How we’ve kept the Sampson Fielding culture in tact as we’ve grown as an accountancy firm
The team at Sampson Fielding work together in their West End office
Growing without losing who we are
When I joined Sampson Fielding back in 2022, there were just three of us around the table.
What we wanted to build was an accountancy firm that felt human. One where clients genuinely knew the people working on their finances and where the team enjoyed coming to work every day.
Fast forward to today and we’re a team of 24, based in Marylebone in the heart of London’s West End. On paper, that’s significant growth in a relatively short space of time. But what matters most to us is that the feel of the firm hasn’t changed.
Culture was never an afterthought
From the outset, culture wasn’t something we planned to “define later”. It was baked in from day one.
We wanted Sampson Fielding to be a place where people cared about the quality of their work, about their clients and about one another. That means being approachable, taking the time to explain things properly and building long-term relationships with the individuals and businesses we support. It also meant holding ourselves to high standards, even when it wasn’t the easiest or quickest option.
As chartered accountants and tax advisors, technical expertise matters. But for us, how that expertise is delivered matters just as much.
Those principles shaped how we worked when we were three people and they still shape how we work today.
Being intentional about growth in our accountancy firm
Our initial hires in 2022 were a big moment. This was when Sampson Fielding stopped being a small founding team and started becoming a growing business.
Since then, we’ve expanded steadily. We’ve welcomed new colleagues, broadened our services across business advisory, personal tax and compliance, and brought together teams through mergers, including the integrations of Blythe and Co. and Bartrum Lerner in 2024.
At every stage, we’ve been conscious that growth can dilute culture if you let it.
So we haven’t rushed it. We’ve never hired simply to increase headcount or chase scale. Every time someone joins, we ask whether they will strengthen the environment we’re trying to protect.
Skills matter, of course. But attitude, empathy and a genuine interest in clients matter just as much.
Investing in the next generation of chartered accountants and tax advisors
Alongside experienced hires, we’ve made a conscious decision to grow our own talent.
We’ve hired graduates from university every year since 2022, giving them the opportunity to train and develop within the culture we care so deeply about. It means they learn not just the technical side of accountancy and tax, but also how to work closely with clients and think commercially.
What’s particularly rewarding is that our first intake of graduates are now fully qualified chartered accountants and tax advisors. They’ve grown with the firm, understand how we work instinctively and play a key role in supporting both clients and newer team members.
It’s a powerful reminder that long-term investment in people really does pay off.
Staying close to clients and the team as we grow
One thing that’s been important to us is staying close to both our clients and our team, even as the firm has expanded.
Our senior team remains directly involved in client work and day‑to‑day decision making. That’s not something we see as a phase, but as a permanent part of how we operate. It helps newer team members understand why we do things the way we do, not just how to do them.
We’ve also actively encouraged working from our office near Bond Street rather than defaulting to working from home. Face‑to‑face collaboration, learning by osmosis and simply being around one another has been a big part of preserving our culture. It makes it easier to ask questions, to support each other when things get busy and to build real relationships both within the team and with our clients.
Culture is lived, not written down
We’ve never believed that culture comes from slogans or values pages on a website.
It comes from the small, everyday decisions:
how we speak to clients when things are difficult
how we support people when workloads are heavy
how we trust our team with responsibility
how we invest in their development
As we’ve grown, we’ve tried hard to make sure people still have a voice, still feel supported and still feel personally connected to the success of the firm.
Where we are now as a growing London accountancy firm
Today, Sampson Fielding is bigger, more experienced and more capable than when we started, but it still feels like the same firm.
Growth has allowed us to do more, from supporting founders and SMEs to advising individuals on personal tax and long-term planning. But our culture is what keeps everything aligned.
As we continue to grow, our focus remains the same as it was at the start: don’t lose what made this firm special in the first place.
Because we’ll always choose growing well over growing fast.
