Ansa Archibong, Founder and Director of Financial
Intelligence is a Chartered Certified Accountant with
eleven years’ experience of working in the small and medium sized market
incorporating all disciplines from systems implementation for Start-ups to audits
of medium sized businesses in various industries and across different
specialist areas. Ansa has built up a solid reputation for success. With
a vast network he has secured major opportunities for his business associates
as well as the entrepreneurs, professionals and leaders that his business
supports.
His passion for finance alongside his philanthropic
desire to share his knowledge was the inspiration behind featuring Ansa. Not
only does he support entrepreneurs of small to medium-sized businesses, leaders
and professionals to achieve their aspirations and bring their dreams to life,
he also works with young people to raise their aspirations and to help them to
explore enterprise, leadership and careers as viable and sustainable paths to
secure their socio-economic futures.
1/ Please tell us
what is a typical business day for you?
Day
starts around 6, meditate for thirty minutes. Have breakfast, check emails and
catch up on the news. Open diary and see what jobs need to be done. Plan the execution
of my scheduled tasks for the day.
See what
jobs are outstanding. Allocate work to various consultants I have working as
part of the team. Carry out conference calls with various clients.
This is
important because it keeps me in sync with any developments or issues facing
our clients’ businesses and helps build a productive client/ accountant
relationship.
Have
lunch for approximately 15-20 minutes. Review twitter interaction as well as
schedule tweets. Usually between 2 & 4pm have meetings with other stake
holders.
From then
until about 5pm complete various assignments. Review emails and consult team re
targets set for the day. The Team Work flow plan is reviewed and edited
accordingly.
6-9pm is
spent on reading Accounting journals etc. to develop understanding and to keep
abreast of recent developments in the industry.
2/ What made you start the business and what steps did you take to start operating as a business?
The urge to deliver an exceptional service and to have a positive impact on the businesses of my clients. I love to see when my work has made a difference and the impression my work has, this motivates me to certainly do a better job.
3/ What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date?
2/ What made you start the business and what steps did you take to start operating as a business?
The urge to deliver an exceptional service and to have a positive impact on the businesses of my clients. I love to see when my work has made a difference and the impression my work has, this motivates me to certainly do a better job.
3/ What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date?
My greatest
accomplishment to date is yet to come. At present I am grateful to the universe
for having the opportunity and will power to set up and run an accountancy firm
in the city. Right now I want to serve clients, am sure any sense of great
accomplishment will come in the foreseeable future.
4/ What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?
My biggest challenge is being able to find a work and social life balance. It is easier said than done but the truth of the matter is that it takes so much energy especially now that I have to work ten times harder than when I was working for someone else.
4/ What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?
My biggest challenge is being able to find a work and social life balance. It is easier said than done but the truth of the matter is that it takes so much energy especially now that I have to work ten times harder than when I was working for someone else.
During the start-up
phase of any business, there is a high demand of your intellectual ability but
want gives me the strength is the vision and the belief that the impossible is
nothing.
Building a business is
very demanding but what I believe is that it is a process and path I have
chosen to follow and that if I commit myself to the process wholeheartedly, the
process will certainly reward me for my endless and selfless service.
5/What are your future plans for the business?
5/What are your future plans for the business?
My future plan of the
business is to become an international brand but at the same time get more
involved in a lot of social projects that will give someone else the hope and
reality to accomplish their dreams. In life you can be so
gifted and talented but you still need someone to open that door for you, grant
you a platform to showcase your greatness to the universe.
Success comes through
being in the midst of the right people. Which makes sense when you hear people
say your network is your net worth. It is the people around you that can make
or break you. Who you associate yourself with today will certainly have either
a positive or negative impact on your future.
6/If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
If I had to do It all
over again, I would still do it the same way. I had always wanted this.
The key is not the
sense of achievement or accomplishment when it arrives on your path but the
process and experience you go through to achieve that goal.
Whether it is a good or
bad experience there is always a lesson to be learnt. What better teacher is
out there than the lessons laid out before you in the process of life itself.
7/ What’s the best compliment you could receive in business?
7/ What’s the best compliment you could receive in business?
The words “Thank You”
and knowing that the client means it means a lot to me.
8) Why is it so important to inspire the next generation to follow their dreams?
8) Why is it so important to inspire the next generation to follow their dreams?
It is quite simple. It
is very important to inspire the next generation to follow their dreams because
someone once inspired me to follow my dreams.
In life what is very
rewarding is not how much wealth or knowledge you have acquired but the
positive impact it has had on the lives of those around you.
We all are born with
nothing and we leave the Universe with nothing. Therefore we should strive to
leave a legacy that will make the next person accomplish their chosen dream and
bring it to reality. I am particularly passionate
about helping those from disadvantaged groups such as the unemployed and
ex-offenders. To help them achieve the very best of their abilities.
He wants to see everyone in contact with him achieve all they
are capable of achieving irrespective of background, race or location.
I met Mr Theo Paphitis
at an evening standard event and before I met him I researched his background I
was moved by his journey from being a poor immigrant from Cyprus because of his
setbacks at school due to his dyslexia.
People mocked him but
he is now extremely successful. I have had my fair share of such negative
experiences but the key is not to dwell on such nonsense and move on. Life is
too short to waste any energy on anything that is not adding value to your
life.
I always channel my
energy into something that is of beneficial to the process of life itself. I do
know that the sweetest revenge in life is success.
9/ What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your industry?
PPR: passion, process reward. Find something your passionate about, commit yourself totally to the process and in the end the process will surely reward you as a result of your commitment.
10/ What or who inspires you in business and why?
Steve Jobs because of his ability to find perfection in simplicity. Most people think that in order for something to be great it has to be complicated and that one should never challenge the status quo.
11/What is your favourite inspirational quote?
I often write quotes to
motivate myself and my team and one of my favourites is: when you look in the
mirror the person you see is the architect of your own destiny.
You can be
anything or get what you want. All you have to do is demand it from yourself
and the rest follows. What the mind conceives, the mind can achieve.
Ansa is offering a special 10% reduction on fees for *Start Companies that sign up with Financial Intelligence before January 2016.
* Been in business for 6 months or less
For more information:
* Been in business for 6 months or less
For more information:
Financial
Intelligence Limited
A: 107
Cheapside, London. EC2V 6DN
T: 0203
053 8652
M: 07440 653 573
Ansa will be
one of the professionals running a business clinic at the 2inspire Network
Christmas Fayre on Saturday 7th November 2015, for more information
and to book in some time to see him. Click on:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/2inspire-network-free-winter-fayre-tickets-18916464655
