Claire
Neumann

WHO I HELP

Start-ups. Family Run/Owner-Managed Businesses. SMES. Sole Trades. Partnerships. Limited Companies. LLPs.

HOW I HELP

VAT. Management Accounts. Statutory Compliance. Cloud Accounting & Systems.

SECTORS/SUPPORT

Professional Services. Construction. Farming. Hospitality & Tourism.

“HONESTY AND EMPATHY ARE KEY.”

Claire Neumann is a Business Advisory Director in the Stirling Business Advisory team. Claire works closely with clients to ensure their compliance with statutory deadlines and supports them through the different stages of the business lifecycle from starting up to succession planning and exit. The type of support required throughout varies from client to client so no two days are the same.

Alongside that, Claire leads the Stirling Business Advisory team helping staff to gain well-rounded experience, achieve career progression and enjoy what they do.

Relationship-driven

“I aim to build strong client relationships where we can call each other at any time of the day just to run over something. A relationship that has that level of familiarity and openness makes our job easier and allows us to deliver the best service to our clients. Clients expect honesty and empathy and from that they gain trust in our team. Therefore, I strive to really take the time out to get to know our clients and their business in order to deliver a truly bespoke service tailored to their needs and objectives.”

Being a trusted adviser

“Our advice to clients might not always be what they want to hear but that’s where being a trusted adviser becomes important. Sometimes we have to be honest and make sure clients are being reasonable about what is achievable. We might advise a different route or a different time frame – our goal is to help a client achieve their goal and our job is to make sure that is done in the best way for them and their business.”

Technology enhances our service

“While the advancement in technology is great for time saving and efficiencies in-house – it doesn’t take away the need for your advisor. Systems are robots and they can’t have that chat with you on the phone to talk through your concerns and identify areas that need worked on. This is particularly topical in the current market where technology is advancing at such a fast pace. As a team we speak to clients to discuss all areas of business, many of which are not focussed on the figures, so that they are getting all round advisor support from us – you can’t get that from an automated system.

In terms of finding the balance between a hands-on approach and a tech-driven approach, I think neither can achieve a good working relationship alone. Tech is so important in the modern world that we need to use it to our advantage – and clients should too. However, tech cannot replace sitting down and chatting. Face-to-face meetings are still incredibly important and often lead to conversations that were never on the agenda. Virtual and hands-on approaches go hand-in-hand and to deliver the best service we need to embrace both.

It is important that we educate our clients in the tech available to them as well, many worry about change and moving away from ‘the way we have always done it’ but the efficiencies and consistencies that tech can provide should not be underestimated.”

Sounding board for clients

“Having been brought up around a family business I have seen first-hand the difference a good advisor and sounding board can make to the owners of SMEs. The team here all work with that main focus – to make sure our clients understand their options, feel supported and believe that they can work their way through business challenges to achieve their goals.”

Combined expertise

“What I am most excited about joining the ever-growing and evolving AAB Group is being able to combine expertise from all areas – coming together to create a great knowledge base for all clients.”