07.01.09 MAN OF THE MOMENT

If any individual or company ever needed a committed CA to guide them through these unchartered economic waters, now's the time.

Thats the view, at least, of Chris Horne, managing partner at Campbell Dallas.

Now 37, he was not even qualified the last time the UK saw a recession. But that does not faze the man who, as head of Scotland's third-largest independent accountancy firm, is a rising star in the profession.

"At Campbell Dallas, we're focused to do above £11m of turnover this year, we've got 150 staff, so we're a big organisation but we're not gigantic."

The deterioration in the economy this year from initial credit crunch to outright financial crisis has affected everyone in some way or another, and Horne admits it has had an impact on Campbell Dallas's expansion plans.

"We formed a strategy in February, and it would be naive to think we could pursue exactly the same plans as we thought we could back then," he says.

"But there are certain key things that are very much still our focus, which are to recruit heavily in Aberdeen and we're also looking to signficantly grow our Perth office."

In terms of the economy, Horne's promotion to the position of managing partner six months ago could have come at a better time. But his succession had been put in place well before that, as founding partner Bob Dallas stepped down to concentrate on client-facing work.

"It was a very consciously considered descision," says Horne. "I knew I was going to take over, and everyone in the firm knew i was going to take over, for about 15 months in advance. I spent 12 months working with Bob to pick up what the job fully invovled, and then Bob was able to go back and pick up his client work, which is his first love."

The promotion came as part of an overall restructuring of the firm's businesds and the introduction of a more corporate management structure.

Now, while some of the firm's competitors are announcing redundancies, Horne and his colleagues at Campbell Dallas are looking at what opportunities the changing economic climate could throw their way.

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Publication: CA Magazine
Date: January 2009