MARKETING INSIDER
WELCOMETOTHIS EDITIONOF MARKETINGINSIDER!
We’re back with your inside look at all things marketing across EQ.
In this edition, we’ll share our top-performing social media content, sector insights, and recent events.
We’re also excited to share that Tara has now officially taken on her new permanent role as Digital Marketing & Events Assistant – a fantastic step forward for the team! Tara is currently enjoying a well-deserved sabbatical. Natalie has stepped into a new role as Business Partner, and as you may know, Charlie has taken on the role of Group Marketing Director with Sumer – although you might still see her around from time to time.
Let’s dive into the numbers, celebrate the wins, and keep building a strong, visible, and engaging EQ brand together.
Top Performing Top Performing LinkedIn Posts LinkedIn Posts
Post: Merger with McDonald
Gordon & Co
Reach: 5,478
EngagementRate:9.1%
Post: Letter to my younger self -
Caroline McKenna
Reach:2,342
EngagementRate:8.5%
Post: 20 years at EQPete Stanger
Reach:1,472
EngagementRate:7.74%
Agri Agri Bulletin Bulletin
Our Summer Agriculture Bulletin was published - packed with insight and updates tailored to the rural business landscape. With expert contributions from Mark Smeaton, Mark Wilken, and Victoria Ivinson, this edition covers everything from tax updates to policy shifts.
Whether you work directly with Agri clients or just want to keep up with what the team’s doing, this is a great read. Click the image below to read.
TopNew TopNew ClientSources ClientSources
1 2 3 4 5
*Please ensure “Client Source” is completed on the Client Onboarding/ CID Form to allow us to accurately report client recruitment routes.
It’s been a packed few months for the EQ team as we’ve been out on the road meeting clients, networking with industry leaders, and flying the EQ flag at a wide range of events across Scotland and beyond.
So far this season, we’ve had the pleasure of attending:
Scottish Game Fair
Dundee Dental Show
Angus Show
Fife Show
Dundee Economic Summit
Cereals Event
Royal Highland Show
BeefTech
NSA North Sheep
Turriff Show
Border Union Show
Each event has given us the opportunity to connect with both new and familiar faces across key sectors including agriculture, rural business, healthcare, and local enterprise.
We’ve had some brilliant conversations, picked up valuable insights, and even braved the Scottish weather!
But we’re not done yet...
We’re looking forward to continuing the momentum with several more key events still to come, including: AgriScot Farmer’s Lunch Awards evenings and more!
WELCOMETOTHE PEOPLE&CULTURE INSIDER!
Hi, it’s been a busy few months as we’ve all worked together to continue to drive our great place to work goals.
In Quarter 2, we’ve welcomed 19 new team members! We also welcomed 18 new graduates and trainees; as well as our new colleagues from McDonald Gordon in Edinburgh. Launched and are still in the process of embedding our group values – We Shine Together, We Do the Right Thing, We Make It Count.
All progress review conversations have taken place with colleagues, helping to shape our development plans and future careers across the firm.
Launched our Development Academy - great engagement and feedback from the first cohort of 12 Managers and Senior Managers over the past quarter.
Facilitated Mentoring Masterclasses for our Partner Group who’ll be supporting our current and future leaders going forward.
Delivered 12 Lunch and Learn sessions and several core skills development workshops designed to help people continue to succeed in their roles.
Operational&Transactional Operational&Transactional
From a operationalandtransactionalperspective, our focus in April, May & June has been:
HRInbox
We’ve answered on average 1400 people queries via the HR inbox. In the next quarter, we will be focusing on automating the management of the HR inbox reporting.
ContinuousImprovement
We’ve made continuous people process improvements via technology launches –i.e. Humaans and PinPoint. In the next quarter, communications regarding the Holiday Date Change project will be shared, and changes to Promotions and Pay Review dates will be aligned with the Sumer financial year.
