By his own account, Lee Webster was the most unlikely chartered accountant. He left school at 16 and, almost by chance, started a YTS placement at a local accountancy practice. It was there that he found what became a lifelong passion for numbers and strategic tax planning – and he made the most of it. Between the ages of 16 and 28, he qualified as FMAAT, FCCA and FCA, and as a registered auditor.
Lee went on to run his own accountancy practice, which he sold in 2020 before retiring. Retirement, he admits, didn’t suit him. He carried on supporting a small number of clients from the practice, Oculus Group among them, and continued to attend its monthly board meetings. It was there that Founder & CEO David Ward spotted a good fit. Lee wanted a new challenge, and Oculus needed strategic support to deliver its growth plans. He joined Oculus in January 2025.
Today, his focus is people. Lee’s aim is to build confidence within teams and to align each person’s goals with the company’s strategic plan. The most satisfying part of the role, he says, is watching a colleague reach what they believe is their best, then go on to achieve even more. That starts with setting the highest standards and making it easy for people to ask for support when they need it to meet those standards and deliver what the client needs.
That people-first view shapes his advice to anyone comparing providers. The expertise sits with the people who will actually deliver the contract, and no tender document or report can replace quality. “Look at the CV,” he says. “It never lies.”
The same thinking applies when Oculus takes over a contract from another provider. A good handover, in Lee’s view, shows the client from day one that Oculus wants open, excellent communication, so improvements are delivered straight away and the client can be confident they will continue.
Transparency and quality standards are what he sees buyers increasingly asking for. Oculus stays ahead, he believes, by attracting quality managers and directors, building a culture of improving service delivery day after day, and backing it with new accreditations. “We stand by these standards.”
Ask him which achievement at Oculus he is proudest of and he doesn’t name a contract: “The team. Every one of them.”
Outside work, Lee is proud of his stepchildren, who have secured their university places and are following their chosen paths. “They have a plan at such an early age. I love that.”
From YTS trainee to chartered accountant to Commercial Director, Lee’s career is proof that standards, and the people who uphold them, are what count.
