Theo Chauhan-Jenkins is an associate director at BDO LLP and has been with BDO in the MIdlands for 11 years, joining straight from college on the school-leaver apprenticeship programme in 2014.
In one sentence, what does your role involve? I advise a range of businesses from privately owned and large corporates to AIM/FTSE listed companies, private equity houses and funders on their respective investment or divestment journeys, providing both buy-side and sell-side financial due diligence support.
Please give a brief summary of your professional career to date. My career with BDO has spanned both audit and transaction services. The first seven years was spent in audit gaining my ACA qualification and progressing through to audit manager. During this time I worked with some great people and regional businesses.
My role in audit gave me a strong foundation to build on, and towards the back end of 2021 I decided to transfer to our Midlands deal advisory (transaction services) team. I really enjoy what I do – no day is ever the same and it provides me with a wealth of opportunity to learn, supporting a range of clients across a variety of sectors.
Did further/higher education set you up well for your particular vocation? I didn’t go down the traditional university route. Like most people starting college, I was unsure of what path I wanted to take career wise. To keep my options open, I studied physical education, biology, business studies and accountancy at A-Level.
Going into my second year, the biggest topic was university/UCAS applications. By this point I had decided that I wanted to go into accountancy and submitted my UCAS application to Durham University, choosing to study accounting and finance.
However, with a background rooted in a working-class community, I got to my final A-Level exams (which were tough!) and questioned whether university was right for me.
My accounting teacher mentioned that BDO was recruiting for their school leaver programme, something I hadn’t considered. After researching both the apprenticeship and BDO I weighed up my options between starting work or going to university. I knew the apprenticeship was the best route for me.
I completely understand the role higher education plays, but ultimately, I knew I wanted a career in accountancy. I saved a year of study time and gained five years of relevant working experience – earning a salary at the same time whilst not accumulating the student debt.
How is your job impacted by uncertainties in the economy? In general terms, the uncertainty in the economy in more recent years has impacted deal activity. The deals market can be easily influenced by macro-economic factors, as well geopolitical conditions – whether that’s policy changes, interest rates, inflation or trading tariffs.
Despite there still being some economic headwinds, with UK inflation settling and interest rates continuing to fall, there has been a reinvigoration of deal activity at the start of 2026. Key growth areas this year are expected to include tech-enabled services and ‘buy and build’ platforms.
This motivation is mirrored in our latest bi-monthly Economic Engine survey of 500 mid-market businesses. It shows that nearly half of Midlands businesses expect their growth this year to come from M&A.
What’s your view of artificial intelligence – an opportunity, threat, or bit of both? The term artificial intelligence is quite broad, but overall, I see it as an opportunity and something that we need to embrace as it’s here to stay.
I’m a firm believer that AI should be used to enhance and make processes more efficient, not to replace human interactions or thinking – which are integral to how we do business.
Social media platform of choice, and why? I would have to say Instagram – for no other reason than it’s easy entertainment!
How do you hope your colleagues would describe you? Hardworking, supportive and hopefully enjoyable to work with.
Highlights of your career so far? I would have to say completing my ACA qualification, as well as my apprenticeship, with a close second winning Transaction Services Team of the Year in 2025.
For me, the apprenticeship route and accounting qualification has opened up many doors, which means you don’t have to have your entire career figured out from the outset. Now I really enjoy supporting other team members in their development, helping them achieve their full potential in the way others did for me.
Pet hates? Rudeness. I’m a big believer of the age-old quote ‘treat those how you’d want to be treated’.
If you could go back and give your younger self some wise advice, what would it be? I would probably say, don’t overthink it. You don’t have to have all the answers to every question at once. Sometimes, this can make people shy away from a situation because they don’t think they’re ready for the challenge. Equally, by over-thinking things it can often over-complicate or slow down a process when the answer is straightforward and easy to achieve.
How do you relax away from work? I like to spend time with family and friends, go to the gym and also travel. Food is also a big passion of mine. I like to experiment with all cuisines really.
Tell us something about you that most people probably wouldn’t know. I can plaster (although it has been a few years since I picked up the trowel!) Before my BDO apprenticeship I worked with my stepdad during the school holidays as a plasterer to earn a bit of money whilst at college.
You can take one book, one film and one CD onto a desert island – what would they be? That would be the Harry Potter stories, the film Hitch, and my CD would definitely have to be Drake – Take Care.
Your five dream dinner party guests, dead or alive? Michael Jordan, David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Martin Luther King and Barack Obama.
What would you choose to eat for your last supper? That’s a really tough one! It’d have to be a fusion of cuisines – tandoori rack of lamb, side of macaroni cheese, and for dessert warm chocolate brownie with honeycomb ice cream.
