About us

We’re Strata. Our name was chosen to reflect the many layers of your SME business, and how we can slot in with agility and flexibility to support you as a business owner or executive. As a team of accountants with industry experience we can help you to survive, thrive, and grow.

Accountancy Virtual finance team Growth partner

We Listen. Learn. Innovate. Deliver...

…as your accountants we do a lot more than file your accounts.

Meet the team at Strata, a dynamic, and ambitious group of finance professionals who deliver their vision of what accountants should bring to the table.

We’re here to get to know your business, assess your current financial situation, and help you figure out a financial plan that, when implemented with our experienced support, will put you on a path to long-term success. Trust us to remove the finance and process-based issues that worry you and help you move to a healthier financial future, reducing your day-to-day issues, and addressing long-term sources of stress.

A bit more about us…

With a background in industry, Kate leads the advisory team, having worked at a director level in the private and public sector, for both blue-chip, and owner-managed businesses. With a background in professional services, Phil understands the many and varied challenges of running an SME, both from a technical accounting viewpoint (the stuff that gives you headaches) and a digital solutions perspective (the innovation we bring with Xero and other ecosystem platforms, to make your business more productive, efficient and effective). Both Kate and Phil have also run their own businesses, so you can trust they know just how challenging the financial playing field can be for enterprise leaders, and the self-employed.

Building solutions to meet your unique financial needs

A compact but ever-growing team of experienced, personable professionals who like a laugh, but don’t mess around when it comes to nurturing the financial growth of your business, we have a lot of experience, and we work with companies holistically to offer intelligent, bespoke solutions designed to meet their unique needs, rather than grappling endlessly with a succession of challenging, isolated issues.

A client centred approach that takes you where you want to go

When you get in touch with us at Strata, we put your needs at the centre of our conversation. First, we’ll listen, learning all about your business, and where you want to take it. Then we’ll innovate, finding solutions that work for you, both now, and as you grow. Finally, we’ll deliver those solutions. This might mean being available to support with day-to-day problems, or to oversee the implementation of a larger scale strategy that takes your business to the next level, with bespoke financial planning to meet your needs.

We’re looking for a long-term relationship…

We can help you get your tax return in on time, and support your VAT related stresses, but we want so much more from our partnership – and we hope you do too. As your long-term strategic advisors, and experienced professional accountants, we’ll help you not only hit your deadlines and balance the books, but invest time in the future financial success of your business. We are your accountants; but we are also your growth partner.

Our core beliefs

Listen

Bend our ear with all of your financial, process and accountancy headaches. We will always make the time to thoroughly get to know you, and your business. We will have a scoping meeting with every new accountancy and advisory client to ensure we understand what you need.

Learn

When we know more about what keeps you awake at night, and where you want to take your business, we can start helping you plot a course to achieve financial clarity, strength and business success, whatever that looks like for you.

Innovate

Our solutions are bespoke, innovative, and designed to help. We’re not just about spreadsheets,  we offer digital solutions and improved processes to streamline and improve the flow of your business, making life easier in delivering your services and products.

Deliver

We don’t put plasters over problems, or walk away after invoices have been paid. As your trusted strategic financial partner and accountants, we deliver on our promises, today and tomorrow.

Meet some of the team…

Executive Team

Phil Colmer

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ACA

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Phil Colmer

ACA

Phil is passionate about using the latest cloud based technology to support finance and business decision making and is a Xero Gold Champion, with extensive knowledge of the ecosystem around the software. Our entire team is strong on Xero, but Phil’s the super-user, and we’re super proud. His confidence with systems and the adoption of new technology allows him to constantly review and improve finance functions for our clients, along with the key information they rely on. Phil’s goal is to take the stress away from the numbers, allowing entrepreneurs to do what they do best - innovate, take risks, and grow their companies (all with our support). Whether he’s helping a client transition from paper to cloud-based accounting software, or restructuring a client’s internal accounting function to save them many thousands of pounds, Phil’s approach and support is always bespoke, based on a sound understanding of their needs and aspirations. Phil loves getting to know our clients, and sharing in their success (which is always fully deserved, he doesn’t just swoop in and steal the glory). He’s motivated by seeing his, and the client’s hard work pay off, is a strong team player, and an all round good guy.

