Companies Of All Sizes. International Supply Chains.
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A Broad Range of Sectors.
Christopher Scott is the Senior Manager of our Indirect Tax team and works in our Glasgow office. With a background in VAT and Customs and Excise, he advises any business that is moving goods in or out of the UK or providing services, on how to deal with this niche area of tax.
Most of Christopher’s work involves helping clients fulfil all of their legal requirements and stay compliant – or telling them what 20 pieces of paper they need to fill in! He also provides advice to clients who may be new to imports or exports, helping them understand how to classify their goods, or what partners they need to work with.
“I previously worked at Sky TV, helping them implement their tax technologies. Now I want to use my experience of automation, AI, and bots, to push forward the way we work here. Whether that means speeding up our processes, minimising human error or getting rid of the long-winded processing tasks that people find so boring.
I’m looking into using technology to analyse large volumes of accounting data, to bring in time savings, efficiencies and strong audit trails. It’s just incredible what can be achieved with data technologies now.”
“There are probably people in the business that are more technical than me, but I have a fairly unique approach. I focus heavily on the relationship side. I’m more people-minded and creative – in fact, I’m actually a photographer too. It’s honest communication skills that I excel in. Just getting people to relax and not be nervous about VAT or tax. It’s about normalising it. Just getting alongside people and helping them find a way through. And I think that’s quite a skill in this line of work.”
“It would be quite easy for me to bamboozle clients with legal speak and jargon, just reciting tax laws back to them. But the people I deal with don’t want that. They want someone who can translate it into plain English, telling them what it means practically.
I become a kind of outsourced, in-house resource. Clients can come to me and say, ‘Chris what does this mean?’ Or ‘Chris, if I move these goods from the UK to the Czech Republic, what do I have to do?’ I can explain it all and lay it out in a very straightforward executive summary type way. And I think they really appreciate that.”
“My experience forms a complete triangle. I’ve worked as an officer at HMRC, I’ve been an adviser, and I’ve also worked in-house for a global organisation. So, I’ve seen it from all sides – and I think that really helps me build relationships and trust with my clients. It definitely gives me a bit of extra kudos.
I also think that knowing where to look is a strength. It’s not about always having the answers. It’s about saying you don’t have the answers, but you know where to find them. That’s something that I learned fairly early on in my career. I know where to go and look in the law – and I know how to interpret it.”
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Blog14th Nov 2022
Businesses are continuing to face uncertainty arising from tensions created by the global political and economic situation and the impact of the pandemic. These issues have the potential to impact significantly on your cashflow. For many businesses, VAT can have…
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