History of Whiting & Partners

Whiting & Partners are a firm of general practice chartered accountants, the partners of which are predominantly members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

On 1 October 1928 the firm Larking, Larking & Whiting was founded by Roland and Gordon Larking, and Walter Whiting; with eight staff at Wisbech, March and Bury St. Edmunds. There are few today who can recall the conditions for those in practice in the twenties, when premiums for articles were the norm and qualified accountants with experience were on salaries of £300pa in the City. The profession was still striving to achieve its deserved recognition in the business world during the most difficult economic conditions. Electronics were unknown and mechanical aids were only available to the affluent. The ability to cast down the page in pounds, shillings and pence simultaneously was a required skill; some of us today can still remember casting telephone books as a preliminary task before being permitted to touch the client's record!

War Service

No fewer than 46 members of staff served with the armed forces during the Second World War; three never to return. Three others were taken prisoner by the Japanese, as were many who served at the time in the Far East with the famous East Anglian Regiments of old. Thankfully these three were to return. Their experiences are rarely, if ever, mentioned and cannot anyhow be expressed in words.

There was a stirring reminder of this time when certain letters that Walter Whiting sent to staff during the war, but never reached their destination, were found in a London scrap yard and returned to the firm via Regimental Headquarters in Bury St. Edmunds in 1990.

After the retirement of both Roland and Gordon Larking in 1968, Walter Whiting and his partners continued to practice as Whiting & Partners. Walter Whiting took retirement in 1974 after serving with the firm and its predecessors for 53 years, but he continued to take an active interest in its progress, his partners and their families. He died in his beloved Wisbech shortly before his 90th birthday and the firm's 60th anniversary, in 1988. Walter is sadly missed by all who knew him, and in his memory, his partners endowed a prize in his name for the top East Anglian student in the Final Examinations.

Strong and consolidated growth now sees a practice with 20 partners and around 130 staff, based in 8 East Anglian market towns. Traditional accountancy and tax return compliance work has now been expanded to include many specialisms and niche services.