February Partner Corner: Mark Middleton

This months partner corner is about Mark Middleton, Director at Stratford…

1. What was your first job?

Strawberry picking – I was asked ‘not to come back’ after the first day for talking too much.  I went to the next farm and lasted the season but I can never look at a strawberry in the same way.

2. When did you decide you wanted to work in the Accountancy industry?

My friends at Uni were applying for summer work placements and I thought why not give it a whirl.  I did a summer placement and then joined that firm when I graduated.

3. What was your early career aspirations?

To not get fired!  The first 6 months I found quite tough.  The penny finally dropped in the end and I started to enjoy it more and progress.

4. What was your first car, and did you pass your driving test the first time?

Red old style boxy Nissan Micra…

I passed my test second time.  The first time I was hit by a coach on the way to the test.  To be clear the coach hit me! My driving instructor went nuts and I had to turn up to the test with a massive dent in the door.  To be honest I would have failed anyway at that point.

5. Did you know at the start of your career that you wanted to become ‘Partner’ one day?

Unfortunately for my family and friends I am competitive in everything I do.  So no different at work where ultimately you are competing against yourself.  Short answer, yes!

6. What would be your one piece of advice for those new trainees starting out in the accountancy/tax world?

I will claim this is one answer!

Keep your eyes and ears open to absorb as much of what is going on as you can.  Try and be resilient to the ups and downs of work.  When you are learning new skills it does not always come easily but perseverance will pay off.  Always ask ‘why’ questions.

7. What challenges did you face early in your career?

I did find it hard when I started.  In my training firm there were some tricky personalities and I did not always ‘get’ the work I had to.  Over time I got better and more confident and then started to enjoy the role more and more.

8. What do you most enjoy about your role?

Constant variety of work; every day is different.  I also enjoy talking to our clients.  Entrepreneurs are always interesting people.

9. What do you enjoy doing outside of work (hobbies/activities)?

I like being out and about on a day off.  A day in the house I think is a day wasted.  I like as much variety as possible so will go to anything from gigs, plays, comedy, sport, art galleries, a nice restaurant etc.

10. Where do you enjoy going on holiday?

With the family we keep it simple and have gone to Menorca probably more times than it is healthy.

My favourite holidays are city breaks – I am not great at sitting around so need a bit of activity.  Recently we went back to Rome and New York with the kids and had great fun.

11. What’s your favourite film?

That is like asking which is your favourite child!  Any film Tarantino or Guillermo Del Toro have done are going to be up there.  Of recent years, not the most high brow, but the Deadpool and John Wick films (obviously not the last one) were good fun.

12. What music do you enjoy?

I have not really made it into the 21^st Century with music and in my heart will always be a 90’s Indie kid.  On my playlist you would find a lot of Ash, Manic Street Preachers, Metallica, Nirvana and Green Day.

13. What sports do you enjoy?

I love my sport.  Cricket is my real passion.  I could (if I ever had the time) quite happily waste hours watching random games on Sky.

I am a massive West Ham fan and until the kids came along was a season ticket holder.  Only West Ham could go from challenging for a champion’s league place to a relegation fight.

14. Who inspires you and why?

As a kid Daley Thompson was my big hero.  Trained hard, massive self confidence and clearly enjoyed competing. If in doubt even now I will ask myself “what would Daley Thompson do?”.

Of more recent times I think Marcus Rashford is a tremendous role model.  It pains me that he plays for Man U but to step out of his lane on the child poverty work is a great example.  He has consistently demonstrated what he believes in taking on all comers.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy I think has been an inspiration to us.  He stood up when he had to, putting his Country before his own and his family’s safety.

15. What do you like about LB Group?

Working in a team to achieve our goals.  I really enjoy working with the team at LB.  It is hard work but every day in the office there is always a laugh to be had.

16. Where do you see LB Group in five years’ time?

Carrying on the path we are on I hope.  Every year I think we get stronger as a firm in all aspects.