‘Rise of the virus’ sees new jobs at Geens
ACITY-BASED accountancy firm is expanding its workforce with the creation of four new jobs. Geens Chartered Accountants is recruiting for a host of new senior staff after seeing an increase in demand for its services over the last nine months.
Current vacancies at the Stoke-based company include payroll manager, an auditor and two experienced accountants.
Director Karen Staley said: “We have experienced a high demand during 2020 and have excellent opportunities for people looking to further their careers.
“At Geens, we tend to grow our own team, rewarding good people with promotion, but on this occasion we need to recruit accountants, an auditor and payroll manager with experience.
“Our management team had plans to grow the business prior to the coronavirus lockdown and the rise of the virus generated even more demand for financial and accountancy advice.
“We were able to offer a lot of free advice, for example, producing more than 20 coronavirus briefings, detailing the various new initiatives surrounding furlough and a raft of new government initiatives, but this also generated new clients.”
Geens Chartered Accountants is one of the oldest firms in North Staffordshire and can trace its history back to 1884.
The company employs a team of 23 and is headed by five directors. It has a varied client base – from sole traders to large companies and landed estates – and was the first chartered accountants in North Staffordshire to be licensed for probate services.
This year, Geens has had to change its working practices in line with Government guidance surrounding the coronavirus.
Karen – who joined the firm in 1994 and became the firm’s first female partner in 2003 – said: “We have looked at flexible working and consulted our staff on potential working patterns. As a result, we’ve adjusted the working week, adding a few minutes to the working day, from Mondays to Thursdays, and closing the office at 2pm on a Friday.
“This has proven to be popular with staff and the directors take advantage of free Friday afternoons for business planning meetings.”
She added: “Geens has always been keen to foster talent and our new joiners will certainly get opportunities to build their careers. My story is similar to all of our directors, we all qualified as accountants with Geens and have grown through the company.”