We began as a start-up ourselves and have broken the mould of Chartered Accounting.
When we founded our firm in 2012, it was from scratch. We had no clients, no revenue and no office. Like many of our clients, we’ve always done remote working, long before it became a necessity or fashionable.
Our core team is based in London but we have employees around the world, including South Africa and Mauritius. We typically work remotely or (lockdown permitting) use shared office spaces. This means that we can hire the best talent from around the world and keep our overhead costs low. We run a lean and flexible business model ‒ and advise our clients to do the same.
We’ve grown fast, through word-of-mouth ‒ by helping our clients in tech, digital and fintech grow and seize opportunities. Because we were once a start-up, we understand our clients and the challenges they face.
We know that tech start-ups are fuelled by innovation, grit and big ambitions. We have that entrepreneurial mindset too and the deep financial and accounting expertise to let you achieve your ambitions. We know what start-ups and tech businesses need from an accounting firm so that they can scale, get VC funding, maintain healthy finances and ultimately exit their business by finding a buyer for the optimal price. We’ll give you astute advice and put in place the right financial systems and processes, so that you can focus on growing your business and disrupting your market.
As the founder and director of Barnes and Scott, Tasnim is the person who gives strategic advice to clients. He uses his experience to guide them through the more complicated areas of tax and finance, such as R&D tax credits, the mechanics of raising investment or implementing employee share option schemes.
A wise business head on fairly young shoulders, Tasnim has 10 years’ experience in advising start-ups of all shapes and sizes, ranging from app development, digital media and cyber-security through to ad-tech, health-tech, smart city and gaming businesses.
What’s the secret to an efficient and scalable finance system? According to Tasnim, it pays to keep things simple. “Plan ahead, start early and map out your regular tasks that need to be done at set times each month. Tax deadlines are predictable, nothing should come as a surprise” he says. “Once you have mastered that you can spend time on the more valuable stuff like strategic tax planning, expanding into new regions and hiring new staff.”
Clients often comment on how he doesn’t “look, sound, or speak like an accountant”; something we take pride in.
Throughout his career Tasnim has personally advised more than one hundred start-ups. Statistically speaking, most startups fail in their first year. However, the vast majority (over 90%) of businesses Tasnim has advised are still operating today, which is testament to the quality of startups that Barnes & Scott work with, as well as our advice and support.
Tasnim started his career in finance in the City before training as a chartered accountant at the UK’s National Audit Office, where he was responsible for auditing central Government departments such as HM Treasury, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and the Bank of England. He was even entrusted with auditing the gold bars in the Bank of England’s vaults and the paintings at the National Portrait Gallery ‒ a safe pair of hands indeed.
As the “Head Honcho” at Barnes and Scott, Tasnim takes the lead in providing high quality advice and strategic support to all our clients.
Whether it’s advising on growth, funding, R&D or SEIS, you’ll find Tasnim working closely with our clients and supporting them implement his ideas and recommendations. Tasnim does not follow industry norms and never uses financial jargon – he’s here to make a difference, not babble with language you don’t understand! He takes pride in the quality of his work, his close relationships with clients and the professional integrity he shows throughout his work.
When he’s not at work you’ll find Tasnim relaxing with friends and family, listening to music, cooking in the kitchen and all things being well, doing all three of those things at the same time!
Smita is our most senior Accountant and is involved in a large part of our practice’s accounting and tax work.
Having worked in other accountancy firms for many years, Smita brings a wealth of experience to Barnes and Scott. Clients often comment on how efficient she is when responding to enquiries and ensuring deadlines are met. It’s all about the finished product for Smita, she excels at taking a messy set of records and turning them into a polished set of accounts.
When not in the office, you’ll find Smita listening to music and spending time with her friends and family.
Jack started his career as an auditor at Deloitte, both in London and Sydney. He has worked for a number of smaller accountancy firms, gaining experience across a variety of industries and areas of tax and accountancy. He has a particular focus on R&D Tax Credits and really enjoys hearing about the research that clients are undertaking and the innovative new products that they are developing, especially given his passion for science (he has a Masters in Molecular Biology from his ‘previous life’). Jack is currently working on specialising in some key areas of tax, such as SEIS, EIS, employee share options and VAT on digital services, in order to better serve our clients.
Whilst not at work, you will probably find Jack somewhere outdoors in the West Country, whether that be roped to a cliff, carrying a tent, on a mountain bike, or in the sea. He also loves to tinker with different woodwork projects and is hoping the garage in his new home will give him the space to do this!
With over 15 years experience in accountancy and tax, Simone has a wealth of knowledge to ensure our clients are compliant with their tax obligations whilst also ensuring their tax bills are fully optimised.
