David is a Chartered Accountant,with forty years professional experience. He has a significant understanding of all aspects of Corporate Finance.
Whilst carrying out consultancy assignments David’s role as a partner of SGD is non executive.
David is Chairman of the Confederation of West Midlands Chambers of Commerce and is much involved in international trade matters.
As well as dedicating his time to being a tax partner of SGD, David also likes to watch rugby and is an avid Welsh supporter – much to the disappointment of his partner and dog who are both England fans! As you can imagine, the Rugby Six Nations in their household can be a try-ing time! David also enjoys the peace and tranquillity of gardening, golfing and walking his dog in the countryside (especially when the route ends up at the local pub!) David always steps up to a challenge and was part of the SGD team who completed the treacherous muddy obstacle course – Mud 7 helping to raise over £6,000 for a local charity. Although vowing never to sign up to something like this again, he has recently joined the SGD jogging club with the aim of contributing to SGD’s pledge to cover 500 miles for charity in the summer. Until recently, David also managed to find time to be a Governor at Coventry University, a role which ensured the university had effective management and well planned development for the future.
David originally started his career in audit at KPMG but he swiftly moved into the world of tax when he realised that clients prefer someone who can save them money! David has over 30 years in the profession and has brought his wealth of knowledge and experience at PWC as the partner heading the West Midland Entrepreneurial and Private Company Tax Department to his clients here at SGD. David enjoys building relationships with clients and gets satisfaction from being able to make a genuine difference to them and their business. He specialises in entrepreneurial tax planning and consultancy and has experience managing client portfolios including MBO, MBI and Private Equity Investment transactions. David’s favourite part of his job is solving the financial issues of individuals and businesses so if you have a tax planning query no matter how big or small, please give David a call at the office and he will be happy to assist.
Susan is not your typical audit and assurance director, not only is she a qualified Chartered Accountant with 20 years’ experience but her personality is nothing short of high intensity. This is reflected in her interest in fitness where she participates in high intensity interval training, the SGD jogging club and enjoying long country walks with her dog Reggie. Susan is also an avid fan of motorsports and live music but she can take a break from the fast lane by enjoying a nice glass of wine in the summer sun.
In her 7 years at SGD, Susan has grown the audit team, leading by example to ensure their success in maintaining professional high standards in every aspect of their audits and building key relationships with clients. Susan manages client portfolios ranging from management accounts and the preparation of financial statements to compliance advice, due diligence and tax planning. Susan spent 7 years as the director of a car garage giving her invaluable insight into what it takes to run and manage a successful business, knowledge that Susan is able to pass on to her clients.
Susan has always had a logical mind which makes her career in accountancy a natural route to follow. In particular, Susan enjoys the technical aspect involved in her job ensuring everything is accurate but she also relishes the challenge of doing her absolute best for the client and their needs. Susan enjoys building relationships both with clients and colleagues and is proud of how her dynamic and enthusiastic audit team have developed under her wing.
Susan is always willing to help, so please do not hesitate to give her a call if you would like to discuss your assurance requirements.
As a Director in SGD Debra’s primary role is to support clients in solving their problems. Her approach is holistic, assisting with practical advice, helping them to grow and develop throughout their business journey. This involves looking at the business and owners together, often planning how money could be taken from a business whilst assessing the impact of various taxes. She also oversees our assurance and audit matters and cares for clients in the charitable sector.
Debra is a Chartered Certified Accountant with over 30 years’ experience in the profession having trained and qualified at firms within the City. She understands the needs and issues of owner managed businesses and deals with all related compliance matters including accounts, audits and taxation. She is also experienced in giving opinion as an expert witness in the high court and in arbitration proceedings.
Married to Rick with two adult daughters, Debra is involved in charity work and loves outdoor activities. She’s a seasoned long distance runner and has completed a number of marathons fairly slowly.
Paul has now withdrawn from client responsibilities and working reduced hours but continues to undertake key administrative and regulatory functions for the firm. As Paul hails from Leicestershire he is looking forward to spending many days at Grace Road each summer supporting his county’s cricket club through his life membership.
Paul likes to keep active mentally and physically and enjoys solving cryptic crosswords and walking in Derbyshire with wife, Sarah.
Bryan is a Non-executive Director of SGD and was one of the founders of the firm. Now retired from client responsibilities he acts in a consulting capacity to the firm, drawing on his 40 years of experience as a trusted adviser to many businesses and individuals. He has a clear understanding of the varied issues faced by businesses at all stages of their life cycle and SGD continues to benefit from his experience.
Married to Judy with two adult children and four Grandchildren, Bryan enjoys a variety of interests in life and now wonders how he ever managed to find time to work at all. He is a member of a thriving local community church where he is a Trustee with responsibility for finance.
Paul has been an integral part of the SGD team for over 7 years. Paul’s decades of experience as an accountant has seen him move through the ranks at SGD, recently becoming a manager. However it can be argued that his more important role is being one of SGD’s quiz masters, helping to take our team to the final of many charity quizzes in the past. While his general knowledge is good, his knowledge about 80’s metal and hard rock bands is second to none which stems from his love of live music. Paul appreciates good quality, not just good quality music, but also well engineered, perfectly designed, top quality cars. He also likes to watch sports, from rugby and football to snooker and darts, all of which contribute to his wealth of general knowledge. Despite all of these interests, there is nothing Paul enjoys more than relaxing with a craft beer while watching his beloved Arsenal play – Tottenham supporters please do not fear, we accept all football fans at SGD!
