Professional Qualifications
It is important to seek out an accountant with suitable qualifications to help you:
I achieved the CAT qualification in 1999, and the ATT qualification in 2001.
I was awarded fellowship of my professional association in 2011. I received my membership certificate at the ceremony held at the House of Lords.
I have also volunteered for my association. I was the ATT representative on HMRC’s working together partnership in Tolworth. It was there where I met HMRC’s chief executive Lin Homer.
I was also profiled in the ATT’s 2009 Annual Review and featured in the February 2021 edition of TAXAdviser magazine.
Industry/Practice experience
Suitable experience to help you is also important:
In practice, I was the manager of a mixed tax department for a Surrey firm of chartered accountants. I’ve also worked with a big four firm.
In industry, I’ve negotiated complex settlements with HMRC. I’ve also provided personal tax advice to the directors and UK staff of a $7 billion turnover company.
Presentations
When seeking an accountant, one who is familiar with helping people like yourself is important:
I also give presentations to help people grow their own businesses. I have presented to small business owners throughout the South East UK as well as in Spain.
Larger presentation include to 50 financial advisers at the London School of Economics. I’ve also presented to a local group of 85 chartered accountants in Guildford. I was a guest lecturer to a class of entrepreneurs at St Mary’s University, Twickenham.
Author
Outside of the tax world, there is much advice available to help you both start and grow your small business:
I am the author of two books to help small business. My first book, Chocks Away, was published in 2010. Power Climb, my second book, was published in 2012. Both books have been endorsed by a NY Times bestselling author.
Online business course
You can avoid making the same mistakes as others, and get ahead of your competition, by learning from experience:
In 2016 I launched an online small business course to help small business owners avoid common mistakes when starting a consultancy. I now have over 10,000 students enrolled in 153 countries around the world.
Small Business Saturday 100
If you run a small business, it is possible to achieve nationwide coverage for your business at no cost:
I was one of the alumni from the 2014 Small Business Saturday 100, resulting in an invite to Downing Street.
Small Business Saturday is the UK’s most successful small business campaign. Only one hundred of the UK’s top small businesses are selected each year. They act as trail-blazers in the official count-down towards the annual event.
In 2018, I returned to Number 11 for a Small Business Saturday event to celebrate small businesses in the UK.
The Surrey Digital Awards
To grow your business, you may want to consider the use of social media. When integrated correctly, there can be minimal demands on your time and good results achieved:
I won Gold in the 2015 awards, Silver in the 2018 awards, Bronze in the 2016 awards, and was a finalist in the 2017 awards.
My competitors for the awards included much larger businesses throughout Surrey.
Outside of Work
Unfortunately some accountant’s websites don’t even tell you their name or who will be dealing with your important tax matters… it can benefit you to choose someone who is actually a real person:
I have been a member of Mensa since 1988. Through my membership I’ve enjoyed several of the group’s annual trips. Particularly memorable are those to Portmeirion and the British Grand Prix.
As a cadet in the RAF section of the CCF, I had my first flight in a light aircraft – a de Havilland Chipmunk.
I went on to complete the Private Pilots Licence with night rating and instrument rating (R). Over 10 years as a private pilot, I logged 350 hours in 18 different types of aircraft, before retiring from flying in 2010.
I was lucky, courtesy of a flying magazine, to have my fini flight (final flight) in a new twin-engine aircraft – a Tecnam P2006T:
Please make contact to see how I can start making tax easier for you: