Member Article

North East Accountancy Firm Accelerates Growth With Leadership Restructure

A multi award-winning cloud accountancy firm has made a strategic change, with the appointment of a Chairman to accelerate its UK wide growth.

Blu Sky Chartered Accountants co-founder, Dave Gibson, has stepped down from his position as CEO and taken on the role of Chairman.

Dave co-founded Blu Sky over 14 years ago in North Shields with Jon Dudgeon, who has now moved from the role of CFO to take up the CEO position.

The firm welcomed 65 new clients in 2022, from cities including London, Manchester and Leeds. They also hired 6 new team members, with turnover increasing by 20%.

It’s hoped that this strategic move will facilitate a further 20% increase in turnover in the next 12 months. The firm will also increase headcount by 10%, to bolster their team this year.

The Chairman position will assist the team with legislative changes and governance as the business grows its hubs in the North East, London and Manchester. Blu Sky has already welcomed team members across the UK to support clients in these areas.

Dave Gibson said: “We’ve always run our board in a structured manner and we are great at holding people accountable. However, as we continue to grow and as the legislations that we operate in become more complex, there was a genuine need for a role to focus on governance as we go forward.

“We’ll continue to be client-focused, responsive, and our strategy doesn’t change. We’ve been working on this move for the best part of a year. I’ll remain available to coach or mentor anyone within the Blu Sky team who feels the need, and I’ll continue the strategy role I have with a small number of Blu Sky clients.

“Blu Sky is in more than capable hands with Jon Dudgeon as CEO, Steven Robinson as COO and a management team who are far more of an age with our clients. The whole team has so much drive and ambition to keep us ahead of the game in our own industry.”

Jon Dudgeon said: “I’m very excited to be leading Blu Sky into the next chapter of our growth. I’m incredibly grateful to our entire team and fantastic clients for their ongoing support.

“Our fully Xero certified team, specialise in working with businesses who are scaling, securing funding or exiting. We work with businesses throughout their journey, offering different levels of support and varying services, as and when they’re needed.

“This is why we’ve has success expanding across the UK, as we completely understand the business journey and can offer support throughout the ups and downs. Our current clients value the fact that we’re up to date and are genuinely interested in their business. We’re more than the people who look after the numbers, we’re trusted business partners.

“2022 was an incredibly successful year for us, we’ve put a lot of thought and planning into Dave’s move. He isn’t disappearing from the company or taking a huge step back, his role is simply changing to support our continued success.” Blu Sky Chartered Accountants celebrated three award wins in 2023, Medium Firm of The Year Award at this year’s Accounting Excellence Awards. Alongside Accountancy Firm of the Year (Under 50 employees) and Rising Star Tax Adviser of the Year at the North East Accountancy Awards.

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