When Scott McNaughton’s rowing boat was engulfed by a 40ft wave in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, he realised what real pressure was. The actions and decisions he and his rowing partner Neil Hunter took in the next few minutes almost certainly saved them and their boat.

“I was rowing towards the wave. I saw it crash about,” says McNaughton, who just over a month earlier had set out on a 2,935-mile journey from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to English Harbour in Antigua in a 23ft-long boat to raise £20,000 for the charity, Diabetes UK.

“I could see what was going to happen and shouted to Neil,” explains McNaughton, a partner with professional services firm BDO Stoy Hayward.

Hunter, who was inside the cabin, pulled down the hatch locking himself inside, not only to stop seawater pouring in but also so he could provide vital buoyancy to keep the boat upright.

As the wave crashed it poured hundreds of litres of water into the boat.

“The boat went under the water,” recalls McNaughton. “When the wave had passed and the immediate panic had gone, the deck was under 3ft of water. I was kneeling on the top of the boat. The water was above my waist.” As well as activating the electronic bilge pump, both men frantically bailed water with large buckets.

“We were both exhausted,” says McNaughton, who, 2Å months after setting out, was back at his desk in London even more motivated and excited about work than before, thanks to the enlightened culture of his firm which gave him the time off to realise a personal goal.

As a company BDO Stoy Hayward uses its expertise to help businesses grow and maximise their potential, and it does the same for the aspirations of its staff.

The firm’s community volunteering policy allows staff to take off six days a year for charity work and there is discretion for them to be granted time in addition to this if there is a personal development opportunity involved.

“The working culture is about people achieving not just the objectives that might be on an appraisal sheet, but growing as individuals,” says McNaughton, whose 13 years with the firm have also included a secondment to M&C Saatchi and a two-year spell in the firm’s office in Auckland, New Zealand.

McNaughton, who has previously taken time off to climb Mount Everest, is always keen to make sure that the business gets something back from his endeavours.

“You definitely come back from different experiences with a toolkit for dealing with other things.”

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