Moragh Hunt set up North West Numbers CIC over four years ago to help charities, voluntary organisations and small business with accountancy and book-keeping. Her aim was to become the number one company for Not for Profit book-keeping and accountancy and making a difference in the lives of the sector she loves.

Her rationale stems from her childhood in Scotland, as she developed an ever-growing love for numbers and an increasing awareness of the world in which she lived. As a child, Moragh grew up knowing how the charities in her community of Glasgow made a difference, both for her family and others. She, like many other families wore clothes from jumble sales and mums would knit and recycle old jumpers, and then knit again. Often, they survived with the help of local charities and her community when needed.

Moragh’s childhood became the vision to qualify as an accountant; where her love for numbers would help her to make a difference in the sectors she respects most…

Accountancy began with messing about with numbers in my head…

When I was a little girl, I always used to mess about with sums and numbers in my head. I do not know if anyone did this, but I always counted tiles. I saw patterns emerge as I counted them and felt great when the numbers matched. Also, at school as a child, I was a swot with maths. I loved doing the sums and ended up at the top of the maths class. But, my teacher noticed I was falling behind and thought it was because of the lack of books I had.

The books I had made no sense to me and we didn’t have our own books in school. My teacher wrote a personal description of the maths formulas on paper for me to follow. This helped me as I followed the formulas and she encouraged me to work them out myself. As a result, I was top of the class again.

I loved doing my maths; my mum says I take after my favourite uncle because he is an accountant too! Maybe it is. My uncle liked people in the same way I like people too. Liking people and accountancy goes hand in hand and for me, it was the path I followed. My Dad wanted me to slip in physics as an option; in case accountancy didn’t work out. My Dad was a clinical physicist. He had his reasons, but for me, accountancy worked out. I left High School and started at the Glasgow College of Technology to study an Ordinary, Batchelor of Arts Degree, in Accountancy, and so began my nearly 40 years career in accountancy.

Accountancy in the commercial world is not my cup of tea…

My early career did not ignite my passion for numbers. I was a qualified accountant doing audits, visiting clients, and completing checks for control accounts for internal accounts; it was not my cup of tea; it did not engage me at all. I spent years working with smaller traders or businesses that ran from a bag of receipts that you had to make sense by analysing figures for HMRC.

But I still didn’t get what I was looking for. I worked as an accountant in manufacturing for years, but it never grabbed me. I felt like I was existing, but it did not ignite my passion for numbers in the way I wanted to. So I worked for a charity in Manchester called Community Accountancy Services who specialised in charities and voluntary organisations. I found what I was looking for; I had found my home.

I loved the concept of doing what I loved dealing with figures. Equally, I was also dealing with people. I could help them and make a difference. Accountancy and book-keeping for the charitable sector is my sector; I get the biggest buzz of helping as I save them time, reduce their stress, and make a big difference to their world. My services enable them to go back to what they are doing; helping people in the community.

North West Numbers CIC makes me happy.

There is an added side to accountancy for me which is far-reaching. I can see I am positively helping in someone’s life. I must admit North West Numbers CIC it makes me happy. I like the feeling that I make a difference by helping someone who is also making a difference families need. Doing this means, I too, am doing something good in the world. I mean, there is enough bad out there; I don’t want to add to that. So, I ease the burden of book-keeping and accountancy because I am an accountant; it is what I do.

https://northwestnumbersltd.co.uk/

Verve Recruitment, my vision is in helping others…

Like many start-ups, Verve Recruitment needed every penny, and every penny you spend is important. When we start our businesses and enterprises we stumble on hidden costs, and accountancy and book-keeping is often relegated to the bottom of the pile. Also, I was self-financed, I didn’t have grants or loans. To be honest, I didn’t want them and still don’t today. I earn money by providing services to help charities and my community.

So, I started up by cashing in my pension. I knew my vision, and, like Moragh, I tried to find the best way to make my vision real. Again, like others in business, I fell foul to people who claimed they knew what I wanted, but didn’t. All they did was spend money and deliver nothing. It wasn’t long before the penny dropped and we gathered what little cash was left and did it ourselves. All I needed was self-belief, resilience and the passion to get the job done; we needed to own our businesses and be the difference we need.

In order to do that, we need to share information from lived-in experiences because it saves us time and expense and prevent vulnerability. It’s wrong to stand by and watch women fail when we can help isn’t it? To me, that is not what we do…

Flourish- Women in Business with shared experiences…

Flourish is a social innovation programme for Women in Business in Manchester; they invited me to join them. The aim of Flourish is supporting women change-makers in business. Flourish inspired me and through them I realised I wasn’t alone. Nearly every one of us had similar experiences.

