Member Spotlight: Graham Rigby, Managing Partner – Azets

I’ve been a qualified Chartered Accountant for over 30 years and have led the Manchester office of Azets, a top 10 UK accountancy firm, for the last 5 years. I feel privileged to work alongside like-minded colleagues and clients, many of whom have become friends as well as business contacts.

On a personal level, I am married to Elizabeth and in 2023 we celebrated our 25th Anniversary by re-affirming our vows in the church where we were married; this time with our two teenage children (and lots of other family members & friends) as witnesses. We also spent the whole year celebrating by having friends for dinner at our house, pretty much every weekend!

I encourage all my staff to live by the motto “take your job seriously, but not yourself too seriously”.

2. Career highlights

I began my career as an auditor with EY, where I become one of the youngest Senior Managers to be promoted into that position at the time (late-1990s). More recently, I was honoured to be approached by ICAEW Manchester to become the Chair of our profession’s Network Board.

However my present role is the one I am most proud of, due to the long lasting relationships we build with our clients who know that we really care.

Azets is a top 10 UK Accountancy firm; we provide accountancy and related services to owner-managers, mid-sized corporates and private equity backed groups of companies.

In Manchester in particular we have the local expertise to support SMEs with not only compliance services (like audit & tax) but also added value advisory services (such as Corporate Finance, Recovery & Insolvency, Forensic Investigations & Valuations, Risk Assurance, etc., etc.)

3. Name three words that describe your personality

Positive, Empathetic, Resilient

4. What’s the best thing about pro-manchester

I really love the connectivity and community feel provided by pro-manchester – no matter what your business does, or its size relative to others, there’s something of interest for everyone.

5. What are your priorities for 2024

To be healthy, happy and to make people’s lives better. Making a profit and being successful in business should be a by-product of doing something you’re passionate about, rather than profit being the objective.

6. What do you think are the most important things going on in Manchester at the moment?

Continually improving our infrastructure and making it affordable and accessible to everyone is critical to the success of our region. Projects like unifying transport links and providing access to good quality broadband across the region are important, however these need to be delivered in a sustainable way and the costs may need to be subsidised by those who can afford it, through appropriate means of taxation if necessary, to provide accessibility for those less able to.

7. Favourite meeting place in Manchester

That depends on the occasion, and there are so many places to choose from! For (a) coffee “away from the crowds” I like Manchester Art Gallery café; for (b) great food my wife and I sometimes meet at Wood or Six By Nico; for (c) informal drinks after work, our regular venue is All Bar One opposite the Azets offices, which we’ve re-named “Alberone” (pronounced al-brr-oh-nay, with an Italian accent to make it feel more exclusive!).

8. Are there any particular types of businesses that you would like to meet

Any business whose owners and/or directors recognise the importance of an open, honest and constructive discussion about their corporate and personal objectives. As accountants, our compliance services are sometimes perceived as a commodity or, even worse, a necessary evil. However a good professional advisor will complement the business’ overall strategy, guiding the business past potential pitfalls along the way.

If you’re reading this article and think you might enjoy working with us (as a client or a colleague), please do get in touch.

Get In Touch

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Graham Rigby | LinkedIn