Achievements By Jacobs Allen

Congratulations to our Clients Richard Woodwards

(Foster Denovo Independent Financial Advisors), Sarah Gibbs (Finishing Touch Interiors) and Westley Helen (Avant Garde Hair Boutique) for being The Best Of Haverhill

Richard, Sarah and Westley are receiving their awards from Mathew Hancock MP at The Days Inn Haverhill in front of over 50 local businesses.

Marion Merch-Chammon and Debbie Wilson from Samuel Ward Academy in front of the new Jacobs Allen Banner!

New era for two of region’s most dynamic accountancy practices

Two Suffolk accountancy practices, Jacobs Allen and Paul Donno & Co, are delighted to announce their merger on 1 March, forming a new accountancy business which will retain the trading name of Jacobs Allen. The new business will operate from offices in both Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill and will offer clients a wide range of business, financial and tax skills and unsurpassed technical expertise, delivered with an innovative approach.

Jacobs Allen was established in 1992. Director, Keith Senior, qualified as a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser, specialising in tax with one of the top 4 accountancy firms in the UK, then ran a tax consultancy business for some years before acquiring the Bury St Edmunds practice in 2006. They quickly outgrew the old premises and moved to their existing offices above Cafe Rouge in 2007, providing tax planning and accountancy services to clients, both local and national.

Paul Donno is a Fellow of the Association of Accounting Technicians and founded Paul Donno & Co in 1993; the business has grown significantly over the last eighteen years, serving clients across the region from its offices in Glemsford and Haverhill. Recognised technically by Sage as one of only a few practices nationally to be an Accredited Accounting Partner in Sage accounts, payroll and CRM software solutions, they encourage clients to boost profits by making full use of technology to maximise their efficiency.

Both firms see huge opportunities by merging and are keen to continue to grow and develop their business. Bringing together Jacobs Allen’s specialism in tax planning and wealth creation with Paul Donno & Co’s Sage knowledge and marketing skills will enable the new firm to improve the efficiency of routine accounts and tax returns and deliver more value in tax planning and business strategy advice.

Paul Donno & Co has also been working closely with Sage at a national level on the bundling of SageOne, their newly introduced cloud based accounting solution, with the services of an accountant for an affordable monthly fee. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of start up businesses as people turn to enterprise to manage their own destiny and this solution is aimed at sole traders and small limited companies, to enable them to keep their records and operate on the move with new mobile technology.

Keith Senior explains, “We have developed a close working relationship with Paul Donno & Co over the years. As Registered Auditors we have been able to offer independent help to some of their clients and we have worked with them to deliver some more advanced tax solutions.

We have a lot of respect and mutual appreciation of each other’s skills. Merging the two businesses presents a fantastic commercial opportunity to combine our complementary skill sets. Clients will benefit from this great launch pad that enables us to streamline our operations, deliver an even more effective service to them and give strategic focus to help them prosper.

We will be retaining the Jacobs Allen name but our logo has been refreshed - it is now tangerine to reflect Paul Donno & Co’s brand heritage and the ‘zest’ in our new venture together!”

Paul Donno comments, “I am really excited about the merger and the huge potential it presents. Our core values are very similar; we focus on the client, take time to listen, find out what is going on in their business and understand their needs and objectives. It is only by doing this that we can add value through the advice and support we give.

Our whole team is thrilled to be part of this exciting endeavour, looking forward to the new opportunities working together will bring and consolidating our office presence to Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill, taking with us fond memories of Glemsford.

Our approach, using leading-edge technology and business development tools, combined with Jacobs Allen’s high level technical expertise and rigorous systems and procedures, will deliver a killer combination and exciting times ahead!”

The 20-strong team will be celebrating with clients and guests at an official ‘Leap-Year Launch’ event in the Apex, Bury St Edmunds on Wednesday 29th February. Local businesses are invited to the event, which starts at 5.30pm. If you would like to attend, please RSVP – Sheila Burke, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

To find out more about Jacobs Allen and SageOne please call them in Bury St Edmunds on 01284 704260 or in Haverhill on 01440 707184.

Keith Senior Becomes Finance Director of Bid4Bury

Keith Senior brings more than 20 years' experience in finance to the Board of Bid4Bury as a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor specialising in strategic business advice and tax planning.

He came to Bury St Edmunds in 2006 when his company acquired an existing accountancy firm now trading as Jacobs Allen in Abbeygate Street. Keith said: "We are committed to having a town centre presence, as we believe that the commercial success of the town is dependent upon having a variety of businesses centrally located, rather than a retail centre and all else on the peripheral business and industrial parks."

Keith sees his role on the board of Bid4Bury as akin to what is currently being talked about as the 'Big Society.' Taking an interest in the BID from its very early days, Keith welcomed the mechanism to promote the town and its businesses with a more concerted effort for marketing than one business could achieve on its own. He added: "That collective approach to marketing has to be part of a general working together for a common benefit, which I feel is crucial to the whole town's future success, even though the immediate benefit is, perhaps, likely to be felt by those businesses in the retail, tourism and entertainment sectors.

"I feel that a personal contribution of this sort and closer working together as a community is a practical demonstration of that idea and has to be beneficial to improving engagement with one another, to achieve a more balanced and fair outcome from which everyone benefits; so I was more than happy to help by using the skills I am fortunate to have at my disposal.

Source: Bid4Bury

Ballymaloe Cookery School, Ireland

Bob Jacobs and Keith Senior go to Ballymaloe Cookery School in West Cork, Ireland for some expert cookery tuition and get to meet the famous Darina and Rachel Allen. So instead of cooking your books they settled for ham hocks and soda bread!

Charity Bowling Match

Jacobs Allen put together a team for a charity indoor bowling match upon the invitation from business rescue and insolvency practitioners, McTear, Williams & Wood. The team comprised of Keith Senior, Brian Bell and Mark Baker who seemed to enjoy the footwear just as much as the bowling.

Bury St Edmunds - Test The Town Quiz Second Place 2010

Jacobs Allen were a close runner up of Bury St Edmunds’ Test the Town Quiz 2010, losing to worthy winners Westley Middle School by only 2 points. Competition amongst the best businesses and organisations of Bury St Edmunds was fierce, and this year we were down one place from last year's victory, but we hope to make a come back next time! Watch this space!

Greene King food and drink festival

Bury St Edmunds - Test The Town Quiz Top Team 2009

Jacobs Allen were proud winners of Bury St Edmunds’ Test the Town Quiz 2009. This is a tough and wide-ranging general knowledge quiz with 42 of the best businesses in Bury St Edmunds competing for the coveted trophy. "We'll let you know how we get on in 2010!"