Now, with Flourish we had shared experiences and began to network to create solutions by sharing information and broke our barriers. I didn’t know at that time there was another lady experiencing exactly the same issues; Moragh Hunt from North West Numbers CIC.

Moragh Hunt set up North West Numbers CIC at the same time I set up Verve and were in the same position. To the world, we appeared confident and flourishing, but in reality, we needed help to overcome the barriers of which we knew nothing about. The problem was, we hadn’t yet met…

Flourish don’t just break barriers; they smash them…

Flourish don’t just break barriers; they smash them. Flourish gave us a clearer vision for the future of our businesses. But, there was a question I wanted to ask but ignored on book-keeping and accountancy. It was constantly on my mind and I was good at sharing my vision and ideas to help others. But to help me, I needed to know who their accountant was or who they would recommend? My first year set of accounts were coming up; I couldn’t put it off any longer.

When I asked around, Moragh’s name often came up as she offered Not for Profit’s specialist accountancy and book-keeping services with her business, North West Numbers CIC. She was also a member of Flourish. I needed to find out more, so I trolled her on Social Media.

I trolled her on social media; she’s a very brave woman…

Moragh was on our network of Flourish Facebook pages with her social media posts; I enjoyed them because they consisted or Moragh looking into a camera and filming while she spoke of all things’s accountancy. I create social media campaigns and ads from my blogs to recruit foster carers while advertising the charities I work with. This is something I enjoy doing, but there was no way I can what she does. I am the wrong end of an age where I would feel confident about myself on social media. But, there she is, loving it and making accountancy and bookkeeping realistic whilst making the brand of North West Numbers CIC unforgettable.

My other problem is my absolute mistrust of accountants. I have, as like many others, had learned the hard way previously from accountants who didn’t deliver. I was not going there again; I couldn’t afford to.

Verve Recruitment means everything to me. I recruit foster carers for Not-for-Profit Charities to find the right people to become foster carers and keep our kids in the communities they belong. Also, I write knitting appeals and articles for other charities, free of charge, like this one. Moragh wanted a change of marketing; I was happy to help.

But, sometimes my passion for helping others overrides my common-sense. I was intrigued by Moragh so I called her. I should have done it long before I did as she understood. Previously she too had adopted, children, and then I knew; Moragh had listened from her heart. I placed my trust in her and I don’t trust easy. However, we have a shared vision; we don’t stand by and watch others become vulnerable…

North West Numbers CIC make book-keeping & accountancy simple…

North-West Numbers CIC makes book-keeping and accountancy simple. Moragh has the patience of a saint, and her love for charities is clear. I want to share her details with other charities, who have the same fears as me. To be honest, if ever there was a time, we needed a common sense, and a no-nonsense approach to accountancy; blended with humour and humility; it is now.

If you are a small business, start-up, charity, or CIC and want to chat about book-keeping, accountancy services, funding and grants, contact her on the form below.

Too many times, our businesses fail because we don’t look after each other. I believe women should have each other’s backs to ensure we all survive in business and create a strong social impact, collectively. However, to do that, we must share information. Also, I believe that if you have good luck; you share that too. I had the good fortune of Flourish to find Moragh and North West Numbers CIC; now I share my luck with you in the hope, we too, have a shared vision…

Verve Community CIC- A shared vision for the future…

I created this article nearly four years ago. Since then, the world has been unrecognisable because of the pandemic that changed it overnight.

I set up the Verve Community CIC in January this year with Moragh in mind to help me with my vision. I wanted her, because she too has that vision to create change. She’s very good at it, too. Moragh didn’t fold during the pandemic. Like most of us, we did what we had to do with support from friends, families and for me, Universal credit to keeping on doing what we do. She helped other charities from going under, such as when Salford Veterans Community Centre CIC needed support. She did what needed to be done. I continued to write blogs, knitting campaigns, support charities and women to prevent vulnerability with the amazing Ladies who Knit. I recruited foster carers for Not for Profit charities to keep our kids in the communities to which they belong and work with the Re-Engage programme to support young people in education with Major Chris Chudleigh. Moragh and I are directors in Verve Community CIC and our community continues to grow…

If you want to know more about who we are, what we do, or become a part of our community, contact us on the form below. Together, we are stronger and make a difference in the lives of our community.