WILLIAM DUNCAN + CO - Key Persons
Ainslie graduated from University of Glasgow with a first-class honours degree in Accountancy with Finance in 2011 going on to complete her ICAS training contract, becoming a CA in 2014.
Since qualifying she has worked in internal audit within Finance, Treasury, Risk, HR and Legal.
Ainslie joined us as a Senior Manager in June 2020 and manages a portfolio of non-audit SME clients across a variety of sectors, providing clients with company accounts, corporation tax and management accounts services. She is also responsible for internal reviews ensuring statutory accounts compliance. Recently Ainslie has become a key point of contact for corporate finance advisory services, a role which she is hoping to expand going forward.
She owns two horses that she has trained herself with the intention of competing in show jumping /eventing.
Job Titles:
- Practice Finance & Infrastructure Manager
Alan is Practice Finance & Infrastructure Manager for William Duncan + Co and is mainly based in our Ayr office, although he does regularly visit our Glasgow and Kilmarnock offices.
Alan's role is varied, and it might be true to say that he has probably worked within most departments since starting with William Duncan in 1991. Alan's role as Practice Finance & Infrastructure Manager involves working closely with the partners and all staff to ensure the smooth day to day running of the business.
Out of work Alan is a keen gym goer and loves all things Italian with regular visits to what he is starting to call his "adopted mother country".
Alastair started his career in the Inland Revenue but saw the light and changed sides in 1997. He then qualified as a Chartered Tax Advisor and worked for a variety of accountancy and legal firms, gaining wide experience of tax compliance and planning involving all direct and indirect taxes.
He has advised businesses of all sizes from one-man bands all the way up to PLCs such as Tesco. He advises on personal and corporate taxes, capital taxes, VAT and stamp duty, helping clients to minimise their tax bills in a wide variety of commercial transactions.
Alastair enjoys hillwalking, singing and cycling, and he is a keen proponent of fashion freedom for men.
Allan has been working in insolvency, restructuring and debt advice since 1993. From dealing with individuals facing financial difficulties, to advising and restructuring medium sized companies.
Having worked at BDO for 21 years Andy decided to move round the corner and work for William Duncan over 10 years ago. His role involves looking after a wide variety of clients, completing year end and quarterly management accounts, VAT returns and corporate and personal tax returns.
As well as being a keen golfer, Andy likes watching sport, following both Ayr United and the Scottish Rugby Team. He is also known for his extensive globe trotting and love of whisky.
Job Titles:
- Accounts / Client Support
Ann works hard to support our team within the Admin department. She also provides accounts support and expertise in Receiptbank.
Out of work Ann is happy spending time with her family and tending to her collection of tropical fish.
Annette is one of the country's most experienced and respected insolvency practitioners. She has worked with various firms including a UK big 4, mid-tier practices and independent chartered accountancy practices, qualifying as an Insolvency Practitioner in 2001.
Annette is highly experienced in all corporate insolvency procedures including liquidation, administration and receivership, as well as advising on business turnaround. She advises directors and entrepreneurs managing struggling businesses, providing a pragmatic approach to the problem solving required. Annette is also experienced in all personal insolvency procedures, providing solutions to individuals for insolvency or debt issues.
Outside of work Annette enjoys spending time with her two black labs and holidays in the sun.
Job Titles:
- Audit / Accounts
- Audit / Accounts Assistant
Cara started her full time role with William Duncan in July 2020 after graduating from The University of Stirling with a BAcc (Hons) in Accounting and Finance. Cara gained work experience with William Duncan while she was still at school and joined the team as a ‘summer student' in 2016 before she headed to University and came back each summer thereafter. She is currently studying towards her ICAS qualification.
Cara enjoys spending time with her friends and family, long walks with her dogs and keeping active. Cara is an ex-Scottish international badminton player, and she is on court with a racket in her hand any chance she gets.