Tactical&Programmatic Tactical&Programmatic
From a tacticalandprogrammaticperspective, our focus in April, May & June has been:
Trainees&Graduates
We have welcomed the new graduates and trainees of the Class of ’25, and our internship programme has successfully resulted in five graduate offers for next year.
In the next quarter, we will focus on the induction of our current graduates and trainees, as well as begin preparations for recruiting the Class of ’26.
Operatingmodel,progressandpreparationsfor talentandsuccessionplanning
We launched job accountabilities and the competence framework, embedded grades and levels, and conducted all progress review conversations focused on performance and potential.
In the next quarter, we will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the grades and levels launch, as well as the competencies and accountabilities; shape individual and team development solutions based on insights from progress reviews; and establish a robust talent and success plan to help people reach their full potential.
Strategic&Advisory Strategic&Advisory
From a strategicandadvisoryperspective, our focus in April, May & June has been:
Culture&Values
We launched our group-wide values. We will continue embedding our values through briefings . We will continue embedding our values through briefings with non-managers and the Partner group, facilitate team listening groups, management interviews, check-in reports, and action groups, and build on insights from the Sumer-wide Employee Engagement Survey through dedicated action planning.
Learning&Development
We launched the Development Academy, with the first cohort showing strong engagement and participation. We will now review the Development Academy programme and develop proposals for the next steps in the project.
PartnerMentoring
Over the last quarter, we delivered Mentoring Masterclasses for the Partner group. We will now implement a follow-up programme and establish a Mentors’ register.
OrganicGrowthSkills
There has been time management and prioritisation workshops delivered across the firm. These workshops have been well received.
MergersandAcquisitions
Over the last quarter, we facilitated the transfer of new colleagues from McDonald Gordon into the firm and supported their ongoing integration into the team. We will review the Mergers & Acquisitions blueprint to ensure that each new integration project benefits from lessons learned in previous ones.
Technologies, Technologies, PoliciesandProcesses PoliciesandProcesses
We’ve launched some new tech, policies and processes that will save you time and make your life easier.
PolicyLaunches
We’ve launched a series of employment policies; Dignity at Work, Sexual Harassment, Internal Mobility, Colleague Referral, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Menopause Policy, Drug & Alcohol Policy & Technology & Employee Monitoring Policy from Sumer on to the Compliance Portal. These policies are designed to create clarity, structure and transparent compliance standards. If you haven’t already, please make sure you have read and signed up to the policies on the Compliance Portal.
BenefitsBriefings
We are proud of the benefits that we are able to offer colleagues at EQ and we are keen that people engage with their benefits package – Alex has recently delivered a series of Benefits Briefings over Teams. The sessions were recorded and can be found along with additional resources at the following link: Benefits Overview.
HRTechnology
We’ve launched the Pinpoint Applicant Tracking System and the Humaans HR Information System over the past quarter and over the next couple of quarters we will be adding different modules to the system that will connect PinPoint with Humaans and will also automate the recording of Probation Reviews, Progress Reviews information and Assignment Assessments.
HRInbox
We currently receive on average 1400-1,500 queries into the HR inbox alone (Not including the recruit, learning or personal inboxes) each month. Within our small team we are managing transactional HR, tactical and programmatic projects and strategic advisory work for the firm, so we are always challenging ourselves to make sure that we are providing the best possible response time to colleague queries. To support us in this, we are looking to automate the HR inbox process and providing more FAQs that will help answer first line questions. This will make life easier for the team and will also ensure that our service levels are delivered on a consistent basis.
HolidayYearChange
We will be bringing our holiday year into line with Sumer’s financial year of the 1 of July 2026. We have lots of calculations to do in terms of annual leave entitlement etc, but we’ll be communicating the plan and process to everyone at the start of September. st
CPDupdate
We’re pleased to share that HAT has joined Sumer as one of our CPD training partners. These sessions are offered as additional learning and CPD support and are not compulsory but they're a great opportunity for anyone looking to broaden their knowledge and keep up to date. Sessions on offer currently include:
Quarterly Accounting and Audit Updates
Autumn Accounting and Audit Update
The first session will take place on Tuesday, 9th September at 09:30, and will run for 90 minutes.
