Senior Manager

Main practice area

Tax advice matters

Career rundown

After leaving The College of Richard Collyer, I started my training as a professional golfer before making the change to a trainee accountant. I joined Richard Place Dobson in January 2001 and continued studying for my Association of Chartered Certified Accountants qualification; I qualified in early 2003. Shortly after that I began my specialisation in tax. I went back to studying in 2013 when I started my Chartered Institute of Tax Advisors qualification. Although the ten year break from study added to the challenge, I qualified in 2016. I have now been at RPD for 20 years.

Achievements within your professional life you are particularly proud of?

Achieving first time passes in all twenty professional exams to get both qualifications. Especially the Chartered Tax Advisor qualification due to having the additional ten years on the clock!

What would you be if you weren’t an accountant?

I expect I would be a professional golfer teaching and helping others with their game.

What do you find most rewarding about your job?

Helping clients and colleagues with problems, finding tax efficient solutions for them.

Your favourite football team?

Liverpool

One thing that you learned at school that has helped you in your professional life?

Look at any problem from the other side, as approaching it differently can often help to find the solution.

Your favourite holiday destination?

I really enjoyed my visit to Las Vegas. It’s hard to explain why, I guess its because what should have seemed unusual felt like a normal, everyday thing.

Your favourite comedian?

Me, but I get as many groans as I do laughs, so I’ll say Jimmy Carr.

What makes you laugh?

Generally dark humour, sarcasm and making light of political correctness. See favourite comedian above!

What do you like to do in your spare time?

As well as good movies and TV series, I enjoy the escapism of video games and tabletop roleplay games and find these to be a relaxing way to practice problem solving and keeping the brain thinking.