7 minute read
Inspirational Leader 14
Silvia helps firms to achieve their aspirations
Possessing technical skills can be a great advantage in business but good leaders have so much more in their locker.
That’s the view of
Silvia Vitiello, a vastly experienced accountancy practitioner and a partner at Moore Kingston Smith, an established UK accounting firm of accountants and business advisers.
She says: “Leadership is not just about showcasing your technical and professional skills. Good leaders enjoy what they’re doing and really get under the skin of something and understand it. I like to think I’m a business advisor, a critical friend who my clients can use as a sounding board. I also enjoy developing people and seeing them grow. It’s incredibly rewarding. I’ve trained people who’ve gone on to climb to the top of their career ladder and are bringing real advantages to businesses themselves.”
Silvia has been a partner at Moore Kingston Smith for the last 12 years and currently leads the firm’s family business division. She has a genuine interest and excitement in working with her clients and also works with entrepreneurial businesses as well as non-profit and membership organisations. “I always take the time to fully understand each client, including their personal and business goals, before creating bespoke solutions for them,” she says. “My ultimate goal is to simply offer clients cost-effective and solution-driven advice to help them achieve their aspirations. This could include helping them to grow revenues, tap into new markets, reduce unnecessary costs or perhaps make their operations slicker and more efficient. Every business is different.” Silvia says she’s lucky to work for a firm that has a long, distinguished history.
Moore Kingston Smith has been helping clients thrive since 1923 and now has over 70 partners and more than 650 people based in and around London, including 65 in the St Albans office. It’s a leading member of the Moore Global
Network, an international family made up of over 30,000 people across more than 100 countries. The network allows members to connect and collaborate to take care of clients’ needs at a local, national and international level. Silvia says: “Since I’ve been at the firm, there has been a lot of change in the way we’ve delivered our services. We now use artificial intelligence (AI) to explore data sets, whereas previously our teams would have to have analysed the information, which took up a lot of time. We also use real-time accounting software which gives clients more visibility over their accounts at any particular time.” “On balance, being able to use technology is great but it’s not a total replacement for people. Technology frees up time for our teams to do more for our clients, dive deeper into their business and to understand what they want and need - and that’s also a much more enjoyable and fulfilling role to have too.” Outside of work, Silvia is a board member of Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and the Skills and Employment Committee for the Herts Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). She’s also chair of the City of Expertise. “Herts Chamber is a genuine supporter of local businesses,” she says. “It’s great to see an organisation that sits in the middle of the Herts business community and helps companies to connect with each other.”
www. mooreks.co.uk
My ultimate goal is to simply offer clients cost-effective and solution-driven advice to help them achieve their aspirations. This could include helping them to grow revenues, tap into new markets, reduce unnecessary costs or perhaps make their operations slicker and more efficient. Every business is different.
Hundreds attend Generation X event in Broxbourne to support Hertfordshire’s businesses and future talent
More than 500 students, parents and teachers attended Generation Broxbourne - the latest “Generation X” event delivered by Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in partnership with Broxbourne Borough Council, to link young people with the incredible opportunities on their doorstep.
At the free careers fair in The Spotlight Theatre, Hoddesdon, on 15 June, young people from schools and colleges in the Broxbourne area were able to speak with key industry and sector leaders on exhibition stands and find out about local courses, apprenticeships and jobs, along with the skills required. Mayor of Broxbourne, Councillor Paul Seeby, opened the event which was led by the LEP’s gateway for career opportunities, Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal (HOP), in partnership with the council’s economic development initiative, Ambition Broxbourne. Students heard about the 6,000 jobs and opportunities coming to Broxbourne over the next few years across a range of key sectors as well as the retail-led, mixed-use development Brookfield Riverside and state-of-the-art tech and business hub, Theobalds Business Park. Adrian Hawkins OBE, Chair, Skills Advisory Panel, Hertfordshire LEP, said: “I am delighted to see these Generation style events go from strength to strength. Up and down the county, young people are being connected to future job opportunities in their local area thanks to the LEP’s skills portal HOP. Employers too can meet their sustainability targets by recruiting from a local talent pool, so it’s a win-win model.” Councillor Lewis Cocking, Leader of Broxbourne Council said: “Broxbourne is an exciting place to be at the moment. With new developments such as Brookfield and the new film studios, Broxbourne is open for business! In the next five years, there will be more than 6,000 jobs created in the local area, and we want to make sure that our young people are equipped with the skills they need to take advantage of the roles on offer. “This event is hopefully the first of many in Broxbourne, and it was great to see so many students from local schools and colleges, engaging with potential future employers. I would like to say thank you to the schools and businesses that took the time to attend.” Students were able to speak to a diverse range of employers and skills delivery partners including Amazing Apprenticeships, Ambition Broxbourne, the British Army, Birch Group, B3Living, Be Free Forest School, Brookfield Riverside, Capel Manor College, Curwens Solicitors, Everyone Active in East Herts, HB Accountants, Hertfordshire County Council, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, Hertford Regional College,
Hertfordshire and West Essex Health and Care Academy, Mode Solutions, Morrisons, QA, Quantum Care, Resource Productions, The Royal Navy & Royal Marines, Shepherds Property Sales & Lettings, Sovereign Centros, St Elizabeth’s, Stempoint East, Stevenage F.C Foundation, Tesco, VolkerWessels. Ewan Macaulay, Assistant Principal and Careers Lead at a Broxbourne secondary school said: “I think it’s excellent for year 10 pupils to come to an event like this, particularly at this stage where they’re halfway through their GCSE course. It’s a good moment to reflect on what’s next”. Dean Culpan, General Manager, Birch Community, a Broxbourne-based business, said: “We’re working towards our Michelin Green Star this year which will be fun. We’re taking everyone on that journey with us and hoping for some young individuals from the community who can do it with us, too.” PC Rob Munn, Hertfordshire Constabulary, said: “We had lots and lots of interest in our cadet side so hopefully we have a few potential cadets from the event.” Samantha Sullivan, Pre-employability & Work Placement Manager, Tesco, said: “It’s been absolutely fantastic, we’ve had some really engaged students and I think we’ve broadened their minds to the wonderful careers at Tesco, from HR to marketing, to technical and finance.” Generation Broxbourne follows the resounding success of previous Generation X events in Watford and Hitchin, with Stevenage the inaugural event, taking place at the height of lockdown during COVID. Generation Dacorum is scheduled for September. Caroline Cartwright, Hertfordshire LEP’s Skills, Employment & Apprenticeship Lead, said: “As with almost every part of the country, Hertfordshire is experiencing a skills gap with employers often struggling to recruit in their local area because residents do not have the required skills. “Hertfordshire LEP is aware of this need in the local area and our Skills and Employment Strategy, developed in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council and the Department for Work and Pensions, sets out solutions to close this gap, through initiatives such as Generation X, to empower young people to shape their futures right here in Hertfordshire.”
