Draft:The Accountancy Partnership

The Accountancy Partnership (known as TAP) is an accounting practice based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The company provides accountancy services to more than 13,000 limited companies, start-ups, partnerships, small to medium enterprises (SMEs), self-employed business owners, sole traders, freelancers and contractors in a range of sectors for a fixed monthly fee.

About
TAP's accountants, who are accredited and qualified by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), The Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPA) and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), provide a range of services, including bookkeeping, payroll, VAT tax returns, self-assessment tax returns and CIS returns for construction workers.

History
Entrepreneur Lee Murphy founded TAP in 2006, while working as a plasterer, from his grandfather's small accountancy practice after becoming frustrated by having to deal with impersonal accountants whose services were outdated, laborious and expensive.

TAP became incorporated in November 2009 and has grown by 47% on average each year and as of 2024 provides accountancy services to more than 13,000 SMEs and self-employed clients in the UK in a range of sectors.

TAP has been based at Egerton Wharf in the town of Birkenhead, Wirral, since February 2020.

In November 2023, TAP was featured in Accountancy Age's Top 50+50 for the first time and recruited its 120th employee in the same month.

In January 2024, TAP signed the Armed Forces Covenant and pledged to provide job opportunities for military personnel, veterans and their families.

Junior Accountant Programme
A training scheme for young people, professionals looking for a career change and former military personnel was created in 2023 and TAP hopes to create more than 30 jobs each year for residents in the local Wirral community.

Trainees are taught cutting-edge digital accountancy practices and the company has pledged to pay for trainees' professional accounting qualifications.

The programme offers a starting salary of up to £30,000 and an earning potential of up to £50,000 for its graduates.

The scheme is open to everybody - regardless of age or profession - and the company encourages people from all walks of life to apply.

Community Focus
TAP, who have recruited two former officers from the Royal Navy and RAF, has pledged to ensure employment support is offered to the armed forces community and their families by signing the Armed Forces Covenant.

The company has received the Bronze Award from the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme and will offer work placements, mentoring schemes and insight days for older cadets to look for apprenticeships and further education.

TAP have also helped Hoylake ASC with a fundraising drive for equipment and facilities improvements at the West Kirby Concourse and Calday pools where the club's members train.

Departments and Expansion
TAP has eight departments and more than 120 staff who work in Accounts, Admin, Sales, Client Experience, Payroll, HR & Compliance and Marketing, including SEO, content, PR and social media teams.

During 2024, TAP will commence a move to the six storey Queensgate Building on Grange Road East in central Birkenhead after several years of growth and expansion.

Press
Founder Lee Murphy and staff members have provided comments to news stories or contributed blogs and insight for articles and features published by numerous national, regional and trade media, including Mail Online, This Is Money and the ACCA's careers website.

TAP's notable press releases which have gained widespread coverage in the UK media have been about landlords and sole traders being mandated into HMRC's Making Tax Digital scheme from 2026, employers being forced to pay more in NI contributions after the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rose in April 2024, and the rising trend of self-employed workers struggling with the cost-of-living crisis's impact on their business and personal lives taking a break at Christmas to make up for lost time with family and friends, which was dubbed The Bob Cratchit Effect after the beloved character in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.