First we should allow you to put a face to the authors of this website.  All content has been written by us, and here we are…

 
David Wilsdon                                Miranda Handscomb

When we are not working we like to be out in the countryside…

Rather than rewrite a summary about the company (see the home page and contact page for that), we have each written a few words about our background, and how we came to form Green Accountancy.  As we are often asked, we have also summarised our own personal approach to home environmental impacts.

David Wilsdon FCCA - Director
I have worked in Accountancy since 1991 when I joined a traditional practice in my home town of Northampton.  I then spent seven years at a very friendly practice in Bristol where I qualified (ACCA) and gained a huge amount of experience in providing accountancy services and software to small businesses.  This was followed by a period at a practice in Oxford where I was a partner for four years.  Most recently I have spent two years as Technical Director at a national firm specialising in providing accountancy and taxation services to IT Contractors.  Throughout my career I have worked with, and got on immensely well with hundreds of owners of single person and small businesses.  All of the clients I have worked with have been very hard working, down to earth, friendly and reasonable people.

From July 2005 to June 2007 I undertook a Diploma in Environmental Conservation at Oxford University.  A large part of this course studied the impacts of businesses on the environment.  This diploma, combined with my experience of working exclusively with owners of small businesses, has enabled me to understand exactly why, and how, small businesses can make a genuine difference to the environment.

 
Miranda Handscomb – Company Secretary
I have worked in accountancy since 1994 when I joined a practice in Bristol.  Here I enjoyed learning accountancy whilst working within the practice and directly for clients.  In 1998 I joined an environmental charity in Oxford carrying out a range of tasks including payroll, management accounts, audit file preparation and grant reporting to donors including UK Government and the European Union.  I have developed many aspects of the charity's financial systems including recording of carbon emissions and donor reporting.  Key to my enjoyment of working as an accountant is helping environmental workers and non-financial managers understand the financial aspects of their projects and control budgetary processes.

Within the environmental charity I have been involved in conservation projects in the UK and have learnt about environmental protection across the world.  Having been involved in many climate change discussion groups and seminars the opportunity to help others reduce environmental impacts has encouraged me to help create Green Accountancy.

Our personal approach to the environment
We specifically avoid asking our clients about their impacts outside of business.  However, we are often asked about what can be done at home.  Home impacts are outside of the scope of Green Accountancy, but we are always happy to have a friendly chat based on our own decisions.  

We are far from perfect and certainly not radical.  We tread lightly where possible and have an enjoyable life.
 
David has been a vegetarian since 1996 (and on and off before that), Miranda since 1984.  David has no children and Miranda has a daughter, Alice, who has been vegetarian all her life.

We travelled by train to our friends’ wedding in Sweden (and back!) in February 2007.  Travelling by train was a fantastic experience and much more enjoyable than flying.  We have both been abroad by air travel six times in the past.  We have now committed to not flying again.

We both came to driving relatively late, David first owning a car in 1997 (apart from an old banger driven when a teenager) and Miranda driving only since 2006.  In the past we have owned four cars, each increasingly larger and less efficient - we have now broken that particular loop and bought a Ford Fusion.  This is cheap to run, easy and enjoyable to drive and has emissions of 117g CO2 per km (it meets the magical £35 per year road tax limit).  The car is now only used when walking, bus or train would take at least three times longer – eg those awkward village to village trips that would require two separate bus journeys and a long walk.  We fuel the car with recycled chip fat oil when it is available.

For three years we have purchased only 100% renewable electricity (from Good Energy). By winter 2007 we hope to be heating our house from wood that would otherwise rot, be destined for landfill or at least wood that is grown in local and sustainable plantations.  

We try to reduce the amount of goods and “stuff” that we purchase although a new toy every now and then is still hard to resist.  Our food is mostly from the garden, local produced or purchased at Coop stores.  We use the Cooperative Bank and generally use green or ethical suppliers for household goods and services where possible.   

We calculate our carbon emissions and “offset” them by actually purchasing and planting native trees.  These are planted either in our garden or as part of voluntary conservation projects where we ensure our trees are additional to those already being planted.

Outside of work our main interests are gardening, walking and photography in the countryside.  Most of our garden is planted with native plants including meadow flowers, nectar perennials and native shrubs and trees.  We are both passionate about football but now restrict ourselves to watching on the television and only occasional trips to matches. 

Our business approach is firstly to work with clients providing the best business and taxation advice available.  Only then, and only to the extent that each individual client requires, do we add advice on environmental impacts.  We believe this is the way in which we can combine our enjoyment of working with small businesses with helping to protect the wildlife and countryside that we love to see and explore.