It was the late 1960s when my father founded Scholes Chartered Accountants.
Back then, the business principally focused on serving the local community – though a small practice, it thrived on trust, hard work, and an innate understanding of the Orkney folk.
Today, the population of Orkney is spread across the same twenty inhabited islands, part of an archipelago of seventy in total.
My father and his team had far less technology to communicate with clients on the more remote islands back then, especially compared to what we have now.
We’re still based near St. Magnus Cathedral – as was my father – and continue to play a central role in the development and continuation of business and enterprise around Orkney.
From father to daughter…
When my dad passed away unexpectedly, I took over the business.
There weren’t many of us at the time – eight staff members, in an office at 37 Albert Street, helping our clients with accounting and bookkeeping.
It was a tight-knit team, and we had to remain organised at all times – especially as we took on more clients.
At the time Ivan joined in 2003, we began expanding even further, albeit slowly.
We moved to a bigger office in Kirkwall and put our sights firmly on growth.
In 2008, Ivan became the firm's second Director and, in 2011, a fresh face walked through the doors – Ryan.
Straight out of Edinburgh’s Napier University, Ryan was the new blood, eager to prove himself in a place that measures worth by action, not words.
By this time, we had doubled our staff numbers to a respectable 16 but we weren’t finished there.
We were small but mighty!
Looking across the sea…
The real shift – the tectonic change – came with two key acquisitions.
The first, Frost Chartered Accountants, came in 2019.
We were able to offer Frost CA’s clients’ access to a broader range of services – business planning, cloud accounting, outsourced payroll – and in return we got the ability to diversify further.
The additional resources and staff numbers we took on allowed the team to train in more complex matters, such as…
- Business tax planning
- EMIs and share schemes
- Company reorganisations
- Share valuations
The merger also gave us access to a broader range of clients in different sectors, facing different challenges and operating under different business models.
Then, just as the dust was settling, another opportunity presented itself – Bower & Smith, in 2022.
The firm was based in Aberdeen, and we saw our merger with Bower & Smith as an opportunity to be a part of the city’s growing economy.
The “Granite City” is shedding its reputation for oil and gas and is quickly positioning itself as one of the centres of the clean energy transition in Scotland.
We saw Aberdeen as a key opportunity for us – it made sense as the next place for Scholes to open an office – an important area for a sector that we are passionate about.
For me, this wasn’t just a business decision – it was a statement of intent.
A move that strengthened our foothold on the Scottish mainland, boosted our client base and made it known that Scholes wasn’t content to stay small.
Scholes today: Still a big part of Orkney… but more than that too
We now have four offices – Kirkwall, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Laurencekirk – and more than thirty-five in-house experts.
Our roots remain firmly planted in Orkney, committed to the community that had first welcomed my father.
Yes, we’ve expanded – we are no longer an accounting firm on the edge of the map – but, more importantly, we are a very different firm today.
We’ve grown not just in terms of staff and office numbers, but also in the range of services that we can offer small businesses.
I truly believe that we can give the same level and breadth of advice and service as some of the largest firms in the UK whilst keeping to that tailor made, client led approach.
We’ve stayed true to the founding principles of the firm – we’re grounded, fiercely loyal, and remain truly committed to our clients.
For us, accounting is about knowing what keeps someone up at night, what it takes to put food on the table, and helping those businesses that need guidance.
We know this because we’ve lived it.
We’ve expanded beyond our humble origins and we’re always ready to help you do the same.
