Biography:

Briony advises on all aspects of UK employment law, acting for both employers and employees, and advising on both contentious and non-contentious matters.

Briony advises on litigation in the Employment Tribunal, including claims relating to unfair dismissal and discrimination. Briony also has experience in Data Subject Access Requests, preparing policies and staff handbooks, drafting contracts of employment and advising in relation to settlement agreements.

Biography:

Craig Simpson is a Tax Partner and owner of Bates Weston Tax LLP and Bates Weston Tax Advisory Limited. He specialises in providing tax advice to privately owned companies and high net worth families.

Craig set up his own advisory practice back in 2016 having held a number of senior positions in the national accountancy firms, seeing a gap in the market for a high quality, service focused advisory business. Advising across the range of tax matters relevant to the owner managed business. Craig particularly enjoys advising on complex reorganisations and reconstructions and developed a specialism in this area.

Craig regularly writes in the tax press and presents to fellow professionals and clients. Craig is also the author of Tolley’s Tax Planning for OMBs and consultant editor for the OMB module on TolleyGuidance.

Biography:

Oliver John was previously at Mazars for just more than five years where he provided tax and share valuation advice to a range of businesses with regards to share transactions. In his role as director at Azets, Oliver will continue to share tax advice with clients over the life of a business, from companies looking to raise capital to shareholders looking to exit.

Biography:

Robert qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1979 with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co and decided to specialise in tax. Late in 1980 he left to join Financial Training in Newcastle teaching tax at all levels plus a few other topics for good measure.

After a few years he decided to go back into the profession firstly as a Senior Tax Manager with EY and later as a Group Tax Manager with Pannell Kerr Forster. Both firms made good use of Robert’s outstanding lecturing ability involving him in both local and national in-house training and client seminars.

In 1992 Robert set up on his own; providing accounting services and tax advice to local professionals, individuals and companies. It was not long before his lecturing skills were called upon again for both exam based training and CPD lectures. By 2000 Robert was in such demand as a freelancer he had to fully focus on lecturing and could take with him the invaluable experience of being in practice.

Until it was discontinued in 2006 Robert ran the entire CTA residential course at Reed College enjoying much success and several prizewinners: made more rewarding because most students were from small regional firms. Robert continues to teach students at various levels for different tax examination bodies both in the UK and in Europe as well as writing and delivering CPD lectures in the UK.

Biography:

Sunny is an International Tax and Transfer Pricing expert with over 18 years of experience. He has advised clients across a wide range of industries, including Oil & Gas, Pharmaceuticals, Logistics, Financial Services, Software, FMCG, and Consumer Electronics.

Sunny has extensive experience guiding clients on transfer pricing policies, including three-tier documentation, benchmarking analysis, Advance Pricing Agreements, and audit or litigation matters.

Before Co-founding TPNOMIX, Sunny held positions at Aibidia, PwC, and KPMG.

He has authored or co-authored three books and published over 100 articles on tax and transfer pricing in leading publications such as LexisNexis, IBFD, and TaxNotes International.

Sunny is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce.

Biography:

A corporate tax partner, Cathy is part of Mercer & Hole's team of business tax specialists providing assistance and support to clients across the firm.

All business clients are concerned about their tax burden and, with her team, Cathy offers guidance to business owners and directors across all relevant taxes. This not only involves guiding clients through the complexities of compliance but also looking at some of the more interesting aspects of corporate tax, for example, in relation to business transactions, the structuring of a business, incorporation, research and development (R&D) tax credits and employee share schemes. She therefore provides vital planning support and helps clients to minimise the tax burden for their business.

Cathy has a wealth of experience in the area of business transactions, particularly regarding company re-organisations, demergers, acquisitions, disposals, flotations and take-privates. However, Cathy also assists clients with the personal taxes that affect business owners, for example, regarding succession planning, IHT and capital gains tax planning.

Cathy has contributed chapters on: Selling a company, Buying a company and Franchising for Tolley's Tax Planning and is a regular writer for the firm's SME Plus blog and client newsletters.

An avid football fan, Cathy spends much of her spare time supporting Arsenal both at home and away fixtures.

