SWAPPING THE GOLF COURSE FOR A ROLE IN RECRUITMENT

FRS 102 Revised Seminar Brings South Yorkshire Finance Leaders Together

In collaboration with Shorts Chartered Accountants, we recently hosted a seminar for senior finance professionals from across the region.The event brought together a number of Finance Directors, Financial Controllers and senior leaders from across the region for a morning of insight, discussion and networking over breakfast. It was a pleasure to welcome so many familiar faces, alongside new contacts, reflecting the strength and depth of the Yorkshire finance community. The seminar was presented by Howard Freeman, Audit & Accounts Partner, and Andy Ryder, Corporate Finance Partner at Shorts. We are extremely grateful to both speakers for sharing their time and expertise, and for delivering a clear, practical overview of the forthcoming changes to FRS 102, which came into effect on 1 January 2026 and are expected to impact a significant number of UK businesses. The session explored what is changing and why, particularly in relation to lease accounting and revenue recognition, and considered what the updates mean in practice for finance teams and business leaders. The speakers also addressed the new reporting requirements under FRS 102, the potential impact on EBITDA and valuation methodologies, and the key considerations for organisations as they prepare for implementation. Rather than focusing purely on technical detail, the seminar encouraged broader discussion around readiness, communication with stakeholders and the commercial implications of the changes. This led to a highly engaged Q&A session, with attendees sharing perspectives and experiences from their own organisations. At Sharp Consultancy, we are committed to supporting the finance community beyond recruitment alone. Events such as this form part of our ongoing effort to create opportunities for connection, knowledge-sharing and professional development among senior finance professionals. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Shorts for partnering with us on this event, and in particular to Howard and Andy for delivering such an informative and thought-provoking session. We are also grateful to everyone who attended and contributed to the discussion. We look forward to hosting further events in the coming months and continuing to work closely with our network of finance leaders across the region.If you would like to discuss how these changes may impact your finance team, or if you are considering strengthening your leadership function, please contact us for a confidential conversation.

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Swapping the golf course for a role in recruitment is not many people’s usual career path. We caught up with Consultant Matt Civil who works in the Sheffield office to find out about how he made the move.

Tell us about your current role?

I joined Sharp Consultancy about a year ago and specialise in transactional clerical and finance roles across Sheffield and Chesterfield areas.

Your background isn’t in recruitment – what were you doing before?

Since the age of 12 golf has always been a big part of my life. At 19 I joined Hallamshire Golf Club as the Assistant Golf Professional where I undertook my three years of PGA training. After five years here, I wanted a new challenge and joined a company that manufactured golf accessories. I began my career in sales, however after a couple of years a friend of mine asked me if I wanted the opportunity to caddie around the world for an Italian professional golfer. My employer was good enough to accept my decision to take on this experience, which I did for just over 12 months.

That sounds quite an experience – how was it?

I traveled to countries that I never expected to get the chance to go to such as Kazakhstan and the Ukraine and also had the opportunity to caddie around Augusta National and at Arnold Palmer’s event, The Bay Hill Invitational, where I was also lucky enough to meet the man himself.

It was a fantastic experience but as glamorous as it may sound, I didn’t see this as a long term career. Airport, hotel, golf course, airport, hotel, golf course, airport, hotel, golf course can become very tedious after 6-8 weeks on the road and living out of hand luggage and because there aren’t any contracts with the players and you can quickly find yourself without an employer if the player decides they want a change!

What did you do next?

I returned to work for the golf accessories manufacture and took up an operational role in Dongguan, China where I had involvement in the order process, new product development and logistics. I then returned to the UK where I continued to work in operations until a restructure saw me take on the role of Production Manager. After about five years with the firm I was ready for a new challenge and a trusted friend suggested that I might be good at recruitment and it would offer the defined career path that I was then looking for.

What attracted you to the role at Sharp?

I enjoy the relationship building and networking aspects of the role and I was keen to ensure that I joined a company that was going to be right for me; I had a friend who worked in recruitment and was familiar with the business and some of the people working here and he thought that it would be somewhere that I would fit in well. He’d also seen the progress that people had made here and knew that I was looking for a role that would offer me the opportunity to develop.

What has been your biggest challenge so far?

Having worked in a completely different industry for so long you take for granted the knowledge that you build up over a long period of time and then to come into an entirely different sector and environment can initially be quite overwhelming and you get on board with new systems and processes. My operational and production background and skill set stood me in good stead however and I quickly got to grips with the recruitment process including developing leads, liaising with clients and interviewing candidates.

What advice would you give to someone considering a role in recruitment?

If you love meeting new people and forging new relationships you can’t go far wrong with recruitment. Equally as important you will need resilience and patience as there will be times where these will be tested!

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT UStoday to talk with one of our team about your next move.

SWAPPING THE GOLF COURSE FOR A ROLE IN RECRUITMENT IS NOT MANY PEOPLE’S USUAL CAREER PATH.