Carol started her long career working for Hunter Faulds in 1977. When Hunter Faulds merged with William Duncan in 2001, Carol continued to work as a secretary to the partners based in our Cumnock office. Now based in the Ayr office Carol works as part of the admin team and is a Personal Assistant to the partners.
Outside of work Carol enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
Caroline has joined the William Duncan team as Marketing Executive and is focussed on supporting the firm as it continues to evolve. Caroline comes from a hospitality background of thirteen plus years having worked for some very well known Ayrshire businesses including Seamill Hydro Hotel.
Outside of work Caroline enjoys spending time with friends and family and being a part-time taxi driver to her two teenage girls.
Chris graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University with an Honours in Accounting and a Masters in Risk Management.
Chris spent some time within the hospitality industry, managing restaurants before opening his own in 2015. Following the birth of his first child, he decided to get back into finance and spent 4 years at South Ayrshire Council before moving to William Duncan in February ‘23.
As well as spending time with his family, he also loves both playing and watching football and is a keen supporter of Ayr United (for his sins).
Chris left school at 17 and went straight into an apprenticeship with a firm in Ayr where he worked his way through the AAT exams and then starting the ACCA exams. He moved to Glasgow for 3 and a half years and obtained his chartered certified accountant status, moving back to Ayr for the wife and start a family (he hated travelling!).
Now a Client Account Manager he has a portfolio of clients and creates financial accounts for sole traders, partnerships and small to medium sized limited companies as well as personal and corporate tax returns.
Chris is a family man with 2 daughters and wee French bulldog called Frank. He also loves the gym and a good day at the races.
Chris works in our Ayr office assisting with accounts preparation, Xero training/support, and audits.
He started at William Duncan straight from college in 2014 after completing a HNC in Accounting. Since then Chris completed his AAT exams before moving on to complete his ACCA qualification. He is a qualified accountant with ACCA, having passed his final exams in 2021.
Christine has been working in accounts for over 25 years having previously worked with Ballantyne and Company for 21 years.
Christine works alongside clients utilising her expertise in Xero, Iris and Sage.
In her spare time she enjoys going to the gym and watching her three boys playing local football.
Claire has been with the firm since 2009 and is PA for Iain Sim and also our Beansburn Office's Practice Administrator, as well as a member of the William Duncan social committee.
Claire works within business advisory services specialising in SME companies spanning a cross range of sectors. She also prepares personal tax returns for clients.
Claire began her career with an Ayrshire firm before moving on to large firm in Glasgow then back home to Ayrshire with William Duncan in 2015.
Out of work, Claire enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as a bit of DIY around the house.
Job Titles:
- Senior Tax Manager
- Chartered Tax Advisor
Clare is a qualified Chartered Tax Advisor who joined our Tax Team in 2021. She gained her tax qualifications whilst working with "the big 4" and then worked for several years at Scott-Moncrieff.
She has been working in tax for over 15 years and over this time has dealt a wide range of clients from sole trades and partnerships to high net worth individuals and large corporates. Clare's skills cover personal and corporate tax matters as well as IHT, residence and domicile.
Outside of work Clare enjoys going to the gym and spending time with her husband and dog.
David has been providing audit and accountancy services to a variety of clients for over 10 years with both Campbell Dallas and Ernst and Young. David believes that his keen focus on getting to know clients and how their business works, allows him to give a tailored service to each client he works with.
Outside of work David enjoys playing five aside football and spending time with his wife Laura and their two children. Being a farmer's son he also continues to have strong agricultural ties, including his involvement on the local agricultural show committee.
Dawn joined William Duncan + Co in 1995. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics and Marketing and currently works as part of the tax team in the Ayr office.
Out of work Dawn enjoys spending time with family and friends, health & fitness and music.
Donna is PA for both Stephen Bargh and Kevin Ottley.
Donna also helps coordinate client events, runs our tax protection insurance and is one of our First Aiders for the Ayr office.