Biography:

I started my career helping to sort out tax problems for high net worth individuals, corporations and high profile clients under investigation for suspected serious fraud at Ernst & Young. I specialised in anti avoidance legislation targeting offshore structures and held senior positions with large offshore fiduciary service providers. I established the Edge brand over a decade ago and in 2012 focused the main business on managing tax risks, handling suspected serious fraud cases and assisting clients and advisers with disclosures to HMRC.

Biography:

Mike Thexton has been talking and writing about tax since passing the examinations of ICAEW in 1983 and CIOT in 1984. He currently spends his working time presenting regular VAT updates for the specialist staff of several large and medium-sized firms of accountants, writing the Quarterly Online VAT Update for LexisNexis, and providing tax and accountancy services to personal and small company clients.

Mike won the Taxation Magazine Tax Writer of the Year Award 2010 for his articles in the professional press, leaflets for the clients of accountancy firms and technical material on VAT. Among the pieces submitted to the judging panel were answers to Taxation magazine's Readers' Queries, concealed behind a mysterious pseudonym.

He has also published a book, "What happened to the hippy man?", about his experience at the centre of the hijacking of PanAm 073 in Karachi in September 1986. He is working on "VAT the heck!", a collection of weird and wonderful stories from the world of VAT, and looking for a publisher…

Biography:

Becky is a member of the Employment, Pensions & Immigration group and advises on all aspects of employment law, both contentious and non-contentious.

On the contentious side, she has expertise in dealing with a broad range of employment tribunal claims, including unfair dismissal, discrimination on the grounds of age, sex and disability, part-time working and unlawful deductions of wages.

Her non-contentious experience includes drafting and advising on a wide range of employment contracts, consultancy agreements and company policies and procedures.

Becky also advises in relation to post-termination disputes with former senior executives and regularly advises on settlement negotiations and severance terms.

She regularly publishes articles on all aspects of employment law, speaks at seminars and provides bespoke client training.

Biography:

Robert Trill is a tax director at Interpath Advisory, an independent advisory practice created from KPMG UK's disposal of its Restructuring practice. Having worked at leading international legal and accounting firms and at a FTSE 100 group, Robert has over 20 years of corporate tax experience. Particular areas of tax specialism for Robert include solvent and insolvent restructurings, M&A, financing transactions and complex UK and international advisory. Robert works with businesses across most industry sectors, advising clients of all sizes, from SMEs to large multinationals.

Biography:

ROBERT JAMIESON MA FCA CTA (Fellow) TEP

Educated at Fettes and Pembroke College, Cambridge where he studied Moral Sciences, Robert joined what was then Cooper Brothers & Co and qualified as a chartered accountant in 1972. He subsequently moved to Financial Training where he ran their specialist tax course and tax consultancy divisions. He passed the ATII examination in 1979 and received his FTII (now CTA (Fellow)) in 1984 for a thesis on family companies. 

After 20 years with Financial Training, Robert decided to return to full-time practice and became a partner in Adam Broke & Co in 1992. This firm merged with Mercer & Hole in October 2001 where he was a partner for 12 years.

Outside his work, Robert joined the Council of the Chartered Institute of Taxation in 1993 and became their President in May 1999. He was on the Editorial Board of the weekly magazine "Taxation" for 21 years until 2011 and, in 2007, he joined the Editorial Board of "Simon's Taxes". In 2013, he became the Capital Gains Tax correspondent for "Private Client Business".

Robert is an occasional commentator on private client tax matters for Legal Network Television. In May 2008, he chaired and co-presented one of LexisNexis' inaugural webinars entitled "Topical Capital Gains Tax Issues". He is now a regular webinar presenter for a variety of organisations.

He joined STEP in 2009.

Biography:

Hammad Baig (BA (Hons), LLB (Hons), BVC, MIEx) was called to the bar in 2010. He is a tax barrister and advises on all aspects of VAT, Customs and Excise Law, International Trade Law, Embargoes and Trade Sanctions and Commercial Litigation. Hammad is experienced at in-depth analysis of complex provisions in disputes with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

Hammad is a member of Institute of Export and International Trade (IOE&IT) and also the Customs Practitioners Group (CPG), the Revenue Bar Association (RBA) and the VAT Practitioners Group (VPG).

