Congratulations to James Cruse and Kirsty Jackson on 20 years with JW Hinks!

At JW Hinks, we pride ourselves on a work culture that encourages staff to stay with us and progress. So, we are very pleased to announce that two of our partners, Kirsty Jackson and James Cruse, have just passed their 20-year anniversary at JW Hinks. Congratulations James and Kirsty on your successful careers, and a big thank you from all of us for the work you put in at JW Hinks.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, we decided to sit down with James and Kirsty and ask them a few questions: Both James and Kirsty were working at small practices when they joined JW Hinks (or, in Kirsty’s case, Austral Ryley, which merged with JW Hinks in 2012). They were both looking for a bigger firm and bigger challenges – somewhere they could build a career. However, accountancy was not Kirsty’s first choice. She told us:

“Being an accountant was a second choice for me. Initially, I wanted to go to Welbeck Army Officers College near Loughborough. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t accept me, as I’m asthmatic. Plan B was ‘let’s be an accountant.’ I did my accountancy degree at Derby, and I won’t lie, there was more ‘play’ than ‘work.’ But it was, nonetheless, an experience I’d never give up.”

Kirsty made the move to a bigger firm for her career, however for James, the focus was on learning. He said: “I wanted to further my studies with a formal training contract and develop my knowledge on larger clients.”

Developing that knowledge hasn’t always come easily. Discussing his biggest challenges, James added: “The biggest challenges I’ve seen over the last 20 years have been global legislative changes to how accounts are to be prepared, and the impact this has had on our work.”

However, both James and Kirsty have found meeting these challenges rewarding. Kirsty said: “It’s always really nice to receive an email or comment from a client knowing that you’ve made a difference to them and their business. Over the last 20 years, I’ve made some great friends amongst JW Hinks’ staff and clients.”

James agreed, saying he derived most satisfaction from: “seeing a client benefit from the support I have provided and working with like-minded people.”

Both James and Kirsty praised JW Hinks’ family-friendliness as a major reason for staying so long, as well as the great people they got to work with. They also found mentors here. For Kirsty, Gary Ashmore and Marcus Rose were particularly important; James was most influenced by Neal Aston, Peter Smith, and David Thursfield.

Amongst the many things that James and Kirsty are most proud of, perhaps the most meaningful was making partner. When discussing how other members of staff can meet with similar success at JW Hinks, they were of one mind. Kirsty said that junior members of staff should: “work hard, play hard. If you’re willing to put the effort in, you will always get the reward.”

James explained: “Opportunities will arise in any business and if you can demonstrate a strong work ethic and provide a good service to clients, this will get noticed and rewarded. JW Hinks will give you a strong overall depth of accountancy, tax and audit knowledge which you will not see at every firm.”

Once more, congratulations to James and Kirsty on an incredible two decades of growth, success, fun, and hard work! Here’s to many more years leading JW Hinks to new heights for our clients and our staff!