Andy Poole

One of the challenges in a law firm is getting everyone to understand the business and approach things from a commercial perspective. Lawyers are focussed (rightly so) on client service and often don’t appreciate the value of the support they provide. The training we had with Armstrong Watson really helped us to focus the team’s minds on the value they were creating and as a result we now have an effective pricing policy that provides clients with choice and certainty whilst recognising the value that we create through our services. The training was delivered in a way that everyone understood and could relate to by Andy who is a true expert in professional services management and finance. We all came away feeling like we’d had a morning well spent.

The session was really useful and thought provoking. Some courses simply flag issues to us and tell us what we should avoid doing. Andy's approach means not only were we made aware of potential pitfalls with things such as billing and fee quoting but he gave us solid guidance on what we can do to not only avoid the pitfalls but to turn those potential pitfalls into positive experiences for us and the clients.

Andy's knowledge and delivery inspires confidence in his recommendations.

Working with Armstrong Watson on our financial forecast has been very useful over the past few years. They developed a very comprehensive model which allows us to track our performance over 5 years and plan future investments and impact on profit and budget accordingly. They customised it to our needs and have been responsive to our feedback – adding or amending things as needed.

Andy, Jordan and the team are easy to deal with, provide always a timescale and deliver their work on time. I would recommend them to other firms who are looking into improving their profitability and keeping their finances organised.

Andy Poole was instrumental in facilitating our board strategy day that enabled us to retain focus and agree on a clear vision for our business that is centred around delivering for our people and our clients.  The format of the day allowed a clear thought process that not only meant we focused on the important matters, but also that our decisions had an appropriate basis.  We now have a plan for how to deliver our vision and we could not have achieved that on the day without Andy’s facilitation and guidance.

We have worked with Andy over a number of years and recently he has presented a half day on financial training for partners and new partners.  This has been very well received.  We find Andy extremely easy to work with, very accommodating of any particular needs we may have, and his knowledge of this topic is outstanding.  One quote from a delegate having attended this training was “Very good course - highly recommend to those wanting to have a better understanding of a law firm's financial performance and potential ways to improve it.

Andy Poole and two Armstrong Watson colleagues led a day of Law South’s May 2021 conference, “Humanising the Business of Law”. This was online due to Covid but the delivery and the pace of the day engaged everyone successfully. Andy’s presentation was titled “Boosting profits and cash” and delivered to predominantly law firm partner audience of 60 delegates. Allowing for the usual range of perspectives in such a group, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive with 94% giving good or excellent for expectations being met. A typical comment was “Very clear, things we can see we do, as well as things we don't do quite so well!” The day gave a greater understanding of law firm finances, comfort in discussing financial matters with clients, improving client service and satisfaction and a bespoke set of actions to take away. We have subsequently used Andy for training courses for member firms and are happy to recommend him to others.

The training from Andy Poole is always engaging, informative and practical. He's an expert who really understands and relates to lawyers.

We spent an outstanding couple of days with Andy.   It has helped with our cashflow, with profitability and interestingly clients have accepted a new process and approach to fees.  The profit per file will be up.  It was worth the time and effort and is the most useful session I’ve been on in years.

Following conversion to LLP/ABS and putting in place succession plans we felt it was important that we partner with accountants with deep knowledge and experience of the legal sector to support our future strategy. We found this in abundance at Armstrong Watson and following a delightfully smooth transition we are already benefitting from a wide range of their services. Andy Poole and the AW teams provide proactive advice, are easy to work with and we would recommend them without hesitation.

I would like to acknowledge the huge contribution that Andy Poole made to the success of our business planning weekend in March 2019. Andy’s pre-meeting preparation, insight, experience and clarity of thought enabled us to achieve in just one working day what it would otherwise have taken us many working days to accomplish, over a much more protracted timescale. As a result of Andy’s overall contribution and willingness to challenge, we identified and unanimously agreed the strategic aims which will form the essential foundation of our business plan for the next five years. Andy made an invaluable contribution to our business planning process that was not only highly productive and outcomes focused but one that was inclusive and enjoyed by all who took part. I would recommend Andy to other law firms without hesitation or reservation.