Stephen Jones of Cooper Parry, the firm which won the 2012 IFP David Norton 'Building Excellence' award, this months shares his best practice and talks about the value of the award to his firm.
Financial Planner: Congratulations on the award, what does winning the David Norton award mean to you and your firm?
Stephen Jones: Winning the award means a great deal to Cooper Parry Wealth and we are absolutely thrilled to have received this recognition by the IFP. We have progressed a great deal over the past three years and this award is testament to our hard work and ongoing commitment to Financial Planning.
Wealth planning is one of the fastest growing areas of Cooper Parry, with the highest levels of client feedback and an area of our business that the whole firm is very excited about. Receiving the David Norton Award has provided a great confidence boost to the team and partners and reassured us that we are doing the right things. We were thrilled to be runners-up in 2011 so to be winners in 2012, amid such strong competition, is a fantastic achievement.

FP: What does the award process involve and how much preparation did you do?
SJ: We were required to fill out an initial submission which looked at various aspects of the business; financials, breakdown of income, the team and our client base. Having been successful with our initial application, we were invited to make a second submission which delved more deeply into how we operate as a business and our future plans.
Following on from the submission process, we were asked to attend a panel interview where we were greeted by three judges; Steve Gazzard, operations director at the IFP, Barry Horner, chief executive of Paradigm Norton and Brett Davidson, managing director of FP Advance.
The application process involved a great deal of time and effort from our team as the questions were very detailed and required us to take a good look at the way our business functions. That said, it was undeniably worth it as it prompted us to look at all aspects of Cooper Parry Wealth more closely; the areas in which we had excelled and those we could improve.

FP: You were runners up in 2011, what motivated you to enter the award process again and how did you change your application?
SJ: We were thrilled to be runners-up in 2011 and took it as a great compliment that we came so close to winning. The feedback we received from the judges was positive and useful in helping us understand what was needed from us to go that extra mile.
Our submission in 2012 included new questions so there were other areas for us to consider, explore and evidence to the judges. However, we believed our 2011 submission to be strong so we took the same approach to answering those new questions.
We believe the difference between coming runner- up and winning the award was the extra 12 months we had to develop and grow the business further and demonstrate our overall improvement to the judges.

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FP: What did you learn about your business and how it works during the process? Did you receive any feedback on why you won?
SJ: The financials of the business plays an important part of the submission and understanding key trends is crucial. While we continuously look at both these elements, the process forced us to dig deeper. We looked at our key performance indicators in depth and as a result, have a much clearer understanding of our business. The whole process calls for you to step back from the business and take a long, hard look at it. We examined the different methods used to win new clients and the relationships we forge with them. It was an interesting learning experience and what we have gleaned will no doubt help us develop Cooper Parry Wealth going forward. The feedback we received was extremely positive. We were commended for a very professionally presented submission which highlighted the strategic decisions we have made over recent years to build our Financial Planning offering. The judges were particularly pleased with our analysis of the issues within the business and the focused operational plans we have developed. They also noted our excellent client advocacy feedback.

FP: What prizes did you win and how have you used them in the business?
SJ: In addition to the trophy – which sits gleaming in our office – we received six days of consultancy workshops with five separate consultants. These ranged from public relations and social media to business mentoring and marketing. Needless to say, we were thrilled to be given the opportunity to consult with experts in those fields and have been delighted with what we have learned so far. We enjoyed our first consultancy day in December and our last took place in March. The prizes are excellent, especially for a growing business like ours. We're currently in the process of planning for our next financial year and the ideas which have been raised by the consultants have helped shape our plans for our next year and beyond. We've no doubt that the knowledge they've shared will help us move our business forward.

FP: What is the next step for the firm?
SJ: We have worked hard over the past three years to develop our Financial Planning offering and are proud of the achievements we have made in this time. Looking ahead, we have a plan in place which seeks to grow our client base and assets under management. We have a fantastic team, excellent client proposition, and we are seeing more new clients than at any time previously. We also hope to become an Accredited Firm within the next six months. CFP^CM professionals are key to the success of the Financial Planning sector; as such, we currently have three team members undergoing the CFP^CM qualification and expect a further four to follow shortly.

FP: What advice would you give to others thinking of entering next year?
SJ: Go for it! We made the right decision in re-entering the awards in 2012 and would strongly recommend other Financial Planning firms to follow suit.
It is a very worthwhile process for those firms that fit the brief. We are a growing firm that appreciates this support and recognition and receiving this award has given us a great confidence boost.While the idea of an intense submission process might deter some, we believe most firms would find it rather rewarding. It forces you to look more closely at your business and identify areas for improvement. Anything that helps your business to be the best it can should not be ignored.

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FP: Cooper Parry is an accountancy firm; how does the wealth section fit in and what do you offer clients?
SJ: The wealth offering is a key part of the wider Cooper Parry business and is currently the fastest growing component.
Audit, tax and corporate finance are the bread and butter of what we do and those clients who come to us for those activities often expect us to offer wealth planning too. As such, it was a natural progression of the business to move into the wealth planning space.
We take a holistic approach across four key areas; investment structure, tax mitigation, estate planning and risk management. We begin the process by fully understanding a client's values, goals, concerns and current financial position. Our Paraplanning team use this information to build a lifetime cashflow model which becomes the foundation of the financial plan we create for the client.

FP: How has your team changed since you started and what has the journey been like?
SJ: Our Financial Services business, as we used to call it, has been in existence for 10 years but the transformation into a Financial Planning business began three years ago. We made the decision to take a few steps back in order to make a giant leap forward, selling parts of the business which weren't key to our development of a Financial Planning business for high net worth clients.
Certainly the first year was very challenging as the business underwent radical change and in all honesty, we underestimated the impact of such a transition. However, year two signalled a turnaround for us. The fruits of our labour started to come through and we saw significant progress.
We believe the foundations of the business are built; three years ago we made a brave decision to be something different and today we are happy that it was the right decision.

FP: How do you find new clients and what have been your best practices in terms of sourcing new business?
SJ: The majority of our clients come through referrals, either from our own team, existing clients or from other East Midlands professional firms.
We do not currently advertise as referrals have proved effective in growing our business. We deliver exceptional service to our clients and we are happy to ask them to recommend us to their contacts.

FP: Many planners are concerned about the rising cost of regulation and other threats to their businesses. What do you see as the main threats to your firm?
SJ: The rising cost of regulation is certainly a huge hurdle for the profession; better quality firms continue to pay for other's mistakes. However, by the same token, those poor firms create an opportunity for us and others to prove our worth and build a solid reputation.
Another hurdle for the profession is the lack of consumer and media education. There remains a 'fog' whereby people find it difficult to differentiate between banks, IFAs and Financial Planners.
What we see as a threat to our business plan is the ability to continue to find and attract the best quality team. We want to ensure we employ people with the right ambition and attitude. Two years ago we launched our graduate development programme and we see this as key part of our future development.

FP: What do you like doing in your spare time?
SJ: Any time outside of work is spent with my wife and two young sons (aged six and three) who keep me on my feet! I enjoy taking the eldest to watch Nottingham Forest FC. I've recently taken up running again. After a long break, it's proving quite a challenge but I'm committed to running a 10k race in Derby, which Cooper Parry are sponsoring, at the end of April so lots of training is required.


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