Tropical appointment for Sheffield accountants
ACCOUNTANTS Grant Thornton have won a new client in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
The firm’s Sheffield office has been appointed auditor for Soloman & Company which is responsible for most of the commercial activity on the tiny island of St Helena.
St Helena has a population of fewer than 5,000 people and is only accessible by ferry once every fortnight.
Paul Houghton, tax partner at Grant Thornton in Sheffield, said: “There are many challenges we’re used to dealing with but having a client on St Helena certainly throws up some new ones.
“Just to get to St Helena involves a flight from RAF Brize Norton to Ascension Island, a two day wait and then a three day boat trip, and because ships only sail every couple of weeks the team will have to spend the best part of a month out of the UK just to visit.
“Nevertheless the lure of a month long trip to a tropical island is pretty hard to turn down, and we’re already having a few people making their case for why they should be included on our first trip over.”
Solomon & Company traces its roots back to a general store opened in 1790 and now meets a wide range of islanders needs from farming supplies to insurance.
