Asian World July Business of the month is the hugely successful multi-talented chartered Accountancy firm SKN, Shalim Uddin and Kabir Khan are the two dynamic and industry led Directors at the helm of the financial enterprise taking their business from strength to strength.
SKN Aim: To offer a complete business solution, in areas that really matter.
Services: Accountancy, payroll, tax planning, financial management, commercial mortgages and business consultancy.
Background
The company started operations in West Bromwich, moving to Handsworth in 2006 and then to Six Ways in Birmingham as a result of rapid business growth. SKN currently has facilities in Birmingham to rival any major long established accountancy firm. They specialise in providing services to small and medium sized businesses both regionally and nationally.
Key Facts
• SKN as an idea was formed by three friends who met whilst studying at the University of Manchester in 1997.
• The three friends are Shalim Uddin, Kabir Khan and Nazmil Suhail. The name “SKN” derives from the first three initials of the founding partners.
• The company was formed many years after in 2004 with Shalim Uddin and Nazmil Suhail both having qualified as Chartered Accountants and Kabir Khan as a Management Consultant.
Employees
The company currently employs 16 staff and is looking to expand substantially in the coming year and increase staff numbers to over 30.
Asian World Asked SKN what type of clients they have on their books?
Our clients range from small sole traders to multinational companies operating in different parts of the world. We have a large number of Asian clients from the professions, medical services, construction, retail and catering sectors.
Do you think there is a saturation of accountants within the south Asian community now?
There are a large number of unqualified accountants in the market. However we do not compete with these accountants who serve a different market. Our concentration is on the larger market and clients who require professional services with a personal touch. We only compete with ourselves to make our services better for our clients.
Directors Profile
Shalim Uddin BA(Econ), Cert PFS, Cert CII(MP), MEWI, FCA, JP
Managing Director (Founder member)
Shalim Uddin is an accomplished chartered accountant. He has worked in the financial and business development industry since graduating from the University of Manchester. He received the prestigious Pete Grundy Prize for outstanding achievement in the Faculty of Economics and the KPMG Peat Mcklintock Prize for highest achievement in the Accounting and Finance Department.
He completed his professional training at CLB Chartered Accountants (presently CLB Littlejohn Fraser) a prestigious and respected firm of Chartered Accountants based in central London. Throughout these years he specialized in Business Assurance and Audit.
His professional memberships include the following:
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Personal Finance Society
Chartered Insurance Institute
Expert Witness Institute
- He is a founding member and one of the key directors of the Beani Bazar cancer hospital.
- He is also a Justice of the Peace sitting as a magistrate in the Warley Magistrate Court.
Kabir Khan BA (Econ), MSc (Econ), Cert CII (MP), MIMC
Director (Founder Member)
Kabir Khan graduated in Economics from the University of Manchester, he then went on to complete his postgraduate studies in International Economics and Econometrics from the University of Birmingham. He subsequently gained membership of the Institute of Management Consultants.
Kabir was initially based in Liverpool; he travelled across the globe frequently in his role as Management consultant for Unilever.
His work spanned East Asia Pacific, Latin America and Southern Africa. Kabir developed expertise in the area of Marketing Mix Analysis, Product Innovation, Market Entry, Market Emergence and Market Order of Entry.
After leaving Unilever Kabir co-founded SKN chartered Accountants and Business Advisors.
His professional memberships include the following:
- Chartered Insurance Institute
- Institute of Management Consultants
Kabir is the chairman of the board of trustees of one of Birmingham’s leading Education and Development charities (EDAS Foundation). He has worked pro bono alongside this charity in communications and marketing projects securing millions of pounds in funding to help them expand their support portfolio.
What advice would you give to young people wanting to go into accounting?
Get a training contract or work in the field as much as you can. Just doing the exams is not good enough. Employers are after people with experience.
By Emb Hashmi