Out of work Donna enjoys spending time with her family and her boxer dog Belle. She also loves socialising, hillwalking, going to the gym and exploring different places in Scotland in her VW Campervan toot toot!
Elaine graduated from Strathclyde University in 2013 with a BA in Accounting and Finance. She joined William Duncan & Co in the summer of 2013 and qualified in 2017 as a Chartered Accountant. She joined her family agricultural and haulage business for 3 years, where she gained practical experience, and has since re-joined William Duncan in September 2021.
Elaine splits her time at work between managing a client portfolio, assisting clients in all compliance related matters and business advisory.
Out with work, Elaine enjoys spending time with family and friends and being outdoors. She regularly attends the gym and has been known to climb some Munros.
Job Titles:
- Business Development & Client Support Manager
As an ambassador for William Duncan & Co, Emma is focused on the client experience, creating and maintaining client relationships and raising the profile of the firm amongst relevant audiences. Prior to joining William Duncan Emma enjoyed a career in major gift fundraising for the University of Glasgow, travelling the globe and building relationships with Glasgow friends and alumni to raise support for the University's priority projects.
When not at work, Emma enjoys spending time with family, catching up with friends, holidays and spending money!
Having worked in various accounting roles in the private sector for over 25 years, Emma started with the firm in October 2017 as a Client Manager. Her role involves looking after a wide variety of clients.
Emma enjoys travelling, shopping, liquid lunches and long walks along the beach.
Prior to joining at William Duncan in 2016 Euan spent 7 years working in private practice, becoming ACCA qualified in the process. He went on to work as an accountancy tutor for the next 2 and a half years. After this he moved on to a local authority for 4 and a half years, working firstly as an internal auditor and then a management accountant.
ACCA qualified Euan works mainly with small and medium sized owner managed businesses and enjoys helping clients and finding practical solutions to problems.
Out of work Euan loves anything to with cycling and spending time with friends and family. It should be mentioned that Euan is also famous for his bad jokes!
Fiona joined William Duncan in August 2021 as an Accounts Assistant within our Agri department. Fiona has experience in accounting and finance, having worked in similar roles throughout her career. She regularly helps out on the family dairy farm so is knowledgeable in agricultural terminology and operations of farming businesses.
Gaile qualified as a Chartered Accountant more years ago than she cares to admit and joined William Duncan in 1999. Working mainly in special assignments such as business plans, financial forecasts and grant applications, she also has overall responsibility for general accounts and compliance with accounting standards as well as working closely with our legal clients.
Gaile likes to escape with her partner and crazy pup in their camper van, especially to the Lake District (her special place) and loves spending time with her daughters.
She also enjoys music, reading, cooking and watching rugby.
Gary Ferguson joined William Duncan & Co. in March 2000 as an audit trainee after graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with a degree in accountancy. He successfully completed his ACCA qualification in 2002 and became fully Chartered in 2003, progressing to the role of audit manager for a number of years.
In 2006, Gary moved across to our then Cumnock office and took up the role of Senior Manager with a focus on more general practice work. With several years' experience in this role, Gary particularly specialises in Non-audit compliance, small business accounts and Corporate & Personal tax. In 2016, Gary relocated to our Kilmarnock office, where he is now based and recently promoted to Client Director.
Outside of work Gary is a keen gym goer and will regularly attend a few classes a week. He also loves his football and is a fanatical Everton fan - needless to say, he is never happy come a Monday morning!
Gillian has over 20 years' experience in corporate and personal insolvency. During her career Gillian has also worked in general practice gaining her ACCA qualification in 2008, her focus then turned to the Joint Insolvency Examination Board (JIEB) exams which she passed in 2011.
Gillian has experience in many aspects of formal insolvency procedures and can also provide practical advice to those who are in a distressed financial position. She is a qualified Insolvency Practitioner, previously taking appointments in her own name.
Outside of work Gillian enjoys travelling and spending time with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Senior Healthcare Manager
Job Titles:
- Practice Operations Manager