An accountant who used to stitch together paperwork with a needle and thread is stepping down from one of Norfolk's oldest firms.

Clive Dodds, managing partner and chairman of directors at accountants Stephenson Smart in King's Lynn, is retiring after working with more than 900 clients.

Some of those customers have been on the books since the day Mr Dodds first started out in the King Street office.

Born and raised in Norfolk, Mr Dodds, 66, has seen the 100-year-old company expand from its flagship town office into multiple locations throughout Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, all of which he was instrumental in developing.

He began working for Stephenson Smart on June 15, 1974, on the advice of his father.

He said: “When I started, my first job was for C.R Lake, an ice cream business, whose accounts I had to hand stitch together with a needle and thread. Everything had to be done by longhand and it took forever.
“We had two sheets of double-sided paper that we stuck together. The clients name was on the front, the inside would have the profit and loss and the back would be the balance sheet.”
He was made partner in 1984 before the first computer was introduced, and as the years passed his position took him all over the world, with work in South Korea, the Philippines, Australia and the Bahamas, where he assisted with a sale of a stately home.

He said: “On the first day at work I rang my best mate to tell him how it was going, and I remember saying, ‘I’ve got another 45 years of this’. I’ve actually nearly worked 47.

"It’s been an amazing journey; the clients have been incredible...the staff have also made it very memorable.”

Mr Dodds has been involved with King's Lynn's Festival Too as treasurer and chairman and is also the local chairman of The Princes Trust, trustee of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and trustee of Open Road, a charity supporting young people to find a vocation.

Mr Dodds' role of managing partner will be filled by Michael Andrews, who is the company’s second longest serving partner.

Mr Dodds will continue to act as a consultant for the next three years. He plans to spend part of his retirement at his Spanish home when Covid conditions allow.