Prime Accountants made waves as we embarked on a charity challenge which saw us row the distance from Birmingham to Venice in just 24 hours.
The team at Prime Accountants Group took turns on rowing machines, and called on the help of clients, family and friends, to cover the 798 mile distance between the two canal cities on Friday 19 May, raising over £14,000 for Birmingham Children's Hospital Charity.
In total, 78 people took part, completing 288 half-hour stints of rowing as shoppers passed by at Touchwood Shopping Centre in Solihull.
The money raised will go towards funding a vital new iMRI machine for the children's hospital's operating theatre, which will enable surgeons to see live MRI scan images during procedures.
Leigh Dudley, director at Prime Accountants, said: It was a long 24 hours for those involved in the row, but we're so proud of everyone's commitment and hard work.
The atmosphere was brilliant, with so many people volunteering to row and supporters cheering us on, offering great encouragement.
We always try and go the extra mile to raise money for local charities, so this time we did that literally, covering nearly 800 miles is an incredible achievement.
We have offices in Birmingham, Coventry and Solihull, so Birmingham Children's Hospital Charity is an important cause close to us which we have been proud to support for the past five years.
The epic row is the first of five charity initiatives which the Prime team plan to complete over the next 12 months, with each raising money for Birmingham Children's Hospital Charity.
Katie Harris, corporate partnerships officer from the charity, said: We are always blown away by the Prime team's commitment to fundraising, they are always keen to take on crazy challenges to help us in our efforts to provide the vital care our patients need.
This year's fundraising activity will go directly towards a new iMRI machine for our operating theatre. Our hospital is home to one of the largest paediatric neurosurgical centres in the UK, but we are the only one without state-of-the-art intraoperative MRI (iMRI) technology.
With this technology, an MRI scanner is moved directly to a patient on an operating table, or a patient to the scanner, to ensure surgeons can obtain live' and up-to-date information about the position of a tumour. The scanner will also transform brain surgery and epilepsy surgery for children at our hospital.
The efforts of the Prime team will play a big role in our fundraising activities for this vital piece of equipment.
To show your support for the Prime team's charity row, visit www.justgiving.com/page/prime-accountants-group-rowingchallenge2023.
Prime Accountants Group has announced Morgan Davies as our new managing director, succeeding the long-serving Kevin Johns.
Morgan formally takes over the role on September 1 as part of our advanced succession planning, which has been taking place behind the scenes for some time.
Kevin Johns
Kevin has worked for Prime for 31 years and has been its managing director since 2015.
As well as holding the positions of Solihull BID chairman and vice-president of the Solihull Chamber of Commerce, Kevin has spearheaded Prime’s fundraising efforts, which have seen the business raise tens of thousands of pounds for charities such as Solihull Life Opportunities (SoLO) and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Morgan Davies
Morgan is one of the four original founding partners of Prime from 2007 and steps up from his role as director overseeing our audit and accounts department.
While Kevin is stepping down as managing director, he will continue to work with his portfolio of clients and remains on the senior leadership team.
To facilitate Morgan taking on his new role, fellow directors Jeremy Kitson and Paul Guise will take over his responsibility for audit and accounts.
Succession Planning
Kevin, who was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the New Year’s Honours list in 2019 for services to Solihull, said: “I’ve planned to gradually retire over the next few years, so handing over to Morgan now means we will have a far more controlled and better transition.
“I’ll still be part of the leadership team, I’m still looking after my clients but I just won’t be leading on the day-to-day anymore.
“I said when we marked my 30th anniversary with Prime that I’ve been leaving for a long time! This is long-term succession planning and a natural progression in any business. I’m passing the baton to someone in Morgan who is exceptionally capable and well-positioned to keep the firm on exactly the right path.”
The promotion comes in a milestone year for Morgan, who has worked for the firm for 20 years and has been in practice for 30 years.
He said: “This is part of a succession plan we have worked hard on. I’ve been audit and accounts lead ever since I’ve been here at Prime, which is effectively half the firm, as well as being part of the senior leadership team.
“The experience that gives you is seeing every element of the business up close. It’s a natural fit, we work closely together and I have supported Kev for years.
“The culture of this company is to develop people and empower them to succeed and grow, and this demonstrates that with aplomb. As I move up to managing director, two very capable directors in Paul and Jeremy move up to audit and accounts – it’s good for everyone within the pyramid at Prime.”
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