancy firms hadn’t been ideal and I felt like I hadn’t quite found the right fit. They were either so small that they couldn’t really answer more complex questions and evolve with you as your business grew – or the firm was so big that they were rather faceless and although they could do everything it was difficult to navigate the various departments and ensure they were on the same page when providing advice.
“Thankfully, Condy Mathias are the ideal fit for my business – they have a very good breadth and depth of knowledge and always provide me with clear, workable answers to my questions.
Condy Mathias provides Quirk Solutions with a range of accountancy, tax and payroll services together with business advice.
Chris continued: “The relationship is very collaborative and I appreciate the personal touch. They provide a listening ear and I can phone any time and say ‘hey, this is on my mind – what do you think?’
“If it’s something that is not their particular specialism they will consult with a colleague and come straight back to me with the right advice.
“I particularly like the fact that with Condy you always deal with a named person rather than your work being handled by a ‘team’ or ‘department’ so there is always excellent accountability.
“John Hillier and the advisors at Condy really add value to my business. They are always willing to have a conversation and discuss matters pragmatically. From a financial management point of view, it’s also important that I know where I stand regarding billing and they are very transparent so I know exactly how much I am spending each month.
“They have a genuine curiosity about your business – they want to know who does what, who you work with, what are the highs, lows, threats and opportunities. They know my business inside out and I really like that about them.
“If I had to highlight one particular attribute of working with Condy that I appreciate – it’s that they are very human accountants – they are ‘people people’ and in my line of work that counts for an awful lot!”
