Name: James Dale
What dates did you study at Prior Pursglove College?: 1999 – 2001
Subjects studied: Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, General Studies
Secondary school: Bydales
Memories of Prior: Playing cards and eating pasta and cheese in the dining hall was always a regular occurrence. Discovering the many pubs Guisborough had to offer (once I reached 18 of course!).
I remember the step up from GCSEs to A-Level being incredibly difficult. This was partly due to the size of the syllabus, but also due to the fact that we weren’t spoon fed like at school. As a consequence, I didn’t do very well at college (and certainly didn’t get the grades I was predicted to get).
Current Profession: I am a chartered accountant. I am a partner/owner of an accountancy firm in Teesside, employing approximately 60 staff.
About the journey: After achieving a degree in Consumer Law in 2002, James spent two years living and working in Australia and New Zealand, where he developed his passion for business.
On returning to the UK, he embarked on his accountancy studies and joined Anderson Barrowcliff as a trainee accountant in 2005.
Whilst studying for his professional exams, he also achieved a first-class honours degree in Applied Accountancy and won the coveted ‘New Accountant of the Year’ award at the North East Accountancy Awards 2009.
He continued his development with a spell working at Ernst and Young, before returning to Anderson Barrowcliff to develop the firm’s corporate finance offering, being made Partner in April 2016.
With a background in specialist corporate tax, his main role at Anderson Barrowcliff is heading up the corporate finance team, assisting clients with business mergers, acquisitions and disposals as well as raising finance, financial modelling and grant applications. As one of four partners at the firm, he is also responsible for the strategic development of the firm.
James is very hands on with his clients and puts his success down to building relationships and being prepared to roll his sleeves up and put the effort in that is required. He also believes anyone can achieve their aspirations by preparing a well thought through strategy and breaking it down into clear goals which can be measured.
Away from work, James was the treasurer for the 1st Marske Barn Owls Scout Group for a number of years and helped to secure the charity a good level of grant funding to help buy new equipment and also developed their internal accounting systems. He has also been a trustee of Daisy Chain and a governor of local schools. James believes strongly in corporate social responsibility and giving back to the community.
On top of all this James finds time to support the college, coming in regularly to talk to students about accountancy and his career, giving help and guidance as well as supporting them through their exams.