At Albert Goodman, while accountancy is our business, we have always considered ourselves to be a force for good. We align our values and objectives to more than just the bottom line and ensure that communities and the environment are at the heart of everything we do.
Our ‘collaborate-to-achieve’ mission is there for all to see and the way we operate is underlined by values which guide the company – impactful, progressive, trustworthy and collaborative.
We are proud of our status as one of the South West’s most trusted chartered accountancy practices and we know our clients expect the highest of standards in everything we do.
But we decided that it was time to put our credentials to the test and that is why we embarked on securing B Corporation status.
Why did Albert Goodman decide to seek B Corp status?
Becoming a B Corp organisation makes Albert Goodman more accountable to our clients here in Bristol and beyond and gives us a framework around which we can raise our environmental performance and contribution to the community. What’s more, this helps us ensure we are a good place to work and remain attractive to new talent.
How has purpose provided impetus at Albert Goodman
Part of our commitment is to create meaningful benefits for the communities where we operate, the environment and our people by focusing on four key priorities:
- Sustainable ways of working – actively working with our people towards more sustainable practices and considering the impact of our operations.
- Social responsibility - engaging with community projects and supporting diversity, inclusion and social mobility
- Ethical leadership – we are bound by ethics through our profession and have also changed our LLP agreement to ensure that we do not make business decisions which would have a material negative impact on the environment and our communities.
- Long-term achievement – the above principles are intertwined into our five-year strategy and are fundamental to hitting our longer-term aspirations
This is something we have been keen to build on and that’s why we viewed becoming a B Corp as an important and natural next step.
Our overall ethos and our values were already closely aligned with the B Corp movement – spearheaded by the not-for-profit B Lab – and that means we can take things to the next level.
What does being a B Corporation mean to the Albert Goodman team?
We’ve been doing lots of work on a voluntary basis to support local people and our desire to do more in the community will be facilitated by B Corp status.
It means we will pull everything together and will ensure we are able to evaluate the impact our work is having.
Working towards B Corp status involved a rigorous certification process to prove Albert Goodman meets the highest of social and environmental standards across all of its operations, highlighting what we are doing well and where we can do things better.
This was a comprehensive test of our credentials and showed we were doing things the right way and was a genuine statement of intent.
It has also aligned us with a community of like-minded companies across the South West and beyond who we hope will be keen to work with us in the future.
Our clients know they can work with a business partner which shares their values and who wants similar things, and we can collaborate to share best practices.
From a strategic point of view, it’s a differentiator and our B Corp status sets us apart from our competitors, both in terms of winning business and also in terms of attracting talented people to our offices across the South West.
What role do your people play in gaining and retaining B Corp status?
While the journey towards becoming a B Corp was initiated by our partners, every member of the Albert Goodman team has been offered the chance to shape our company culture and make sure we live up to our B Corp status.
Together, we have developed our new purpose and values, which reflect the criteria of being a B Corp, and they will continue to set the tone for a company which is now 157 years old but a progressive force.
We make sure our people operate in a working environment in which they can thrive, and B Corp supports this process. Our people also have an active voice when it comes to shaping new policies and initiatives.
Moving forward, we want to make sure Albert Goodman is a diverse company that reflects the communities where we work because we value social mobility.
To that end, we’ve already signed up to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales ‘Rise’ initiative to help 14 to 16-year-olds from low socio-economic backgrounds gain workplace skills.
Also, we are actively becoming more engaged with young enterprise, developing and nurturing talent.
Going forward
Having achieved B Corp status has been an important milestone for us. But it doesn’t mean that we now rest on our laurels.
We are actively looking for ways to increase our positive impact.
We remain committed to being net zero by 2030 and we will continue to make sure everything we do supports that ambition.
And what we do will always be subject to scrutiny from B Corp. We are required to publicly disclose records of our performance while facing regular assessment from B Corp with a view to recertifying every three years.
We are on the right trajectory and B Corp status will help us maintain that momentum.
If any businesses in the Bristol area would like to learn more, get in touch at Sophie.Parkhouse@albertgoodman.co.uk
Sophie is pictured with Albert Goodman senior partner Iain McVicar