Simone will predominantly be assisting our clients with EIS, EMI and R&D however she also has specialisms in IR35, residency and HMRC tax enquiries.
Always keen to learn new things, outside of tax Simone is a registered archery coach and is currently learning British Sign Language.
Selina manages payroll for all of our clients, undertakes company secretarial work for Barnes & Scott and supports Tas in running the business. Selina has a keen eye for detail and design and she ensures that nothing slips through the net when it comes to her work.
When not at work she enjoys spending time with friends and family, including her two kids Ella and Mattie. She is currently undertaking a large home renovation project in South London where her eye for design is flourishing!
With 35 years’ experience as a Chartered Accountant and tax advisor, there’s few scenarios that Andrew hasn’t encountered. He sees tax as both another business expense that needs to be managed and controlled, and as a very important source of funding for fast growth tech cos; he is a recognised expert in R&D tax credits, the Patent Box, tax-efficient funding (SEIS/EIS/VCT) and employee/management share incentive schemes. He couples his tax technical expertise with his research scientist (PhD life sciences) background to get to the heart of his clients’ technology and markets.
He has considerable cross-border expertise and specialises in helping companies expand tax-efficiently into new geographical markets. He has taken a number of fast-growth companies to the public markets (AIM/NASDAQ/LSE) and has advised on over 300 trade sales and MBOs.
When not working, Andrew is a passionate cook, avid gardener, and plays both the piano accordion and clarinet. All he ever wanted to be was a farmer, but he reckons being a tax advisor comes a pretty close second!
Ahmed is from Pakistan and lived in London for almost twelve years until moving back home in October 2022. He is married with two children, a boy and a girl
Before joining B&S Ahmed worked as a Group Accountant at IQUW, a specialist insurer that deals mainly with property and motor business. He was responsible for the preparation of quarterly management accounts and year end consolidated financial statements. He completed his ACA with EY and KPMG back in 2016 and completed his bachelors from the University of Warwick in 2011.
Ahmed is really excited for this new challenge of working in a truly global remote company.
Marcus has worked in VAT since 1982, firstly with Customs and Excise and then as a senior manager with Grant Thornton in London. In 2003 he joined Price Bailey as a director to head up the VAT team.
Marcus is also a member of the VAT Practitioners Group, an associate of the Institute of Indirect Taxation, an associate of The Chartered Institute of Taxation and an associate of the Association of Taxation Technicians.
He has lectured extensively and has written numerous articles for technical and trade publications. He has specific experience in the areas of fintech, international issues, not for profit organisations, partial exemption, TOMS and transaction support.
Khagesh’s role involves a little bit of everything. Coming to us straight from university, he provides support with bookkeeping for our clients, helps out with accounts and tax returns and also helps out with social media and keeping our website up to date.
He recently began his professional accountancy training, we’re very excited to see how his career progresses here as he continues to help make a difference to our client’s and their businesses.
Khagesh is based in Mauritius and is a close-knit member of our team, staying in regular contact over Zoom video calls, WhatsApp calls and Slack. Whilst not at work Khagesh likes to work out, hang out with friends & family and take care of his car.
Rita is an experienced office manager who handles the administration of the practice, our client engagement procedures and all our correspondence with HMRC.
While she holds a degree in English Literature from the University of Cape Town, her career has focused on the financial sector. Outside of work she is an avid foodie and horse-rider.
Fadzai is a qualified accountant who has gained experience in accounts preparation, tax and payroll processing from her previous employment in various practice firms.
She is analytical, deadline driven and always strives to ensure that the clients’ needs are met. She enjoys working with various accounting systems, messy or not, to deliver a polished set of accounts to the customer.
Outside of work she plays chess, enjoys learning about other people’s cultures and takes pleasure in hosting her friends and family.
Pauline started her career in the banking sector, specialising in vehicle and asset finance for small and medium enterprises at The Standard Bank of South Africa, managing the Cape Town Southern Area.
Seeking other opportunities, she ventured off into the insurance industry and set up a finance brokerage within an insurance company, annualising large premiums under their binding authority with Lloyds of London.
After taking a brief professional break, she joined her husband’s start-up footwear import business, setting up and managing the entire back-end operation before it was sold a few years ago.
Motivated by a desire to connect with like-minded individuals, Pauline recently joined the Barnes & Scott team. This move allows her to balance her passion for working with numbers with her ability to engage well with people.
On a personal note, Pauline is married with three daughters. She loves music, Formula 1 racing (leaving the driving to the professionals) and you may see her running the odd half-marathon!
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