Ian Fearnley

I unfortunately failed my chemistry A-level which rather put a stop on the idea of studying chemistry at university, and Father refused my preferred option to return to the College for a year as a Border to have a second attempt! Consequently in September 1961 I joined a small local firm of Accountants to train as a Chartered Accountant I worked for the five-year training period in their Northampton office, transferred for three years to Corby as an Office Manager and then progressed to their Kettering office for a further five years as a Junior Partner.

At the end of this time I decided to try a commercial environment and worked as an in-house Accountant for many companies involved in different industries. These appointments included working for Linde of Germany, CPM of America, and a couple of British PLCs.

In 1984 I finally decided to return to a professional office environment and joined a firm of Chartered Surveyors in the Bedfordshire area as Partnership Secretary. A few years later I was involved in helping to sell that Practice to the TSB, and at the same time I was appointed Financial Director to the part of their estate agency chain covering Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. In 1993 I became a victim of their 'down-sizing' and found that no one wanted to interview a fifty-year-old Accountant, never mind appointing them. My remaining option appeared to be, to put a plate back on the door and practice as a Chartered Accountant in my own right, which I have done until now.

Currently, I have announced my general retirement from public practice as at 31st December 2002, although this move is meant to be a partial retirement rather than complete. I hold appointments as Company Secretary, through contact of my Practice, for a dozen companies and in particular to about six companies for whom I give a 24 / 7 service. I intend to continue with this work for the foreseeable future.