Angela Stanford

Applica is a project-based recruitment company that sources engineers from its talent pool for its clients’ project needs.

The company handles complex technical setups and places talent not only within the UK but also abroad.

They operate under a relatively complex tax situation, requiring rapid solutions to ensure proper tax treatment for client invoicing and for receiving invoices from limited or umbrella companies in various countries.

To help with this, FFT performs a similar role to that of a statutory group accountant, providing knowledge and expertise to Angela Stanford, Group Financial Director, and her team.

“Whilst I’ve been working with FFT, they’ve been so responsive,” she says.

“If, for example, we want to bill X location from Y location, or we need advice on the VAT side of things, FFT are there to guide us.

“They’re very professional, they’re approachable, and they’ll give you sound advice.”

Angela emphasises the importance of this responsiveness in a business relationship, especially between a company and their trusted advisers.

“Responsiveness is incredibly important for us because we are quite often working to tight timelines.

“FFT will prioritise things that need doing ASAP and always keep us in the loop when it comes to turnarounds.

“Most importantly, they always deliver what they promise – I never find myself chasing them for information.”

FFT has also been instrumental in developing a comprehensive payroll system that can handle the complex financial requirements of Applica’s employment of contractors.

Angela says: “We didn’t want to have to work from our own spreadsheets because of the time constraints and the margin for error so we asked FFT to help us.

“They’ve saved us both time and effort and they’re very happy to work with individual client requirements where necessary.”

The financial statements that FFT also prepare have been vital in helping Angela get an in-depth view of Applica’s inner workings.

She also praises the way in which FFT integrates seamlessly into their advisory role with Applica.

“It’s not like working with an external accountant, they almost feel like a member of the team.

“They really understand the business and are supportive of every project we start and answer every query we have.

“I’d absolutely recommend them to other businesses, and we plan to continue working with them in the future!”