When I came to the UK at the age of 11 I didn’t speak any English and had had little schooling. But after secondary school, I went onto a Youth Training Scheme, got a full-time job and went to night school. I am proud of where I have got to. I was even shortlisted for the Yorkshire Accountant of the Year category in the Yorkshire Accountancy Awards 2025. For me, just being a finalist was a real achievement.
My father worked as a milkman in the 1970s and I used to manage his books. This is where my accountancy journey started. I then gained experience in industry before moving into practice. Our clients are SMEs ranging from shopkeepers to taxi drivers, construction contractors to restaurateurs, dentists and doctors.
Cloud software is excellent for businesses but only if used efficiently, which requires training
The main challenges facing practitioners are environmental costs, recruiting skilled staff, and training and educating clients. Cloud software is an excellent tool for businesses but only if used efficiently, which requires training. Some businesses think they can just feed in the information into cloud systems, but they may not understand key concepts such as the difference between capital and revenue expenditure. They might think they have given us a reconciled bank statement and trial balance, and yet struggle to understand why we spend so much time on their accounts. We often check and unravel the information, which takes time and comes at an additional cost.
Meanwhile, with MTD approaching, we can expect an additional workload. The number of HMRC enquiries is increasing because people are submitting the tax returns themselves and often make mistakes. When they get a letter from HMRC, they will seek help from an accountant and they will have to pay for the work to get it redone.
The tax system was stable a few years ago but now it changes every six months
Continual training is essential because everything is forever changing. The tax system was stable a few years ago but now it changes every six months. It is important to put aside time for training and to have a system in place to identify where your team may need additional support.
I am very family oriented. I really enjoy spending my time with them – walking, travelling and retail therapy.
