Way Forward is Evolution, not Revolution, says new Managing Partner

Amanda Francis doesn’t really do interviews. “I don’t like to talk about myself,” she says, almost immediately. She means it. The new managing partner is a papal knight, a Dame of the Order of St Sylvester, and one of the most sought-after advisors in the country on charity finance and governance, but her subject of choice is Buzzacott’s future, her preferred pronoun “We”.

She is, in short, a team player. Unasked, she pays fulsome tribute to her predecessor, Mark Farmar, her early mentors, Bobby Vincent and John McNiff, and her team. They have made her new job so much more doable, she says.

Amanda joined the firm as a trainee 26 years ago and never left. Imagine the dumbstruck reaction of a City headhunter: was she never tempted? “You might think it unusual to stay with one firm but it is not unusual here. It’s just is one of the things that differentiates us from our competitors and speaks volumes for our ethos. We want people to stay; we see it as a good thing. Buzzacott is a friendly firm both in terms of a place to work and its clients. It’s of a size that every face is familiar. And it’s not overly hierarchical – you always feel part of the team.”

That word again. At the annual meeting for staff, Amanda listed six strengths which were also points of difference from competitors. The first two of these focused on Buzzacott’s “specialist diversity” and ideal size. Not only do the teams possess a broad range of niche skills, and work in regulation-intensive sectors; they do so interactively, under the same roof, providing clients with a prompt, one-stop solution to problems as they arise.

Serendipitously, her appointment coincided with the decision to move to Wood Street – a decision triggered by the ending of the current lease but one, she believes, which will further leverage Buzzacott’s advantage.

“We’re not going far. We’ll still be in the heart of the City – but in bigger premises, which we need, and on three floors rather than six, which will be even better for internal communications and the swapping of ideas. We are rare among firms of our size in having only one office, and now, if a client phones with a problem, I’ll only have to walk up or down one flight of stairs to get an answer.”

That answer, she says, will be comprehensive and reliable, as well as prompt; “everybody at Buzzacott is a specialist”. After almost 22 years helping to build the Charity Team to its current strength and reputation, she is “looking forward to understanding in more detail, and engaging with, the other teams and their clients, and helping them address their issues”. She will retain her own clients, though.

She pauses when asked what she will bring to the role. There’s no avoiding the personal pronoun here. “Judgement,” she says eventually. “Also, I think, that I remain calm under pressure. I am a reflective person who likes to think about problems and solve them.”

She moves quickly back to Buzzacott. She will concentrate on its strengths, she says; its people and client relationships, its unique structure and continuing financial stability. Her vision? “I believe in evolution rather than revolution. I think it essential that we remain independent but grow organically. I want to build on our niche skills – not just charities, but areas like expatriate services, outsourcing and VAT. I want to invest in them by attracting and retaining high quality people.”

Such skills and investment will be essential if Buzzacott is to help its clients weather the headwinds of the current economic maelstrom. Charities, she notes, face the simultaneous and conflicting pressures of rising demand and falling revenues. Constant changes in the rules will test Buzzacott’s expertise in expatriate taxation, particularly for US clients. A combination of longer lifespans, tax changes and pension confusion will create an unprecedented workload for Buzzacott’s private client and financial planning advisors. And then, of course, there is VAT – “in my view, one of the most complicated taxes there is” – and the need to address the issues at the planning stage, before they escalate into a problem.

But having sounded the warnings, she shrugs. Buzzacott, her Buzzacott, the Buzzacott where she made her reputation advising charities floundering in a sea of regulation, is well up to the task. The assurance is given lightly but there is no mistaking the steel in her voice.

Interview by Chris Inge, Churton Inge Associates