Haggards Crowther Team Update

As mentioned in our last team update back in November, it’s been a busy Autumn for new arrivals at Haggards Crowther. As a result of our continued growth throughout 2018, we have been expanding our team at all levels, so we can continue to offer our clients an efficient and quality service.

And so today, we officially welcome Stuart Adams to our tax team and David Chandler and Donald Ah Choon to our corporate team, as junior accountant and senior accountant respectively.

Having met all three gentlemen, we asked them to answer a few questions about life at Haggards Crowther and life outside the office, so you have chance to learn a little more about them. Here’s what they said:

Stuart Adams

Some may say he is not your typical tax guy, but ‘Stu the Glue’ has had his admirers since an early age

There’re not many people in the tax world with a nickname that they are happy telling people about but ‘Stu the Glue’ as his friends call him, is proud of his ability to build strong and lasting relationships that endure. As a client manager within the tax team at Haggards Crowther, we’re certainly pleased to hear this about him. Stuart’s role will require him to understand the tax affairs of individuals and businesses and he knows this takes time. Having worked with some of the big boys, such as RSM and Menzies in different areas of tax, Stuart has become a bit of an all-round tax adviser and is at home working with corporates and individuals, including expats.

Winner of a bonny baby prize in his earliest years, today you are more likely to find him winning beer pong championships or rugby matches these days, but bonny baby Stu is still proud of his early success, citing it as his claim to fame. When not lining up in the first XV on the rugby pitch, Stuart enjoys Spikeball (look it up, it looks like great fun) and is a big music fan, both playing guitar and listening to Radiohead, his ‘go to’ band of choice.

After working in the tax departments of some big firms, Stuart chose Haggards Crowther because of its more intimate, hands-on feel which he feels provides a better working environment which – more relaxed and less ‘corporatey’ Stuart says.

Donald Ah Choon

Could working at Haggards Crowther be one of the best things to happen to him…?

Is it poacher turned game keeper or the other way around when one moves from industry to practice? Either way, Donald is a valuable addition to our team having worked within the finance function of a business before joining us in the Autumn of 2018. His knowledge of the daily ups and downs of business life will stand him in good stead and will add another dimension to the corporate team in which he takes up the role of Senior Accountant.

The opportunity to stay in London and hop the fence to work in a practice was exactly what Donald was searching for and when asked about his claim to fame he suggests that working alongside some of his new colleagues may well be it! That’s quite a claim Donald – let’s see what we can do to make that come to life for you!

Donald will be dealing with client queries, accounts preparation, bookkeeping and journals during his typical day, which will draw on his special talent of being super organised, especially when he finds himself working for a handful of different clients from a range of sectors every day.

Away from the office, you will normally find Donald travelling which also allows him to indulge his love for photography.

David Chandler

The young footballer, turned DJ, turned well qualified accountant

David seems to think that Haggards Crowther can become his new theatre of dreams following an early taste of a career in football with the Manchester United Academy when he was younger.

Still relatively new to the world of work and accounting, David graduated for the second time in 2016 having studied a BSc (Hons) degree in Biology at the University of Nottingham and then a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business, Finance and Accounting at the University of Newcastle.

His first role in practice was as an ACA Trainee with a firm in Ascot, but David was pleased to land the role with Haggards Crowther this October. David says that despite the usual nervousness around an interview, Andrew, Gavin and Chris made him feel very welcome and it was the people and the office environment that sold it for him, having been offered two other roles around the same time.

As a Junior Accountant, David will be working for a number of clients on a range of activities including accounts preparation, analysis and ongoing client communications. Driven by money and always seeking a good deal, David’s special talent is the record time he can make from the office to Waitrose to get the best lunch deals – fast and focussed on the numbers – that’s what we like!

Despite injury scuppering his long-term future in footie, David can still knock out a good gym session, normally accompanied by some of his own music, produced by him as part of his other love as a DJ.

Please join us in welcoming all our new team members who are looking forward to supporting you with your business accounting and tax needs.

Need to put a face to the name? Head to our Meet the Team page to see all our team members.

Andrew Haggard FCA

Andrew founded Haggards Crowther with his brother in 2004 and took over as Managing Partner in May 2023. He has always been closely involved in client work, in particular providing high level strategic tax and structuring advice, business advice and supporting the technical and compliance teams.

As Managing Partner, he has focussed on growing the business and ensuring the firm upholds its core values of Quality of Service, Innovation, Collaboration and Integrity. These remain central to all that we do both internally and in serving our clients.

A Fulham resident for over 30 years Andrew is closely connected with the local business community and supporting many of them on their journeys. He is especially linked with fellow start-up entrepreneurs advising them on their growth strategies and optimal structures.

A passionate Fulham FC supporter, along with his two sons, Andrew rarely misses a game. He plays and coaches volleyball, something he has done since university in Edinburgh, and which offsets another of his passions: exploring the vast and diverse range of food that London’s restaurants have to offer.

He has a keen interest in many conservation projects especially in protecting endangered species of birds and actively supports the Mabula Project in South Africa. This charity supports the Southern Ground Hornbill, a charismatic species of cultural and ecological importance threatened by loss of habitat through the encroaching development of the savannah.