Michael Dalton

Experience

• 

  GSH Limited

  Oct 2008 - Feb 2009

  Trainee accountant
• 

  ClearSky Contractor Accounting

  Mar 2009 - Jul 2021

  Responsible for the delivery of outstanding accountancy, tax and payroll services to a large portfolio of small businesses. Management of client managers based in our northern office, alongside responsibility for the apprenticeship academy which delivered the training and development to junior staff.Key Responsibilities• Overall responsibility for quality service delivery of accountancy, tax and payroll services• Leadership of 50 accountancy senior and junior staff, including the apprenticeship academy• Shared services management of our internal IR35/Compliance team• Meeting key service metrics of client retention (less than 5% churn per annum), staff turnover (below 18%), customer satisfaction (+25 NPS score) and staff performance management against KPI’s.• Ensuring that staff are up to date with all relevant technical legislation, including compliance and regulatory requirements. • ACCA primary contact as an ACCA platinum approved training provider.• ACCA practicing certificate holder for the business to sign off relevant references and applications.Key Achievements• As leader of the training academy, I played a key role in the group being ranked 7th in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers in the UK for 2020.• Operational lead for the business on the successful digitalisation project to move all clients onto the FreeAgent bookkeeping portal. The successful project led to a cost reduction of £150K per annum for the business and provided a secure portal solution for future scalability. • Applied and obtained the ACCA platinum approved training status for the group.• Operational lead on the MTD compliance process to ensure that all VAT registered clients were registered and migrated onto the new MTD portal with HMRC.• Additional revenue generation by managing an internal team which provided an inhouse IR35 review service prior to off payroll reform, this generated over £100K per annum which was a new revenue stream. Show less Managing a large portfolio of freelancer, contractor and SME clients. Acting as the main point of contact for the portfolio, advising on corporate and personal taxes to ensure maximum tax efficiencies are being achieved. Key Responsibilities• Act as the main point of contact for several hundred owner managed businesses, providing tax advice in line with relevant legislation to ensure tax efficiency and compliance. • Line management of a small team, ensuring the team are up to date with relevant tax and technical legislation and are well supported through ongoing appraisals. • The review and preparation of all relevant accounts and tax returns including Financial Statements, CT600's, P11d's, VAT returns and Self-Assessment Tax Returns.• Ensuring that new clients are onboarded smoothly, and all relevant tax schemes are in place. • Speaking to prospective new clients (leads) to promote the services of the business and to quote and agree fees.Key achievements• Maintained all KPI's, including a 3 month (post year end) SLA on financial statement and CT600 production, VAT return preparation within 5 days of receipt of information, less than 5% client attrition per annum, NPS above +25 and a partnership referral target of 10% per annum.• Ranked with the lowest client attrition levels across all offices in the final two years in role with less than 3% of base.• Developed two members of the team to successfully move into client management roles. Show less

  • Head of Accountancy

    Sept 2016 - Jul 2021

  • Personal Accountant - Client Manager

    Mar 2009 - Aug 2016
• 

  Caroola

  Jul 2021 - Oct 2023

  Accountancy Director

  Responsible for the delivery of outstanding accountancy, tax and payroll services to a significant portfolio of small businesses across the UK, including freelancers, sole traders and SME’s. Key Responsibilities•Leadership of 70 staff including accountants, payroll staff and administration staff across different sites, includes hybrid and remote workers.•Quality service delivery of accountancy, tax and payroll services to a significant client portfolio•Budget management across all key operational areas.•Meeting key service metrics of client retention (less than 5% client-initiated leavers per annum), staff turnover (below 18%), customer satisfaction (positive NPS score) and staff performance against KPI’s.• Member of the Senior Leadership Team.• Resolution point for any client’s technical queries or concerns around quality-of-service levels. • Ensuring that staff are up to date with all relevant technical, compliance and regulatory requirements.• ACCA primary contact as a platinum approved training provider. Maintained the register and successfully passed each audit.• ACCA practicing certificate holder for the business• Compliance with Money Laundering Regulations as a fit and proper person.• Driving revenue growth through promoting and referring clients to relevant services. Key Achievements• Improved client service levels from a NPS of -44 in July 21 to a NPS score of +34 in July 23. Raised Trustpilot score from 3.4 ‘Average’ to 4.5 ‘Excellent’ during the same period.• Reduced staff attrition levels from 55% in FY21 to 18% in FY22.• Reduced client-initiated leavers by 43% between FY21 and FY22.• Delivered changes to the operating model of the business which contributed to the increase in both client and staff engagement scores• Operational lead in major system migration. I successfully led on the smooth migration to a new CRM system, reducing operational costs by £170K per annum.• Led the business and staff through a significant cyber incident Show less

• 

  DJH

  Oct 2023 - now

  Client Services Manager

  DJH is an award-winning accountancy firm with offices across the Midlands, North-West and Yorkshire. We don’t just work for businesses – we work with them as partners to achieve great things together.As a firm, we’ve grown to a multidisciplinary team who offer our clients a full service including; accounts and audit, tax and employment, capital allowances, R&D, estate planning, commercial funding, corporate finance, HR and international advice.We’re a group of fantastically talented and ambitious people that pride ourselves on having fun, working together as a team and delivering a great service for our clients. Show less