Biography:

Narcis is an experienced Romanian lawyer and insolvency practitioner based in Bucharest who has been continuously practising law since 2012. He has gained extensive experience across several prestigious firms in Craiova and Bucharest, focusing mainly on corporate and commercial law, as well as insolvency issues. He is one of the founding partners of BMA Legal – Bogoiu, Matei & Associates, contributing to its establishment and growth.

Throughout his career, Narcis has provided expert legal counsel to a diverse clientele, including both local and international clients in various areas of business law. His expertise is focused on corporate and commercial law, restructuring and insolvency, tax law and litigation. He also possesses significant experience in employment law and real estate matters.

Since 2018, he has been offering a wide range of legal services to clients in the aviation industry. His expertise covers both contentious and non-contentious matters, representing clients in complex litigation before Romanian courts. He also offers valuable guidance on the licensing, registration, and compliance requirements for aircraft operating in Romania, ensuring full adherence to legal regulations. Furthermore, he has substantial experience in advising clients on dry and wet lease operations, helping them navigate the complexities of aircraft leasing agreements.

Narcis obtained a bachelor’s degree (2012) and a master’s degree (2013) in law with specialization in Private law from Craiova University Law School.

He is a member of the Bucharest Bar and the National Union of Insolvency Practitioners in Romania.

Narcis speaks fluently Romanian and English.

Biography:

Giovanny Téllez Cano is a tax professional with more than 10 years’ experience in the sector. A lawyer and graduate from the University of Antioquia, Giovanny also holds a masters in financial and tax law from the Complutense University of Madrid and a specialist qualification in international tax management from EAFIT University in Colombia.

Giovanny is a business adviser on all issues related to international exchange regime, tax law, international taxation and customs law, and lectures as a university professor at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

He is the author of the Colombia country guide in Tolley’s Global Mobility / Employment Taxes.

Biography:

"With over 10 years of experience in the legal and audit field, Yuliia Yaniv specialises in providing expert consultations on tax and law matters, including commercial, civil, corporate, contractual, banking, labor, and other branches of Ukrainian law. Has advised both domestic and international clients, helping them navigate complex legal frameworks and mitigate risks in various sectors.

As a part of PKF team is committed to delivering high-quality legal support, combining extensive expertise with a practical, results-oriented approach.

A graduate with a Master's degree in Law, offers tailored legal solutions for businesses and individuals, ensuring compliance with Ukrainian regulations and helping clients achieve their strategic goals.

Also regularly contributes to professional publications and holds training sessions for legal and business professionals on key tax and legal updates and practices."

Biography:

More than 18 years of experience in the analysis and preparation of financial information, providing advice and consulting on accounting, tax and financial matters; compliance with tax obligations, payroll preparation, tax recovery and representation before tax authorities. More than 10 years of experience in auditing and preparing federal, local and social security tax reports.

She has a degree in Accounting from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and a specialty in Senior Management from the same institution.

Biography:

Antonia is a professional support consultant in the corporate division of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP. She specialises in giving technical advice on company law, listed company regulation and M&A, with a particular focus on public M&A. She writes regularly on developments in these areas and delivers a wide range of legal training to colleagues and clients, as well as lobbying on legal and regulatory developments. She contributes to Tolley's Tax Planning.

Biography:

John is a chartered accountant and independent training consultant, who lectures for the major trainers, professional bodies, accountancy practices and publishers. He speaks on auditing, financial reporting, ethics, company law and anti-money laundering. Previously, he has been the technical partner for a top thirty firm of accountants and Head of CharterGroup, the accountancy network.

He has spoken for ICAEW's, highly successful, Audit & Assurance Faculty and Financial Reporting Faculty roadshows, for many years.

As well as writing for Audit & Beyond and various other publications, John is author of Core Auditing Standards for Practitioners. John is also a member of the Audit & Assurance Faculty's Practitioner Services Panel.

John finds writing about himself in the third person unsettling.