Meet Phil

Growing up, my original interest was a career in journalism thanks to my love of football. However after attending a careers evening I decided to choose a career in accounting instead: I am glad I did, because this career has opened so many different doors for me.

I trained, qualified and progressed with the same firm, spending 21 years with a top 25 practice based across the South East and London working across various services in the practice before settling into the audit service line for the past fifteen years, ultimately as a Senior Manager and Head of Internal Audit. This experience has enabled me to develop and broaden my client care skills, my commercial awareness, and my understanding of effective governance and business advice.

My former firm’s specialism in advising the education sector opened a new door for me and in particular the movement of the academies regime here in the UK, where I have focussed my time for the past ten years. I am passionate about this sector and it really supports my purpose in life which is to “inspire others by empowering and educating them”.

Defining my purpose has become the main driver for establishing PLR Advisory. I want to help and support the education sector by enabling those delivering education to be the best they can be. This will allow my clients to make the best-informed decisions to drive their delivery of education forward. 

Being a Governor of a primary school enables me to understand governors’ and trustees’ needs, requirements and issues. I also have personal experience of the academy conversion process, gained when the primary school joined an existing multi-academy trust in early 2018. I am now part of the MAT’s finance and audit committee. 

Outside of work I love:

• Watching football – even trying to squeeze a game in when on holidays abroad
• Running – Having now achieved a sub 3 hour marathon (Oct 2022), I have set my sights on achieving a sub 1:20 half marathon
• Walks with my wife and our Romanian rescue dog, Betsy
• Precious time spent with friends and family