When Colin Walmsley began his career in accountancy, he was celebrating England's famous victory in the 1966 World Cup.

Forty years later and Colin is still working for the same firm - making him one of the longest-serving accountants in the country.

He joined Charles Buckle & Co as a fresh-faced 15-year old. The company is now called MGI Watson Buckle after a merger in 2000 and the change in name is far from the only one he has seen.

In the 1960s, accountants did not keep timesheets or charge by the hour - if the fee was 50 guineas the year before that was what would be charged again. And there were no Accounting Standards, no VAT and the Taxes Acts were contained in a slim volume.

Accountancy practices were very different places, with none of the calculators, photocopiers, or faxes taken for granted today.

He said: "Computers back then were huge and much slower. We needed to remain red-hot at mental arithmetic."

He feels one of the main differences between then and now is the increased competitiveness of business and the amount of regulation the industry now faces.

"Many small companies have had to amalgamate to survive," he said. "We were then very much involved with textile companies and ancillary businesses and also with workingmen's clubs, many of which have gone into decline as the industries have.

"My work these days is more to do with corporate finance and management buy-outs.

"Over the years the profession has become much more regulated."

Bradford-born and bred, Colin attended Buttershaw School where he decided accountancy was the career for him.

He is married and has children and grandchildren to compete for his time with his other loves - Bradford City and the Bulls.

And despite his long service, Colin said he has no intention of jumping ship any time soon.

"I enjoyed it at school and enjoy it still. I have no plans to retire at the moment at all," he said.

Jonathan Beckerlegge, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants' spokesman for the north east, congratulated Colin on his anniversary, saying: "It's a great milestone for him to have reached not only his 40-year anniversary in the profession but to have stayed with one employer for so long, especially in an age when we see a lot of mobility in the job market.

"Accountancy has seen a lot of changes over the last 40 years and no doubt will see many more and Colin should be very proud of his achievement."

e-mail: mark.casci@bradford.newsquest.co.uk