Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers, Colchester
We keep your accounts and tax right, meet you monthly or quarterly to improve profit and cash, and help you plan for the day you step back. For established owner-managed companies turning over £250k to £15m.
No obligation: just a useful conversation about where you are now and what support would help.
Accredited and Recognised
How We Work
If the honest answer is “when the accounts are due”, the advice arrives after the decisions that shaped your profit, cash and tax bill have already been made. We agree a rhythm that fits your business, and change it as you grow.
Example: a year ending 31 March
Cash and Payments Review Every Week
Review Meeting With You Quarterly or Monthly
Management Accounts Quarterly or Monthly
Tax Planning Before Year End While It Can Still Help
Year-End Accounts and Tax Return After the Year Ends
IncludedYear-End AccountsNot Included
Year-end accounts and a tax return, prepared after your year has ended. Essential, but too late to change the result.
Where many owners are when they first talk to us. Fine for very simple businesses; most established companies need more.
Annual accounts, corporation tax, VAT, payroll, Companies House filings, a software review and tax clarity during the year.
Businesses that need reliable numbers and compliance confidence.
Management information and a review meeting every quarter on performance, profit, cash flow, growth, risks and your own goals, plus tax planning and advice between meetings on pay, pensions, vehicles and big decisions.
Owners with a bookkeeper or finance support in-house who want experienced advice, challenge and accountability through the year.
Monthly management accounts and a monthly meeting with you or your management team: profit, budget variances, balance sheet, productivity, cash conversion and agreed actions, plus tax, dividend and funding advice.
Businesses that need more hands-on finance support or FD-style input.
Bookkeeping oversight, payroll coordination, credit control, supplier payment planning, weekly cash reviews, management accounts, KPI and lender reporting, and strategic financial leadership.
Businesses that want us to support or run the whole finance function, without the cost of building an in-house department.
What We Do
Three layers of support that build up over time, like the rings of a tree. Most clients start with the foundation and add the rest as their business grows.
The Foundation
Numbers you can trust, and no tax surprises.
The Performance
A board meeting for your business, monthly or quarterly.
Future Choices
Turn the business you’ve built into the life you want.
Not sure where you’d start? Take the two-minute Accountant Check.
Results
Every year we ask our clients what difference our support makes. This is what they told us in April 2026.
Wood & Disney Client Impact Survey, April 2026. Respondents also reported improved wellbeing in running their business (84%), and 80% had already recommended us or were very likely to.
Monthly Financial Leadership
A Colchester Manufacturer
“I would not have had the success in business, had I not had the support from Wood & Disney.”
“Switching from our old accountants to Wood and Disney was the equivalent of working in the dark to turning the light on.”
“Vast difference to my previous accountants. I can trust you and contact you whenever needed.”
Accountant Check
Nine quick statements, about two minutes, across the three areas we look at with every new client: control, performance and future choices. Your answers stay on this page unless you choose to send them to us.
0 of 9 answered.
Your Results Will Appear Here
Answer all nine statements. Each “yes” scores 2, “sometimes” 1 and “no” 0, so each area scores out of 6.
A quick self-check to start a conversation, not financial advice. Want more detail? Take the full Accountant Evaluation Test (opens in a new tab).
Our Team
Partner-led advice, a named team who know your business, and specialists in tax, payroll, bookkeeping and cloud systems behind them. Professional, but approachable: you should always feel able to ask.
Chief Executive
ICAEW Chartered Accountant since 1981 (ACA) and ICAEW Business and Finance Professional (BFP). Named one of Helm’s Top 10 Advisors of the Year 2022.
Peter works with owners on strategy, profit, growth and long-term direction, and created the firm’s own business diagnostic tools. He writes and speaks regularly on profit and strategic planning.
Drives a British Racing Green Morgan Plus 4 whenever the sun comes out. Give him a friendly toot if you see him parked behind an AA van.
Chief Operating Officer
ICAEW Chartered Accountant since 1993, a Fellow of the ICAEW (FCA) and ICAEW Business and Finance Professional (BFP).
Brendon helps owners turn financial information into clearer decisions, stronger control and better direction, with a particular interest in real-time reporting, systems and technology.
Arsenal, psychological thrillers, chocolate, Guinness and geography. Less keen on Spurs, sweet and sour chicken, Christmas jumpers and Sunday drivers.
Senior Client Manager, ACCA
Xero and QuickBooks certified, with a soft spot for construction clients.
Walking or agility training her two dogs, gigs, and a good box set.
Client Manager, AAT
More than 30 years in accountancy practice.
The beach, long walks with her partner and cooking for her family.
Office Manager
With the firm for nearly 30 years; runs more than 70 client payrolls.
Pilates, films, reading and baking. Secretly aspires to be the next Mary Berry, and has a tortoise called Bailey.
Personal Tax
With the firm for nearly 30 years.
Time with her family, walking, baking and sailing.
Bookkeeper
Certified Xero Advisor.
A West Ham supporter.
Operations Manager
BCom in Accounting; 10 years in practice.
