Biography:

Katy is a qualified tax adviser and chartered accountant. Beginning her career with a Big Four firm and gaining experience across a range of auditing and tax roles, Katy has specialised in R&D tax relief since joining ForrestBrown in 2019.

During a time of unprecedented change, Katy has led ForrestBrown’s approach to key developments including restrictions on overseas R&D expenditure and HMRC’s introduction of the Additional Information Form. This has included liaising with HMRC, delivering internal training and providing insights to clients.

Clients working with Katy benefit from her commercial mindset and clear communication, helping to optimise their R&D tax relief claims. She works with a range of large and complex clients in sectors including software, manufacturing and sustainability. Katy co-authored the Tolley’s Tax Digest on R&D tax relief and has contributed articles to publications including Taxation and The CFO. Katy also contributes to TolleyGuidance Corporate module.

Biography:

Neil has worked in VAT for 33 years. He spent 14 years as an inspector in HM Customs and Excise before setting up his own tax and accounting practice in 1997. He provides VAT consultancy advice for a range of chartered accountants in the south-east of England and also writes extensively on VAT for most of the leading tax publications in the UK, including Taxation and Tax Adviser. He has liaised closely with HMRC on many policy matters, particularly relating to the flat rate scheme, and is a member of the VAT technical committee of the ATT.

Neil won the Taxation Awards Tax Writer of the Year in 2008, having been shortlisted the previous year. He is a fellow member of both the CIOT and AAT and also a member of the ATT. He was on the national CPD speaking circuit for eight years until his retirement in 2014.

Biography:

Richard Dew's practice is a barrister, whose practice is focused on Wills, Estates and Trusts and related professional negligence. His practice is predominantly litigation, and he is frequently involved in large and complex claims. He also advises and represents in Court of Protection matters and provides expert advice in respect of tax and tax planning (principally capital taxation). Chambers UK 2014 describe him as having "superb powers of analysis," and that he "instantly impresses with his intellect. He is excellent with clients and is just as capable on his feet as when handling the paperwork." Previous editions say he is  a "'superb junior,' who combines strong academic credentials … with a flair for litigation and ADR". He is a member of STEP and ACTAPS. He is an author of Parker's Will Precedents and of Tolley's IHT Planning as well as a contributor to numerous books and articles.

Biography:

Abdulrahman Azzouni is a legal professional with an LL.B from the University of Sharjah and an LL.M from Pennsylvania State University, where he specialized in Tax and Corporate Law. Abdulrahman have gained extensive experience as a corporate lawyer in Saudi Arabia, handling a broad range of corporate law cases and providing compliance support to companies. Abdulrahman’s interests includes mergers and acquisitions, tax law, and managing complex legal matters.

Biography:

Patrick Cannon is an experienced direct access tax barrister specialising in taxation advice and advocacy.

In 2021, Patrick launched Cannon Chambers, a client-focused barrister set without the high overheads of a presence in one of London’s Inns of Court.

He read law at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford before admission as a solicitor in 1984. He was called to the Bar in 2003.

Alongside his L.B, BCL (Oxon) CTA (Fellow) qualifications, he is licensed by the Bar Standards Board to accept public access work and conduct litigation - and has written Tolley's Stamp Taxes and Tolley's Disclosure of Tax and VAT Avoidance Schemes.

Biography:

Wouter Brackx is a Partner with Moore Belgium. For over twenty years, he has been giving VAT advice to domestic and international clients on operational business matters and restructurings.  Prior to joining Moore Belgium in December 2020, Wouter worked with PwC (2000 to 2010) and was a Partner with PKF-VMB (2011-2020).

Wouter primarily works for dynamic businesses/groups with international activities, mainly in the areas of manufacturing & distribution,  leasing, services and technology.  He is pragmatic, hands-on and has a strong solution focus, based on know-how.

