The People

We offer a personal service with approachable familiar staff. Here is a not so serious introduction to some of our senior people;

William Wills BA ACA

William is a well travelled Devonian, born in Torquay, schooled at Montpelier , Paignton and travelled out of the county to Queens College , Taunton . He returned to Exeter University where he studied accountancy and has never lived out of the county since!

His mother did all the travelling, having come from Ohio, USA and is a GI bride in reverse!

He trained as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Whinney, Exeter (now Ernst & Young) and remained with the firm until 1992 when he left to start his own consultancy practice. He is grateful to Ernst & Whinney for shaping his future life by transferring him to the newly opened Plymouth office in 1986. He met his future wife, not that he knew it, on the day he received the keys to his first property.

He specialises in audit, well somebody has to, but his true expertise lies in providing financial and management accounting support to his clients.

William is a member of the South West ICAEW ’s Technical Advisory Committee and in his spare time is an active Rotarian.

Susan Wills BSc FCA FCCA CTA

Sue is a native Plymothian but spent six years in Cardiff where she obtained an accountancy degree from University College Cardiff (now the Cardiff Business School ) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant at the tender age of twenty three.

She returned to Plymouth in 1985 joining Coopers & Lybrand where she specialised in taxation, moving on to Ernst & Whinney in January 1987 staying until the office closed in 1992, collecting a husband on the way. From 1992 to 1997 she was a partner in a local firm of Chartered Accountants.

She became a member of the Institute of Taxation in 1993, having never got around to sitting the exams before, and became a Fellow of the Chartered Certified Accountants in 1997.

Sue is actively involved in local business and community affairs. She is a Past President of Plymouth Mayflower Rotary Club and currently Treasurer (occupational hazard!) which seems to be taking up much of her spare time at present.

Sue “doesn’t mind” going along to watch either Plymouth Albion RFC or Somerset County Cricket Club or the occasional Test Match with William.

Her hobbies include gardening (as long as she doesn’t have to get her hands dirty!), visiting the varied productions of the Theatre Royal, Plymouth , cooking when she can’t persuade William to take her out, and teddy bears collect her.

Phil Soutter FCCA ATT

Phil is a true “Janner”, born and bred in Plymouth. He spent 15 years in a variety of local companies, including the manufacturing and wholesaling business sectors and qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant in 1987.

He joined the Plymouth office of Ernst & Young in the same year, staying for three years to broaden his horizons. Back into industry, he joined a local OMB computer company where he was Financial Director.

Phil left industry in 1994 starting his own management consultancy practice, and then joined with the current partners within Wills Accountants Ltd in 1998.

Phil now uses this experience to advise a whole range of different clients and business sectors, however Phil tends to specialise in two main areas of the practice:

• Business growth and development, incorporating accounting, tax and business planning issues. Phil really gets a “buzz” in providing owner managed businesses with real solutions and also being available to give real hands on assistance where there is a need;
  
• Charities and not for profit organisations, which offer a special challenge to Phil where his industry experience coupled with that from the general practice portfolio really comes into play to advise these clients in a sector which is becoming ever complex to those charged with the governance. Phil can therefore offer these organisations real business solutions while being aware of the special accounting and tax issues that surround the charity and not for profit sector.

Phil enjoys nothing more than giving his clients that “personal touch” and actively promotes direct communication between him and his clients in order that he may be proactive with the solutions offered.

Phil is married and has one daughter (Stephanie). Stephanie currently attends Ivybridge Community College. He likes his rugger, after playing for 15 years in a local junior rugby team. Now the only thing that Phil can prop up is the bar, if he’s lucky! Phil tries to keep in “shape” (loosely speaking), by fitting in the occasional jog or two per week. It was rumoured that he had run the London Marathon in 1991, cracking the 5-hour barrier! His peak now is once a year in attempting to finish the Ivybridge 10k in one piece!