The beach, hiking and nature drives: anything that puts life back into perspective.
Accountant
Cost and management accounting graduate.
Travelling, exploring new places and time with her family.
Accountant
Studying for ACCA.
Cycling, running or hiking, and believes a friendly smile makes a real difference.
Accountant
In accountancy since 2015.
Hiking, beach walks and time with her family.
Bookkeeper
Xero and QuickBooks certified.
Golf, fishing, days at the beach, reading and baking.
Trainee Accountant
Studying for AAT.
Arts, crafts and baking, when her young family allows.
Who We Work With
We limit our client numbers so we can give each business the one thing it needs most: our time. That means being honest about who we’re right for.
If your business is newer or smaller, Your Journey to Freedom, our structured business-advice programme, is built for you: the same Strengthen, Optimise, Transform approach, in steps.
Visit Your Journey to Freedom (opens in a new tab)Construction, engineering, manufacturing, consultancy, creative industries, professional services, property, logistics, aviation, sport, entertainment and specialist trades, across Colchester, Essex, Suffolk, London and the wider UK. We meet in person or by video, whichever suits you.
Changing Accountant
Many owners stay with an accountant for years after it stops working, because changing feels like a hassle. In most cases it’s straightforward, and we handle the awkward parts.
Usually at least 15 minutes, at a time that suits you. We listen to what you need and tell you honestly whether we can help.
If there’s a fit, we meet in more detail, ideally at your premises, so we understand how the business really works.
Services, options and prices explained clearly, usually as a fixed monthly fee over your accounting year. No surprises later.
We request professional clearance, collect what we need from your current accountant and agree your first priorities together.
No obligation. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so.
Dates for Your Diary
Tax and company rules for owner-managers are moving quickly. These are the changes we’re talking through with clients now.
18 November 2025
Directors and people with significant control must verify their identity with Companies House. The catch-up for existing directors ends in November 2026, with your next confirmation statement.
ComplianceSource: GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)6 April 2026
Dividends above the £500 allowance are now taxed at 10.75% for basic-rate and 35.75% for higher-rate taxpayers. Worth checking your salary and dividend mix for 2026/27.
Tax PlanningSource: GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)6 April 2026
Up from 14%, on up to £1 million of qualifying lifetime gains. Selling or passing on shares? The timing and structure of a sale matter more than ever.
Succession and ExitSource: GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)6 April 2026
Only the first £2.5 million of qualifying business or farm assets now gets full relief, with half relief above that. Spouses and civil partners can pass on an unused allowance.
Legacy & WealthSource: GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)6 April 2026
Sole traders and landlords with income over £50,000 now keep digital records and send quarterly updates: over £30,000 from April 2027 and over £20,000 from April 2028. Directors are caught only if they also have self-employment or rental income.
ComplianceSource: GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)28 October 2026
The Chancellor’s Budget could change rates, allowances and dates for 2027/28. We’ll talk clients through anything that affects their plans.
Tax PlanningSource: GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)6 April 2027
Most unused pension pots and pension death benefits will count towards your estate. For owners who planned to pass on a pension, the sums change.
Legacy & WealthSource: GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)1 April 2028
Companies House is due to accept accounts only through software, abridged accounts end and small companies will file a profit and loss account. Still subject to regulations.
ComplianceSource: GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)Correct at 15 October 2026 and checked against GOV.UK. The Budget on 28 October 2026 may change some of these. General information, not advice for your circumstances.
Questions
Every proposal is bespoke, because every business is different. We explain the services, options and prices clearly, usually as a fixed monthly fee over your accounting year, and agree any extra work before we do it.
We’re not trying to be the cheapest option. We aim to be the best value: more advice, more clarity and a closer relationship than a basic compliance service.
No. We’re based at Lodge Park in Langham, just outside Colchester, and work with owner-managed businesses across Essex, Suffolk, London and the wider UK, through a mix of face-to-face meetings, video calls, cloud accounting and secure document exchange.
Usually much easier than owners expect. We request professional clearance from your current accountant, collect the information we need and handle the handover, so you’re not left managing the awkward parts.
Mostly established owner-managed limited companies turning over £250k to £15m. If you’re just starting out, we’ll tell you honestly whether we’re the right fit, and point you to support that is.
We’ve been a Xero Silver Partner since 2014, our team is Xero and QuickBooks certified, and we support Sage too. We’ll help you choose and set up the system that gives you the clearest picture of your business.
Our clients have tax enquiry fee protection through Croner Taxwise Protect at no extra charge, subject to the terms of the cover, so you’re not left dealing with HMRC, or the cost of our time, on your own.
We talk about where your business is now, what isn’t working with your current support and what you want next. If we can help, we explain the next steps clearly. If we’re not the right fit, we say so. There’s no obligation.
Get in Touch
Tell us a little about your business and we’ll arrange a time to talk, usually for at least 15 minutes, by phone, video or in person. No obligation.
“My only regret is that it took so long to find them.”
A Wood & Disney client