Kate Holden

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FCA

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Kate Holden

FCA

Kate has over two decades of experience working in both the private and public sector at director level. She’s experienced many different ways of working, and has faced many challenges as part of both large and small organisations. She’s tough, like SAS, trust us, you want her on your team (and we’re so lucky to have her on ours). Kate has founded and run her own consultancy business in Scotland, and combines the core values of integrity, collaborative working, and strategic vision, all underpinned by a hawk-like attention to detail that has us quaking in our boots, and our clients in rapturous applause. She qualified at Ernst & Young, honed her commercial experience at The Walt Disney Company (!), and has supported the improvement ethic of healthcare regulation as Director of the South Central region for NHSI. That’s an impressive CV, and tonnes of expertise to bring to her role with Strata.
Qualified Team

Andy Winchester

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Andy Winchester

Andy has over twenty years of experience supporting businesses large and small to devise and implement better financial systems, in order to achieve, and sustain growth. His insight into the financial challenges and opportunities faced by SME’s is invaluable to our clients, as is his knowledge of Xero and supporting platforms. Andy focuses on the technicalities of accountancy, the nitpicking details that ensure we support our clients via the best possible route. He's also the go-to for complex technical issues, and can always find (and evidence) the right answer. When he’s not at work, Andy is passionate about football, playing it when he can, and even managing a veteran’s (!) team. He also has a secret love for watching, though not participating in, wrestling. Ssshhh.

Harriet Lambourne

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Harriet Lambourne

Harriet has worked with us since early 2018, and in that time has advanced to being part qualified with ACCA. She’s due to take her final set of exams in 2022 - and we’re convinced she’ll pass with flying colours. We hugely admire Harriet's work ethic and focus. She's an absolute weapon with numbers, wielding them easily in her head as she juggles a complex query . Harriet has also swum at olympic trials, regularly decides to do a half marathon on the spur of the moment, manages two alsatian dogs and planning for her upcoming wedding with a quiet drive, and real flair. Still waters run deep with this one - a real asset to the team at Strata, and a godsend for our clients.
Some of our trainees

Kai Campbell-Warner

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Kai Campbell-Warner

Kai is the only member of the Strata team with a background at another accountancy firm (we’re glad we threw out a net, and reeled in such a magnificent financial fish). He’s already achieved his AAT3, and is now training for his ACA exams - we’re all very proud of him, just don’t let him know. Kai’s deadpan humour and kindness are appreciated by both colleagues and clients. What he’s not so keen on, however, is the limelight. Can you tell by what’s missing from his bio?

Kate Kennedy

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Kate Kennedy

A recent addition to the team Kate is a qualified bookkeeper (AAT level 4) and is now studying for her ACA exams - we have every confidence she’ll ace these. With a background in lettings and property management, Kate brings with her the invaluable experience of working for a business, something that we believe is the key to supporting the financial health of our clients (to be an adviser to a business, we believe it’s best to have worked in one, too). She is married, with a son called Max, and enjoys running. Like 95% of the team, she has a dog, and is also passionate about food, whether she’s cooking it, trying out a new restaurant, bringing in treats for the team, or entertaining friends, she just likes grub.

What our clients say

"Colmer Winchester took over my business accounts in 2016. Phil made the transition from our old accountancy firm seamless and introduced me to Xero which changed my business overnight! Since then the team has been a joy to work with & is always on hand to assist when we need them. "

Mark Gainford, CE MG Systems 2015 Ltd

"In one of the toughest times on record for people, not just businesses, we've been fortunate to have the support of the team at Strata to guide us through the last 12 months.We've received friendly, straightforward forward & very patient support during this time with the transition of our accountancy systems, then excellent (ongoing) training with using Xero."

Michael Wright, Founder & Director FiveFigs Ltd, Sept 2021

"We’ve been more than delighted with our partnership with Strata. Before we approached the team to help us move to Xero, we had used Sage. We knew that our information lacked depth, wasn’t timely and at times was inaccurate and we wanted to have our data at our fingertips. "

Iain Stewart, CE H2O Creative Communications - Nov 2021

"Strata have transformed our finance function. It used to be a drag on our time and resources, but we now have such up-to-date visibility over management accounts and all our financial information that we can now harness that data and make it work for us. We now use that real time financial data to make business decisions and plan ahead."

Director, Cool Camping - Nov 2021

Accountancy
Run your business

Run your business accounts with confidence and ease. Let our skilled and experienced team take over the whole process, giving you a spring in your step, and fewer wrinkles.

Virtual Finance Team
Know your business

Know what the financial landscape of your business looks like today, and make the right decisions for tomorrow, with your very own dedicated virtual finance team. On your side, but not on your payroll.

Growth Partner
Grow your business

Grow your business by unlocking its full financial potential. As your strategic growth partner we’ll provide bespoke advice on an ad hoc basis, to help cover your blind spots, and plan for, execute, and enjoy a healthier financial future.

Get started with Strata

Don't be scared we are not your typical team of accountants. We’ll help you understand where you are, discover where you’re going, and then we’ll get you there.