TimeManagementandPrioritisation workshops
Over the past month, we have hosted a series of impactful Time and Priority Mastery workshops aimed at helping individuals move from feeling constantly “busy” to becoming truly effective in their work. Led by Susan Godman, these sessions offered a fresh take on time management grounded in psychology, business, and accountancy. Participants explored proven strategies for prioritising, planning, and delegating more effectively, while also challenging unhelpful work habits. Feedback from attendees has reported clearer focus and immediate application to how they manage their time.
InternalPromotions
We celebrated over 50 promotions in April, and we are in the process of promotions for our student colleagues. We’ll follow up with the full list of promotions in the next newsletter after the exam results in September. We want to wish everyone who is nearing qualification all the very best with their exam results.
GraduatesandTrainees
The class of 25 have now joined the team and we are delighted to have them on board. We’ll also soon be starting the recruitment process for our Class of 26 cohort.
MentoringMasterclasses
The Partner Group have recently taken part in the Mentoring Masterclasses workshops, and we will shortly be establishing a Mentoring Register. We’ll provide further updates on this as they become available.
ProgressReviewsandDevelopmentPlans
Most people have now completed their progress review conversations. The next steps will be to identify the firm-wide development needs and create our calendar of learning activities and development planning which will support career development over the rest of the financial year.
FluVaccines
With flu season almost upon us, we will be offering colleagues the flu vaccination again this year. Please look out for future communication in the month of September around how to get your winter flu vaccination via EQ.
OfficeFirstAiders
Yourofficefirstaiders:
Forfar – Kathryn Smeaton, Rachel Colbeck, Angela Simpson
Glenrothes – Sinead Scobie, Eilidh Giudice, Michael Trolland
Edinburgh – Lynsey Robertson, Ali Robertson
Melrose – Jack Campbell, Angela Armstrong
Grangemouth – Joanna Bland
Kelso – Bradley Corner, Weronika Mroz, Tracy Johnston, Lisa Noon
Hawick – Jodie Wearmouth
Dundee – Michael Fergusson
Penrith – Ann Tyson
Alnwick – Julia Davidson
PaidVolunteering
Just to remind you that you have the opportunity to spend up to 14 hours per year of paid time supporting causes and charities that are close to your heart. We are seeing a gradual uptake of this but just wanted to bring this benefit back to the front of people’s minds.
Sumer are introducing a standardised set of grades and levels to be used consistently across all firms for data management in Humaans. This taxonomy ensures that job titles, grades, and levels are aligned and comparable across the Group, improving the quality of reporting and enabling clearer workforce analysis. While this provides a common framework for data purposes and reporting via Humaans, there are currently no plans to change our existing grading structure or how roles are organised within EQ.
OPERATIONS INSIDER
WELCOMETOTHIS EDITIONOF OPERATIONS INSIDER!
We’re excited to bring you the latest updates from the Operations team in this monthly newsletter. Operations Insider is your go-to source for all things behind the scenescovering key projects, admin updates, process improvements, and the day-to-day operations that help keep EQ running efficiently.
In this edition, we’ll cover: Progress on Client Onboarding
Key Admin Updates
PMC Update
Tax Investigation Insurance Portal Update
Stay tuned for insights from the team, upcoming initiatives, and continuous improvements designed to support your work across the firm.
We hope you find this edition useful - and as always, let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see featured in the f t !
Since launching our Tax Investigation Insurance Portal, it’s has helped us collect an impressive £167,059.76. If you’re speaking with clients, please remember to mention the insurance and share the portal link with them. It’s a quick and easy way for them to get covered - and helps us streamline the process on our end too.
Clickheretoaccessthepaymentportal.
Thanks for your continued support in making this a success!