Wouter is an expert in VAT planning (avoiding unnecessary VAT costs/registrations), VAT risk identification & mitigation, VAT cash flow optimizations (supply chain), VAT automation and international VAT compliance coordination. He also provides assistance in obtaining advance rulings from the Belgian Ruling Commission. He and his team also have significant experience in due diligence work for private equity funds.

Biography:

Kiran specialises in executive remuneration and incentives matters.

Kiran advises on the establishment and operation of a wide range of cash and share-based incentive arrangements for both listed and private clients in the UK and globally.  She also works with clients on the remuneration aspects of executive recruitments and terminations and advises on corporate governance issues and compliance.

In addition, Kiran advises clients on the incentive plan aspects of transactions, including takeovers, IPOs, schemes of arrangement, rights issues, demergers and schemes of arrangement.

Kiran is a member of the Share Plan Lawyers group and of ProShare focus groups.  She is also a contributor to Revenue Law – Principles and Practice on the taxation of share plans.

Biography:

Since 2006, Jordi is Director of GD Global Mobility, the division of Gesdocument (www.gesdocument.com/en), specialized in advising and managing international mobility and assist international businesses and individuals to get established in Spain.

Jordi has a degree in Labor Relations at Universitat de Barcelona. Throughout his 19 years of experience advising major international corporations on global mobility issues, corporate and personal immigration laws and procedures in the European Union, Asia and America, he has been able to develop his professional skills in highly relevant companies such as PwC and E&Y.

During his professional activity, he has gained experience in the field of expatriate taxation, payroll, and international social security. Due to his international activity, he’s member of the most important international associations in this field such as EURA, ERC Worldwide and he’s also Chairman of Expat SIG at Leading Edge Alliance (LEA), one of the world’s largest professional law firm associations.

He was also an associate professor at both ESADE and ISDE, main business schools in Spain, and directs international conferences on expatriation issues related to Spain.

He is also co-author of the Immigration Guide for Investors of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

Biography:

Robert Eggens is an experienced VAT specialist with over 10 years of expertise, primarily focused on VAT and customs matters related to international trade and supply chains. He has worked extensively with multinational companies, providing strategic advice on VAT compliance and optimization. Robert is also actively involved in cross-border VAT projects and has contributed to numerous international VAT initiatives and contributes to Tolley's Global and EU VAT.

Biography:

Susanna Vickers is a licensed Lawyer in Portugal, and a member of the Portuguese Bar Association, holding a LLB (Bachelors degree) in Law from the Nova University of Lisbon, as well as an LLM (Masters degree) in Litigation and Arbitration from the same University, As a bilingual dual national of Portugal and the UK, she has specialised in assisting foreign companies and individuals with relocation to Portugal for several years, using the experience gained from her work at law firms, including Alves Botelho Varela & Associados - Sociedade de Advogados, SP, R.L., commonly known as ABV Advogados.

Susanna was one of the authors of the Portugal country guide in Tolley’s Global Mobility/Employment Taxes.

Biography:

Márton works as a tax manager at PKF Hungary. He is most focused on indirect tax issues however he is also involved in income tax and transfer pricing consultancy. He is following up with the VAT-related cases of the CJEU and entrusted with the publication of the updates on the firm’s website. Márton gained experience in the Hungarian tax administration procedure as well, as a former officer.

Biography:

Ventsislav (Venzi) Vassilev is the Senior Strategist and founder of PKF Bulgaria and has a strong background and experience in the accountancy and tax consultancy sector. Mr Vassilev is a graduate of the University of Bristol in the UK in Economics and Accounting and started his career with Arthur Andersen & Co in the early 90s. Then in 1995 he founded Rex Consulting - a fast growing group of consultancy companies in Bulgaria which in 2014  joined the network of PKF International.

Venzi Vassilev has extensive experience in consulting and assisting foreign investors in Bulgaria. He leads a team of multilingual professional accountants, lawyers, financiers, business experts and administrative assistants. Under his leadership the team has created a company culture of a welcoming and informal atmosphere which is combined with a strong commitment to the client's business.

