Ashmole & Co – from a front parlour on mart day in Newcastle Emlyn to a permanent office

Ashmole and Co has had a presence in Newcastle Emlyn for almost 40 years and before moving to an office location in 1989, meetings with clients were carried out in the front parlour of a gentleman’s house, on mart day, once a week!

We’re delighted to say that farmers still make up the lion’s share of our local clients but they no longer have to visit someone’s home to discuss their finances with us!

Helen Morris has worked for Ashmole & Co in various locations around Newcastle Emlyn for 32 years. Helen manages the office, which has been situated in the Telematic Centre, as you enter the Business Park, Aberarad for the past 15 years. Helen is also an Accounts Technician.

Helen has known some of the local clients for over 30 years and has a great relationship with many, having seen families and businesses grow during this time.

She says, “In such a small community I believe it is important to provide the personal contact and let clients know we are only a phone call or visit away to assist with all their financial needs. Having grown up on a local dairy farm myself I totally understand the needs of our farming clients. Many clients have become friends over the years and are the reason why I enjoy my job so much.”

Carwyn Morgan has been the Partner in the Newcastle Emlyn office since 2008. He has seen a lot of changes over those years, mainly the advancement of computers and how we have come to rely on them.

He says, “IT has changed a massive amount in the last 14 years and I believe it will change a lot more in the next five years again as tax is forced to become digital.”

Carwyn was brought up on his family’s beef and sheep farm near Bronwydd. He combines his passion for farming with his accountancy skills in order to help clients involved in the agricultural industry.

Carwyn, a fluent Welsh speaker, offers farming clients expert advice on their business including immediate and long term tax planning and passing on their business to their children. He also informs clients of any grants that are available to them, prepares clients’ accounts and tax returns.

He loves the variety of questions he gets asked by clients. One day recently he said he had the full range of tax questions from ‘when is the best time to buy a new tractor’ to ‘how much tax do I pay on £100,000 of bitcoin that I mined during the year’. Carwyn admits, “You never know what you’ll get!”

Gwenola Phillips (Gwen), Senior Accounts Assistant, has worked for Ashmole & Co in Newcastle Emlyn for 16 years and has a very good rapport with clients. Living in Rhos Llangeler she divides her time each week between the Newcastle Emlyn and Carmarthen offices. Gwen, also a fluent Welsh speaker, went to Llandysul Grammar school and after leaving school she went to work for NatWest bank in Carmarthen and was there for 18 years before being one of the many employees the bank made redundant. As well as working with local farming businesses Gwen and the team also work for various local businesses including shops, all trades, limited companies and tax return clients.

With over 60 years of experience between them, the Newcastle Emlyn team welcomed James Davies in 2017 as a Trainee Accountant.

James says the changes in legislation to Make Tax Digital have brought about a lot of technological changes for example the development of cloud-based accounting software packages such as xero. He admits it is a challenge to keep up to date with current legislation and technological changes to ensure Ashmole & Co keep at the forefront of the industry.

Carwyn says, “It’s all very well having adverts for accountancy IT packages for businesses to manage their accountants themselves, but many would prefer to call on the expertise of our team at Ashmole & Co to do it for them. This means the local businesses that we work with can continue to manage their own businesses and do what they do best whether that’s farming, bread-making or gardening while they trust us to manage their accounts.”

If you’re not already a client with Ashmole & Co in Newcastle Emlyn give us a call to arrange a meeting. Unlike other firms of accountants, we always guarantee your first meeting is FREE and with a partner. Telephone: 01239 710220 or Email: newcastle.emlyn@ashmole.co.uk