SPORTING all-rounder Neil Cronshaw is fast becoming a key player in a Blackburn team of accountants which specialises in insolvency.

For the 30-year-old insolvency adviser and administrator at White & Co. Chartered Certified Accountants, is proving to be as versatile in the office as he is on the football field, tennis court and cricket pitch et al.

"Although I work for a firm of accountants, only a small element of my role is directly related to accounts," says Accrington-born Neil, who has been with the expanding firm for close on six years.

"I'm the first port of call when people seek assistance - often in a state of considerable distress - so there's a real need to tread carefully and lend a sympathetic ear.

"I aim to keep the person calm and reassure them that there are ways to resolve their financial difficulties and that there are alternatives to bankruptcy and liquidation - I guess it sometimes involves a little counselling."

"Quite often, clients make themselves ill worrying about their finances, sometimes to the point of feeling suicidal, so the initial one-on-one meeting is the most important aspect of the job."

In addition to the compassionate side of his position, regular court appearances, creditors' meetings and involvement in general administration are but a few of Neil's other regular duties - you name it, he can turn his hand to it.

Yet despite having relevant A levels in maths and business studies and a 2:1 accountancy degree from Northumbria University, the former Mount Carmel pupil could so easily have shunned a career in insolvency for a more 'glamorous' profession.

"I was quite a decent footballer as a schoolboy and represented the town and county," he explained. "My parents encouraged me to take it a step further, but that never really happened, although I still play to a decent standard for Accrington Amateurs' first team.

"I wasn't a bad junior tennis player either, having won local and county championships and I currently play in the Lancashire Premier League, but as with my football, I didn't make the transition onto a bigger stage."

Other sports have also taken a back seat and the same fate has befallen a pursuit much closer to home.

"My parents, Geoff and Josie, have run a newsagents on Stanley Street in Accrington for thirty years, which has been in the family for close to a century. I suppose there may have been an opportunity to help with the business, however that never really appealed to me, although I do lend a hand from time to time - with the accounts of course!"

Neil is currently studying for the next stage of his accountancy qualification as he is set to take his ACCA exams next month, with a view to becoming a qualified accountant by 2004.

Such an unswerving focus on a career in insolvency has made Neil an asset to White & Co. He said: "My ultimate goal is to rise further within the firm and hopefully become a partner.

"People often ask what insolvency involves and assume that working for an accountancy firm is a little mundane, but quite frankly, given the diverse nature of my role and the satisfaction gained from helping people, nothing could be further from the truth!"