Michael Larg has had a lifelong interest in country sports. So when the opportunity came up to specialise in Rural and Landed Estates at Johnston Carmichael, he jumped at it - and now he has grown a career supporting businesses in a sector he is truly passionate about. Michael, a Business Advisory Senior Manager in our Elgin office, shares his story here.

When did you join JC, and what attracted you to the firm?

I joined Johnston Carmichael on 6 April 2015 (I only remember the exact date because it was the start of a new tax year).

I had a number of friends who worked at JC and the variety and nature of the work they were doing sounded really interesting. JC also seemed to offer great exam support for ICAS etc, which was a draw.

The deciding factor was that I knew a number of people who were clients of JC’s and spoke very positively of the firm.

Tell us what you do for businesses and how your role has developed since joining JC.

When I first started with the firm my role was very much focused on preparing year-end statutory accounts. Over the years though I’ve broadened my knowledge and experience, and my role has become far more varied. As a Senior Manager I’m responsible for ensuring that my clients' accounting and tax matters are in hand, whilst ensuring that their wider objectives are being met (for example, wealth preservation for a large landowning family). I work very closely with our tax team to ensure that advisory opportunities are identified and delivered.

I take the client relationship manager responsibility very seriously. It means ensuring that we draw upon the huge range of expertise within our firm to introduce the right individuals with the right skillsets to our clients, and overseeing every aspect of the overall engagement to make sure that we're always delivering a joined-up service which is the high quality our clients expect and deserve.

What led you to having a particular interest in working with Rural and Landed Estates businesses? 

I’ve been involved in Country Sports all my life, with my first job being a Saturday role at our local Country Sporting Store in Inverness. Through that and my interest in fishing and shooting, I met various landowners and individuals working in the rural sector. When the opportunity therefore presented itself to become more involved in this space within JC it was a no brainer. I’ve been specialising in Rural for most of my time with JC and haven’t looked back.

My dad ran a milk processing company based in Nairn (which for a while was part of the Arla group); so whilst not from a farming background per se, I’ve always felt a connection to the farming sector too.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

Meeting clients and helping them achieve their goals. There is a such a breadth of characters in our client base, and I really enjoying getting to know them and their families and helping them with all aspects of their accounting and tax affairs (particularly the advisory side – for example, how to safeguard family assets for future generations).

What professional learning are you doing at the moment?

I attend JC events, keep up to date with CIOT / ATT updates, and regularly attend Rural specific events (e.g. Scottish & Land Estates events).

My goals over the next five years are to grow the relationships with our Estate clients and continue to develop our teams within JC to help  drive these relationships forward.

What keeps you busy outside of work?

Country Sports, hill walking and training labradors for the field (I have a 1-year old dog I’m training just now who is proving a challenge – but he’ll get there).

My partner Katherine and I recently got engaged, so I suspect wedding planning will starting eating into my time doing each of the above…

What’s been your best meal ever?

Any meal at the Ho Wong in Glasgow would probably be a contender for that title.

To find out more about how Michael and our specialist Rural and Landed Estates team can support you, get in touch via Michael.Larg@jcca.co.uk.