Since 1936, Benson Wood has been supporting Lanarkshire businesses. We are a firm of Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers based in Bellshill, working with growing professional services firms across Lanarkshire and Central Scotland. Our connection to the area influences how we build the team and where we choose to invest the firm’s time and money.
90 years in Lanarkshire is more than a number
Our 90-year history gives us something to be proud of, but it also brings a responsibility to keep contributing to the area.
Benson Wood has changed considerably during that time. The firm has evolved from a traditional accountancy practice into one that works with owners of professional service firms throughout the year, helping them understand their figures and use them to make decisions.
We moved from Airdrie town centre to our current Bellshill office in 2023. We needed a space that better suited the way Benson Wood was developing, but we wanted its home to remain in Lanarkshire.
My own connection to Lanarkshire goes back to my parents. My dad worked at Ravenscraig, while my mum worked in payroll for the local health board. Between them, they put me through university and gave me the opportunity to become a Chartered Accountant.
That’s the Lanarkshire I grew up in, and it’s one of the reasons I feel so strongly about giving something back to the area.
Reaching this anniversary has made us think about the firm’s history and what we want its contribution to look like in the years ahead. The decisions we make now will determine what that 90-year connection continues to mean.
Building our accountancy team in Lanarkshire
We’ve made a conscious decision to build the Benson Wood team in Lanarkshire. Most of our team live in the area, so the jobs and training opportunities we create remain local too.
We’ve also decided not to outsource our accountancy work offshore. We want to invest in people here and retain that experience within the firm.
There are different ways to become part of the team. Some people join us near the beginning of their working lives, while others bring experience from a previous career.
We’ve recruited through Routes to Work and welcomed students from New College Lanarkshire. Our involvement with the Saltire Scholars programme has also allowed young people to gain experience in other parts of the business, including AI, marketing and operations.
Two people who originally joined us as summer interns are now permanent members of the team and working towards professional qualifications.
We currently hold Bronze status under the North Lanarkshire Employer Charter and are working towards Silver. It gives us an external standard to measure ourselves against as an employer.
You can read more about the different ways people join and develop within Benson Wood on our career development page.
How we support growing businesses across Lanarkshire
Supporting businesses across Lanarkshire and Central Scotland is one of the main ways Benson Wood can contribute to the area.
We work with professional services firms that have outgrown basic accountancy support, helping their owners understand their figures and make informed decisions about what comes next.
When those firms become stronger, the benefit reaches further than the business owner. They employ people in the area and create work for other local businesses.
Being based nearby makes it easier for us to build close relationships with the owners we support. We can meet face to face at our Bellshill office and get to know what is happening inside their businesses throughout the year.
Those conversations often tell us more about what is happening across the local economy. We hear what owners are planning and where they need help, which sometimes allows us to introduce them to somebody else in the area.
We also refer clients to Business Gateway Lanarkshire when they may benefit from its services. We take part in its Professional Services Forum, which brings local advisers together to share what they’re seeing and consider how they can support businesses across the region.
We’ve also started bringing local business owners together ourselves. Our first roundtable on business resilience was attended by 17 professional services businesses from across the area, giving owners an opportunity to compare experiences and learn from each other. We plan to run more of these events in the future.
You can see how we work with owners in our client Growth Stories.
How we contribute to We Love Lanarkshire
Benson Wood is a founding partner of We Love Lanarkshire, and I’ve been involved with the organisation since its early days.
The network supports and promotes businesses and community groups across the area. We’ve introduced businesses when we thought being part of it could help them.
Members can learn more about what is happening locally and find businesses they may be able to support or work with. Sometimes relationships begin with sharing information that could help somebody else, then develop naturally without every conversation being treated as a sales opportunity.
We also buy from local suppliers where we can. It’s another practical way our connection to the area influences the decisions we make.
Our connection to the area includes supporting local causes. The team regularly raises money for the Scottish Huntington’s Association and St Andrew’s Hospice in Airdrie. Over the past couple of years, we’ve raised more than £8,000 for the Scottish Huntington’s Association.
What do Tunnock’s Teacakes have to do with accountancy?
At Benson Wood, Tunnock’s Teacakes have become part of how we welcome clients and express our connection to Lanarkshire.
Every new client receives a box with a handwritten note. We send them to existing clients and close suppliers at Christmas too, and there’s rarely a shortage in our Bellshill office.
Tunnock’s is based only a few miles away in Uddingston, so the Teacakes felt like an obvious choice for a firm that takes pride in where it comes from.
They also appear in the values that guide how we work. “Love Teacakes” may be the one that gets the biggest smile, but it reflects something important about Benson Wood.
We take the work seriously, but we don’t want the experience of working with us to feel cold or overly formal. A box of something made just down the road feels far more like us.
What being a Lanarkshire firm means to us
For us, being a Lanarkshire firm means making choices that benefit the people and businesses around us.
We’re proud to be celebrating 90 years here. During that time, the area has given Benson Wood a team to build with and businesses to support. We want the firm to contribute something in return.
Being part of a local business community comes from the decisions you make and where you choose to put your time.
That’s the standard we want Benson Wood’s next 90 years in Lanarkshire to live up to.
If you run a growing professional services firm in Lanarkshire or Central Scotland and want more support from your accountant, talk to us.
