I merged my practice, Rafferty & Tohill Chartered Accountants, into PGM Chartered Accountants in May 2014.

As a sole practitioner it was nearly impossible to take holidays and time off and I found the regulatory burden getting heavier all the time. I also had a number of audit clients where I found it difficult to separate the accounting and audit work with the small staff I had available. A key member of my staff also wanted to retire at the time.

After several meetings with Paul McAreavey and visits to his offices to meet his team, I felt that merging my practice into PGM would be the best solution.

I have been made very welcome by Paul and his staff.

They are very professional and friendly, and I thoroughly enjoy working with them. I find working as part of a team much less stressful than always having to take responsibility for decisions and deadlines. I am now in a position where I can delegate and get some more time to think about what I want in the future.

PGM have excellent audit and tax teams, who can deal with any issues that arise for my clients on accounting, audit or tax issues, as well as providing advice on their businesses.

The firm is not standing still, as they are also looking ahead to future developments that will enhance the service provided to clients.

I certainly feel that I made a good decision in merging with PGM, both for myself and for my clients who will continue to get excellent and professional service.

I was a partner in Higgins Graham Accountants which merged with PGM Chartered Accountants in February 2013.

Prior to that, we had worked together on a number of cases – both audit and taxation. Due to the success we decided it was a good professional move for all to merge our practices. We can now avail of a young, well-qualified  and vibrant professional staff to assist in servicing the needs of all our clients.

Due to the onerous regulations now imposed on us, it is much easier for all to work within a bigger firm with access to up to date legislation, and backed up with continual practice development. With all this expertise now at our fingertips, from a personal point of view our clients can now call on an immediate response for their requirements as we have more staff available.

To date this has worked well with our clients being integrated with the new staff and not having to depend on me, especially at holiday time which I enjoy a lot.

This firm is progressive and is preparing well for all the future demands and changes in legislation – something I could not have achieved as well in our previous firm. I am pleased to say that this move has worked out extremely well for all concerned and look forward to continue to assist in looking after our clients needs for the future.

I was a partner in Higgins Graham Accountants which merged with PGM Chartered Accountants on 1 February 2013 as part of my planning for retirement.

In the last three years I have been made to feel most welcome and have enjoyed acting for my clients without the heavy regulatory burden associated with managing your own practice.

My portfolio of clients has also benefitted from the larger, professional and well qualified team with an in-house taxation department.

PGM has fully integrated computer systems which facilitate the efficient processing of client work.

There are current plans to further develop these systems to enable online processing of client data as we move towards a digital future.

The firm is well placed to provide the full range of audit, accountancy, taxation and advisory services to individuals and small and medium sized businesses in Northern Ireland and further afield.

I am satisfied that my former clients will be in very good hands with PGM Chartered Accountants.