NewStarts
DataCleanse
The data cleanse in the South offices is now complete. We really appreciate all the time and effort the partners and managers have taken to go through their lists to ensure we have our data as clean as possible. It’s been a challenge but well worth it. So far, we have Within Admin, we’ve a new recruit for our Edinburgh office, Maria Law. Maria is the Administrator based in our Edinburgh office and is a great addition to the team there. Maria has past experience of working within a professional organisation and will deal with all aspects of the admin function within the office. She is also the first point of contact with regard to the facilities management function in Edinburgh.
cleansed 1387 records from CCH. These records have also been removed from Smart Search, and they will be getting removed from IRIS in the coming weeks. We’d also like to say a big thanks to the Admin team in the South who’ve carried out the cleanse so quickly once the lists were received back from partners and managers.
Client Onboarding Client Onboarding Update Update
We’re pleased to share a quick update on the progress of our new client onboarding system, which went live recently. Since launch:
209 onboarding requests have been received 161 clients are now fully onboarded and AMLapproved 48 cases remain in progress, pending SmartDoc completion, receipt of RAs, partner approval, or submission of Part B forms
Thank you all for your continued feedback and support throughout the roll-out.
We’ve now worked through the initial challenges of the system, and we're already seeing a notable reduction in onboarding times - with many new clients now being fully processed within just one day.
As the first firm within Sumer to implement this new onboarding process, we’re leading the way - and in turn, receiving strong support from the wider group.
While there are still some system-related limitations, particularly with SmartSearch (which are outside our direct control), we are working closely with Neil Stonehouse and the Sumer team to request interface improvements and streamline the process further.
If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out via the onboarding inbox: onboarding@eqaccountants.co.uk
The rollout of the PMC model in the South continues to make solid progress, with efforts focused on ensuring that work is done at the right level and that workflows across the team are smoother and more consistent.
Our technical team – from Managers to Juniors – are fully engaged in making the structure a success. Managers are increasingly confident in allocating work at the correct level, which is allowing them to spend more time planning, organising, and supporting their teams. The next key focus is creating space for more training and upskilling of Controllers, which will further strengthen the PMC structure.
Successfully embedding PMC in the South will lay strong foundations for smoother integration of any future new spokes across EQ.
While capacity challenges in the South remain, several potential solutions are being actively explored to improve available resources. A significant positive has been the cross-office collaboration: nearly all South Managers have now spent time in Northern offices, learning processes first-hand and exchanging valuable ideas. This growing network of support across regions is helping to align our ways of working and strengthen the wider team.
In addition, debtor and WIP balances have become a major focus. Teams are now carrying out regular weekly reviews to help ensure this data is as accurate and current as possible.
KeyInitiativesUnderway:
Weekly workflow meetings using the CCH employee planner to monitor and manage available resources.
Fortnightly managers’ meetings to address any resource or skills gaps.
Planned regular workflow manager meetings across all offices to drive consistency and prepare for a more integrated system. Skills Matrix now available to all staff, helping teams identify the right person for the right task.
CCH data for South clients has been reviewed and updated through a comprehensive data cleanse, ensuring accuracy moving forward.
Thanks to everyone involved for your continued hard work and commitment — we’re heading in a great direction!
Practice Management Practice Management System (PMS) Update System (PMS) Update
Discussions are ongoing across the group regarding Sumer’s preferred Practice Management System – Practice Engine, which will be used for billing and timesheet management.
As part of the preparation for this potential implementation, we’re currently reviewing the content and quality of client information held in CCH.
In the coming months, all engagement teams will be asked to review and update their client records to ensure accuracy ahead of any future data migration.
More updates will follow as the project progresses.
WELCOMETO THISEDITIONOF I.T.INSIDER!
In today’s digital world, staying informed is key - and our IT team is here to provide the tools, updates, and support to help you thrive.
In this edition, we’re bringing you: Key stats from April, May & June Project overviews and what’s coming up Tips & tricks to boost your daily efficiency Sumer projects
We’re committed to keeping you connected, secure, and ahead of the curve.