Currently PKF Bulgaria and the Rex Consulting group of companies have four offices in Bulgaria (Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Bansko); all of the offices are registered as separate entities. Rex Consulting Ltd also has a subsidiary in London  that specializes in asset management.

Mr Vassilev has been retired from his CEO position  since 2019 and remains the chairman of the supervisory board of the Rex Consulting Group. He continues to advise the firm's key clients on various strategic investment and financial issues.

Biography:

Helen Cuthbert is a Senior Tax Manager in the Private Client Team.

Helen specialises in International Private Client Tax matters. Helen assists international individuals moving to the UK; advising on residence, the remittance basis of taxation and remittance planning. In addition, Helen advises UK resident and domiciled individuals leaving to spend time outside the UK.

Helen joined James Cowper Kreston in 2013 and advises a varied portfolio of International and UK based clients. Helen gained extensive experience in Big 4 and Top 10 firms, together with a number of years spent as a tax tutor preparing candidates for the Institute professional exams. Helen is experienced in a wide range of taxation issues including; income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, enveloped property and pre-arrival remittance planning. Helen has a particular interest in the UK taxation of offshore trusts including inheritance tax issues, capital gains tax deferral and the transfer of assets abroad.

Biography:

Joanne is a chartered accountant who brings with her seven years' experience at a Big Four accounting firm. As a Tax Manager at ForrestBrown, she advises a wide range of clients about the benefits of R&D tax incentives. Joanne also contributes to Tolley's Taxwise.

Biography:

Tom Shaw is an Associate Director at Deloitte. He leads Deloitte’s response to Environmental Tax budget measures, and acts as a tax lead in Deloitte‘s Road to Net Zero/Climate group. He has over ten years' experience advising businesses in every sector on the effect of environmental taxes, in addition to VAT/GST systems, customs duties and other taxes, on their operations.

Tom specialises in global trends concerning carbon pricing instruments, associated taxation policy change and business transformation. He is a Chartered Tax Adviser and holds a first class degree in Mathematics.

Biography:

Nathalie Varga is a managing director at PKF Österreicher & Partner GmbH & Co KG and advises companies of various sizes and sectors on all tax and business management issues. Since passing the tax advisor exam in 2016, she has also specialised in VAT issues.

She professionally advises clients on a daily basis on all domestic and international VAT issues, while always keeping an eye on other tax topics as well. In addition to VAT, Nathalie is also an expert in the field of group taxation.

Biography:

Giovanni is an attorney at a top-tier law firm, specializing in tax litigation and consultancy. With extensive experience in both personal and corporate taxation, he has been a key member of the tax department at Andersen Ballão since 2019, where he has continuously expanded his portfolio by assisting multinational enterprises.

Giovanni's expertise encompasses tax compliance for corporations and family offices, with a strong focus on resolving complex tax litigation cases before the Brazilian Tax Authorities. His experience spans a wide range of areas, including income tax assessments, the collection of state and municipal taxes on services and property, as well as international tax planning.

An emerging author in tax law, Giovanni has crafted numerous legal opinions for individuals and corporations around the world, always employing innovative thinking and a problem-solving approach. He also serves as a guest lecturer in tax law at a university in Brazil.

As a partner at Andersen Ballão, Giovanni is dedicated to fostering networking opportunities and supporting the technical growth and development of young professionals in the legal field.

Biography:

Caroline leads the Employment Tax Team in London and has over 25 years’ experience specialising in all aspects of employment taxes. Her clients range from entrepreneurial fast growing businesses to international household names as well as charities and not for profit organisations.

Her focus is across all aspects of employment taxes in particular the off-payroll working rules (IR35), employment status for tax, termination/settlement payments, employment tax implications of agile working arrangements, management team advice on transactions, employee benefit reviews, PAYE/NIC compliance and reporting etc.