This year’s winner of the Small Firm of the Year award is the aptly named Inspire Professional Services. Not only is this firm completely committed to inspiring clients, it has inspired the Accountancy Age judges.

Since its founding in 2005 the firm has gone from a turnover of just under £200,000 to almost £1m. Profit stands at a hefty 31% of turnover. Over just the past 12 months the staff has risen from 13 to 20 employees as Inspire implements an ambitious growth strategy based on broadening the scope of the services on offer and deepening its client relationships.

Inspire has built its success on four guiding principles: a mentoring and partnership style client relationship; focus on the clients’ strategic goals; a wide-ranging advisory service; and a cost-effective compliance service.

It certainly seems to be paying dividends. And it’s doing this by focusing on a tightly defined client that Inspire believes it can best serve. These are owner managed, technology led and service based. In short, Inspire’s founder and managing partner Warren Munson has targeted individuals and businesses he understands well.

The firm’s awards entry included a case study of its client TDSi which was on the verge of being sold when encountered by Inspire. But over four weeks the firm helped devise a rescue, funding for an MBO and a future strategic plan. The judges said: “This is a firm that is big on understanding its clients and demonstrates real passion for what it does. This firm has great presentation skills and forms a great shop window for the profession.”

MAKING TEAMWORK COUNT

Inspire boasts a team approach to its work. The firm’s entry says: “Skill-sets are applied where they are best suited and the performance of the team, the client and indeed the company is opitimised as a result of this.There are few demarcation lines, just a fluid approach to work, research and problem solving and an eagerness to transfer knowledge and best practice.This represents a fresh approach compared to our traditional competitors.”