Period: April 2001 - Now

Role: Various

After my previous employment ended, I decided that I wanted more flexibility and variety in my working life and consequently created my company, Hill Professional Services Limited.  Since then, I have worked with a number of London and Kent practices on projects that include: -

• General compliance work including preparation of annual accounts for both companies and unincorporated businesses, audit of company accounts and preparation of corporation tax, personal self assessment and VAT returns;
• Working with clients' bookkeepers to resolve shortcomings in bookkeeping records, particularly with Sage Line 50;
• Review and supervision of compliance work of colleagues;
• Self assessment and corporation tax investigations and IR35 disputes;
• Assisting with with tax minimisation strategies;
• Preparation of management accounts for practitioners and their clients;
• Improvement of financial accounting systems of practitioners and their clients;
• Installation and improvement of information technology systems;
• Development of practitioners' business systems to improve the efficiency and service offered by the practice;
• Acting as financial controller / bookkeeper for clients.

Examples of the types of project that I have been involved include: -

• Over a period of two and a half years, managing a client base for a central London practice, which included being the first point of contact for many of the clients in that base and undertaking or supervising all of the compliance work associated with that client base;
• Supervising that practice's own bookkeeping and compiling the practice accounts;
• Involvement in the development of that practice's strategy and of the computer system;
• Over a nine month period preparing and supervising the preparation of hundreds of building subcontractor tax returns for a west London practice;
• Going to one of that practice's clients on a regular basis and resolving bookkeeping / Sage Line 50 problems with the bookkeeper;
• Undertaking the audit field work for a north London registered auditor's largest audit;
• Installing a peer-to-peer computer network for a south east London practitioner and maintaining / developing it over a three and a half year period;
• Over a two and a half year period acting as financial controller / bookkeeper for a central London corporate financier business and another commercial due diligence company;
• Undertaking specific accounts preparation projects for a Kent practitioner and another based in Bournemouth.

Period: February 1997 - March 2001

Role: Senior Accountant / Tax Manager

Reason for leaving: Redundancy

The practice was initially based in Canterbury but later moved to Maidstone following the merger with another practice in August 1998.  After the merger, the firm had eight team members and my responsibilities included:-

• Installing and maintaining the computer network used by the practice;
• Providing computer advice to clients;
• Managing a client base of approximately £120k GRF and dealing with the majority of the correspondence;
• Dealing with a number of corporation tax, self assessment and VAT investigations, including meeting with inspectors and negotiating settlements;
• Supervising a team of up to three people including one qualified Certified Accounting Technician and an Accounting Technician student;
• Preparing and reviewing company and unincorporated business accounts;
• Planning, undertaking and supervising the execution of audits;
• Peer-reviewing the audits performed by a manager;
• Preparing and supervising the preparation of hundreds of self assessment and corporation tax returns;
• Corresponding with and meeting clients.

Following attendance at the Results Accountants' Systems "Accountants' Boot Camp" and the creation within the practice of a Business Development Unit in 2000, the focus of my work subsequently moved away from conventional compliance work to business development opportunities that assist clients in growing and developing their businesses.

I also became heavily involved in marketing of the practice.

Top 50 Chartered Accountants, Canterbury

Period: June 1996 - November 1996

Role: Tax Assistant

Reason for leaving: Resignation for career advancement

My second employer was a top 50 practice which later merged with MacIntyre Hudson.

My short career was almost entirely spent working on income tax returns, the associated tax computations and correspondence.

I had the responsibility for dealing with all of the income tax returns for the entire office.

Top 30 Chartered Accountants, Canterbury

Period: August 1989 - May 1996

Position: Senior (at time of leaving)

Reason for leaving: Resignation for career advancement

After finishing my A levels, I joined this top 30 accountancy practice - the largest firm of Chartered Accountants based in Kent, with over 200 employees.

I started as a trainee Accounting Technician and subsequently qualified in 1992. Initially, as is usually the case for a trainee, my work was dominated by accounts preparation for small businesses.  However, as my experience grew I was able to delegate much of the basic accounts preparation work to two trainees that I supervised and trained.

During the six and a half years spent with there, I encountered a great variety of work, covering the areas of accounts preparation, auditing and taxation.  The size of businesses was just as varied, ranging from annual turnovers of less than £100k to over £5 million.

I was regularly involved in a number of audits. My duties encompassed all aspects, such as planning, executing the audit work, supervising staff and wrapping up the job with the audit partner.

There were also a number of other assignments that did on a regular basis, including preparing budgeted cashflows, the preparation of wages, both manually and by computer and completion of VAT returns.

The firm's large size meant that team working and good communication with colleagues was essential for the smooth running of clients' affairs.  During the latter years of my career at this practice, I gained considerable experience of assisting and supervising junior staff below me, thus progressing the development of my people management skills.  Over the years, I have also acted as "mentor" to several AAT students, which involved providing on-the-job training and completion of the student's quarterly training records for submission to the firm's training partner.

I was highly regarded within my office group for my computer literacy.  I had an extensive working knowledge of the applications on the firm's mainframe computer system, including accounting and taxation packages, word processing and spreadsheets.  I held the positions of "personal computer expert" and "Excel expert" for my office group and had responsibility for training and assisting the twenty or so members within my group with their personal computer problems and attending the firm's regular personal computer meetings, dealing with hardware and software developments.

I can be contacted by e-mail at info@hpslimited.co.uk, by mobile telephone on 07790 350632 or fax on 0871 253 7874

Hill Professional Services Limited is registered in England number 4184530. Director: Shaun Hill

Registered office: 2 Hampton Court, King & Queen Wharf, Rotherhithe Street, London, SE16 5SU

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