Thank you for your continued support, StuartGarrick
ServiceDesk ServiceDesk
LoggingTickets
To help our team plan their workload and prioritise tasks effectively, it is crucial that all issues are logged as tickets. You can log a ticket through our Helpdesk portal, by emailing helpdesk@eqaccountants.co.uk. Whyyoushouldlogticketsevenwhenyou’rebusy
When you are in the middle of work and encounter an issue, logging a ticket might seem like an interruption. However, it is essential for several reasons and is preferential to walking up to the team mid-task.
Bestpracticesforusers:
HighlightUrgency: If your issue is urgent, make sure to highlight its importance when logging the ticket. This helps our team prioritise and address critical issues promptly
FollowUp: If you have not received a response within the expected timeframe, feel free to follow up on your ticket. This ensures that your issue remains on our radar and is resolved as quickly as possible.
Ticketsopenlonger than7days April - 2 May - 8 June - 8
ProjectOverview: ProjectOverview: Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams
Integration at EQ Integration at EQ
The upcoming Microsoft Teams telephone project - internally referred to as Project Hermes - is a strategic telecommunications overhaul aimed at consolidating EQ’s fragmented phone systems into a unified, cloud-based solution using Microsoft Teams.
The project has two primary goals:
1.Decommissioning Legacy Systems: The existing Zoom phone system used across EQ (North) will be retired. Configurations will be mirrored and adapted into the Microsoft Teams Phone system, which is already in use in EQ South
2.Centralised Call Routing: A single, centralised phone number will be introduced to streamline client communication. This will eliminate the need for clients to call individual offices and be manually transferred by admin staff
Implementation Timeline
The phone system will be implemented in September. Further communications will be issued and training provided in advance of go live.
Tricks Tricks
Windows 11 Windows 11
UseSnapLayoutsforEfficientMultitasking
Windows 11 introduces Snap Layouts to quickly organize open windows.
How to use: Hover over the maximize button on any window to choose a layout. Why it helps: Makes multitasking smoother by arranging apps side-by-side without manual resizing.
CustomizetheStartMenuforQuickAccess
Tailor the Start Menu to suit your workflow.
Tip: Right-click apps to pin/unpin them or move them into folders.
Benefit: Keeps your most-used tools and apps easily accessible.
EnableFocusSessionstoMinimizeDistractions
Windows 11 includes Focus Sessions in the Clock app to help you stay productive.
How to start: Open the Clock app, set a timer, and optionally link your Microsoft To Do list. Why it’s useful: Helps structure your work time and reduce interruptions
StrategicIT StrategicIT
Our Strategic IT work has been quietly powering ahead in the background, making sure EQ stays secure, connected, and ready for what’s next.
StrengtheningSecurity
While most of us don’t notice what’s happening behind the screen, the IT team has been running several initiatives to strengthen our systems and keep everything running smoothly:
Old servers retired – Out with the old! We’ve decommissioned outdated infrastructure that no longer meets our standards for performance or security.
New Anti-Virus application installed – A fresh layer of protection to keep our devices secure and threats at bay.
Citrix optimised – We’ve made technical tweaks to improve uptime, reduce disruption, and create a more seamless remote access experience.
Phishing training launched via KnowBe4 – Helping everyone become more cyber-savvy and better equipped to spot dodgy emails before they cause trouble.
ComingUp ComingUp
We’re also working on some exciting changes:
New Phone System
– We’re rolling out a unified system across all of EQ using Microsoft Teams. This will streamline communication, reduce complexity, and make it easier to stay connected - whether you’re in the office or remote.
Improved Internet Access
– A faster, more reliable internet setup is on the way, helping boost performance and eliminate those connection hiccups. We’llkeepyouupdatedaseachofthese projectsrollsout,butifyou’vegot questionsinthemeantime,theITteamis alwayshappytochat.