What do you do?

I’m part of the CP Innovation team here at Cooper Parry. The aim of the team is to help companies, of all sizes and across all industries, claim reliefs they are entitled to. Reliefs such as R&D Tax Relief are really valuable, and despite being available for over 20 years, there are still common misconceptions about the level of innovation required to be eligible. We work with the technical and finance teams within the company to help them apply the legislation and HMRC guidance in a practical way to their circumstances, preparing a robust claim for submission to HMRC. 

Why do you do it?

Having worked in corporate tax compliance for over 15 years, for the last nine years I have specialised in R&D tax relief. I love seeing how the relief can make a real and significant difference to claimant companies.  

What kind of projects have you been involved in?

R&D tax relief is available for companies across so many different industries – yes there are the companies who do work in labs wearing white coats, but the majority of companies I have dealt with are manufacturers, engineers, software developers – really, any company who is trying to do something better, faster, more efficiently, using different materials, or changing to meet new regulations may well qualify. With relief of up to 24.7% of qualifying expenditure available, this makes a real practical difference to claimants. 

What’s on top of your bucket list?

So many things! Now my children are older, I’m hoping to have a little more time to travel, both at home and away… I’d love to go to the Maldives, arriving by seaplane, and I’m also going to get the sleeper train from London to Penzance at some point (not quite the Orient Express but more achievable!).