ROWAN SUMNER is managing partner of Bootle-based chartered accountants SB&P. He works with a 40-strong team of people providing a host of accounting services to clients. He lives in Allerton with his wife, Pam.

This is an account of his working day:

8am: I like to be in the office by 8am, because it gives me a fairly peaceful period in which to plan for the day. The first half hour without anyone around is helpful. I’ll usually also have a quick 10 minutes with my corporate finance partner, Rob.

8.30am: My secretary comes in and updates me on anything I need to know for the day ahead, which clients I’m meeting, where I’m travelling to and so on. I then make a start on tackling my to do list, always handwritten, I’m particular about that, it seems more accessible than a computer list to me.

9am: I come out of my office and say “I have a cunning plan” (I’m a Blackadder fan) but it makes everyone groan because it will probably mean lots more work. I have a possible solution for a client problem, as we pride ourselves on being more than accountants, business advisers really. I start working down my “to do” list, as well as putting the cunning plan into action.

10am: A client calls me with a bit of a crisis on their hands. It’s a case of drop everything and go and see them. Problems are rarely as serious as the client first thinks, but when it’s your business, to many people their whole life, we really appreciate that it is of great importance to them and react accordingly.

12noon: I travel back to the office after a fraught meeting which seems to come to a successful holding position until we can put some measures in place. The client seems much happier, which reassures me that we’re giving the right level of customer service as well as expert advice.

12.30pm: I get some lunch which is not particularly healthy, and remember back to the time when I was semi-retired and lost 4½ stone because I was eating sensibly. The work I do involves lots of networking these days, and canapés don’t really absorb the odd glass of wine. Colleagues know that, if I’m drinking tea, then it was a late night the day before.

1pm: I make a couple of calls about an organisation I’m involved with, called Interact, whose members are all linked to the construction industry and is also great fun.

2pm: I have a meeting with a potential new client in our offices in Oriel House. I explain to them that, although book-keeping is vital, there is a wide range of services we offer, so that takes a while to sort out what they need us to do.

3.30pm The rest of the afternoon is spent researching as we have a couple of new clients. Because of the nature of accounting, you can be involved with almost any type of company, so you need to be aware of all the major issues in their marketplace and have a good grasp of their industry as a whole to be able to help them to the best of your ability.

6pm: Today I can leave the office fairly early, so I drive back to Allerton and have dinner with my wife. I watch a recorded Liverpool game that I didn’t get a chance to catch the other day and a bit of TV, and prepare my new “to do” list, then make sure I get to bed at a reasonable time ready to do it all again tomorrow.