David Edwards-Brown
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David is a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Tax Adviser and Chartered Financial Planner, giving him a breadth of professional experience that is unusual within the accountancy profession.
Since starting his career almost 50 years ago, David has specialised in working with small and medium-sized businesses and their owners. His approach has always been straightforward: understand the business, understand the people behind it, and then use professional knowledge and experience to help them make better decisions.
But David's contribution to DEB goes considerably further than accountancy and tax.
Turning Experience into Innovation
Having spent 49 years working directly with business owners, David has seen first-hand the problems that clients encounter.
He has always believed that an accountant should do more than prepare accounts and tax returns. Clients should have easy access to their information, be able to communicate with their accountant when they need to, understand what their figures are telling them and have the tools to make running their business easier.
That philosophy has been the driving force behind the development of many of the systems that make DEB different.
Technology Before It Became Fashionable
Long before online client portals became commonplace within the accountancy profession, David recognised that clients should be able to access their information electronically and communicate with their accountant without having to wait for office hours. That vision led to DEB developing its own client portal, at a time when this was far from the norm for accountancy firms.
The same philosophy has continued ever since. Rather than simply adopting whatever technology happens to be available, DEB has developed systems around the real needs of its clients.
The DEB Technology
David has been the inspiration behind the development of a range of bespoke systems designed to make life easier for business owners.
DEB Connect
DEB Connect brings together the information and services clients need, allowing them to access important information and documents whenever they need them. The aim is simple, to provide clients with the support and information they need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Debonair
Debonair is DEB's own bookkeeping and Making Tax Digital software. It has been developed with one objective in mind: to make bookkeeping as straightforward as possible for the business owner. Rather than expecting clients to become experts in complicated accounting software, Debonair has been designed around the way small businesses actually operate.
AccManager
David also recognised that producing a set of accounts is only part of an accountant's job. One of the most important questions a business owner can ask is: "What do these figures actually mean for my business?"
AccManager has been developed to help answer that question, turning the information contained within accounts into something that business owners can understand and use.
Our Bespoke Administration System
Behind the scenes, DEB has also developed its own bespoke administration system, designed specifically around the way we work with our clients. This allows us to manage information, processes and client services in a way that would simply not be possible using a collection of unrelated off-the-shelf systems.
49 Years of Practical Experience
The important thing about DEB's technology is that it has not been developed simply because technology is available. It has been developed because 49 years of experience has shown David what business owners actually need.
During his career, David has helped businesses deal with:
- starting and developing a business;
- business growth;
- taxation and tax planning;
- financial management;
- company restructuring;
- succession planning;
- retirement planning;
- the sale of businesses; and
- the many practical challenges involved in running a successful business.
That experience has provided an understanding of business that goes well beyond the production of financial statements.
More Than an Accountant
David believes that the best accountants should become trusted advisers to their clients. A business owner shouldn't have to deal with one person for their accounts, another for tax, another for financial planning and then search elsewhere whenever a problem arises. With qualifications as a Chartered Accountant, CharteredTax Adviser and Chartered Financial Planner, David has always taken a widerview.
The objective is not simply to tell a client what has happened. It is to help them understand what is happening, why it is happening, what might happen next and what they can do about it.
The Inspiration Behind DEB
The systems, software and services developed by DEB all stem from the same philosophy: Listen to clients. Understand their problems. Then find abetter way of solving them.
That is why DEB has developed its own technology rather than simply relying on standard accountancy software. It is why we developed our own portal before online client portals became commonplace.
It is why we developed Debonair to make bookkeeping easier. It is why we developed AccManager to help clients understand their accounts. And it is why we continue to look for new ways of using technology to improve the service we provide.
Looking Forward
After 49 years in the profession, David's experience provides a unique foundation for the continued development of DEB. The world of business and taxation continues to change rapidly. Technology is transforming the way businesses operate and the way professional services are delivered.
But the underlying principle remains the same:
- Good technology should make things simpler, not more complicated.
- Good accounts should help you make decisions, not simply record the past.
- And a good accountant should understand your business, not just your numbers.
That is the philosophy behind DEB combining 49 years of professional experience with technology developed specifically to help today's business owners.
David Edwards-Brown
Chartered Accountant | Chartered Tax Adviser | Chartered Financial Planner
49 years of experience. A lifetime of helping business owners. And still looking for better ways to do it.