Paul is more than just a manager, he supervises the preparation of statutory accounts, flat management accounts, tax compliance and bookkeeping. We also view him as our internal software support, as Paul is our go to man for solutions to any software glitches that may occur. Paul also manages a team of accountants, ensuring they have everything they need to meet his clients’ expectations. As an approachable and highly respected manager, Paul will always find time to offer a helping hand to anyone who needs it. So please, if you have any queries, do not hesitate to contact Paul.
Sara is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor.
Having trained in London with a major firm of accountants more than 30 years ago, she spent many years working as a commercial accountant in both private and public companies before returning to professional practice in 2007 to pursue a career in tax consultancy.
Sara is able to use her commercial experience in applying a holistic approach to her tax work. She has a detailed knowledge of all direct taxes and enjoys helping clients to implement efficient tax planning to support their commercial growth plans and personal objectives. Sara also has experience in dealing with complex HM Revenue & Customs enquiries and litigation support work where her attention to detail is invaluable.
Outside of work Sara enjoys running and hiking when she gets the opportunity. She is married with two teenage daughters who help her to stay young at heart.
Our very own adrenaline junky Paul began his career with the Inland Revenue more than 30 years ago. Paul has always lived life to the full, enjoying extreme sports such as skiing, mountaineering and kayaking, but nothing was as heart stopping as the day he ventured across the battle lines to become a tax consultant with the Big 5. Paul then worked for Grant Thornton for over 15 years and progressed to managing the Private Client Tax Department. Now, Paul is a tax partner of SGD, using his considerable 30 years experience to help develop owner managed businesses, provide private client capital tax planning and offer strategic business and tax advice.
Paul is not all suits and ties; he is pretty handy with a tool kit too, skills acquired from many years of learning from his family. Paul is never happier than when he is getting his hands dirty building and renovating houses, landscaping gardens and other general projects – much to the appreciation of his adult daughters who can always rely on their dad to fix it! Paul also likes to give back to the community; he launched and ran the Ardent Adventure Trust a Duke of Edinburgh scheme provider which became one of the largest independent not for profit groups during its peak. Paul is also a huge advocate of the Chernobyl Children’s Project (UK) which provides life changing experiences to terminally ill children affected by the Chernobyl disaster. Paul and his family run an annual respite activity weekend taking care of up to 20 teenagers with life threatening conditions as a result of the disaster. Helping them to experience amazing activities such as jet skiing, camping, climbing and living museums as well as providing them with safe, fresh and healthy food to boost their immune systems. Paul loves being able to give back to these groups by helping them to experience the great outdoors which is his passion. As well as all of this, Paul also finds time to be a qualified paddle sport instructor and to take some well-deserved rest playing a round or two of golf.
Paul uses all of these leadership skills in his role as a tax partner of SGD. He is dedicated to providing strategic leadership to ensure SGD is always developing in the strongest possible way for its employees and his clients. Paul enjoys being able to offer solutions and forward thinking planning to enable his clients to achieve the best possible outcome for themselves and their business. If you are looking for advice regarding strategic business planning or personal capital tax planning, just call our offices and ask for Paul Spencer.
Richard commenced his career working for Lloyds TSB, gaining Chartered Institute of Bankers Qualification, before moving to Bradford & Bingley in 1992 where he trained as an Independent Financial Adviser.
Richard’s role is to enable the tax solutions offered by the firm to be put into a vehicle that achieves this aim, ranging from tax efficient investment plans such as ISA, EIS, VCT to Pension Planning. He also arranges residential and commercial mortgages using his wide network of contacts.
With 3 “highly active” children, Richard’s interests mainly revolve around playing golf and maintaining his handicap!
Richard works for our associated firm Spencer Gardner Dickins Financial Services Limited which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
SGD’s senior audit and accounts manager is more than just a chartered accountant with over 20 years of experience. He is a family man, with two young boisterous children and has a keen interest in photography, astronomy and formula 1. Being a self-confessed technology geek and a die-hard Apple fan, Sanjay enjoys finding solutions to technological problems and learning his way around new systems and gadgets.
Sanjay’s logical mind led him from a degree in Mathematics to a successful career in accountancy. After a stint in a top 10 accountancy practice, Sanjay now enjoys the variety of services that he can offer his clients at SGD.
When he is not gazing at the stars or ‘pimping his ride’, Sanjay also manages a large portfolio of clients. He oversees and coordinates the preparation of statutory accounts, tax compliance, audits, company secretarial and ad hoc services. Sanjay manages a successful team of accountants; as a manager, he understands that being a team player is the key to an effective, well-oiled accounting machine and he can always be found leading the team from the front. Sanjay also recognises that client satisfaction is a key principle to each service provided by him and his team and will always go above and beyond to ensure the happiness of his clients. If you have any questions regarding accounts or audit, Sanjay is just a phone call away.
Dan trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor with a Big Four accountancy firm. He developed his experience of advising owner managed businesses with a small firm before joining the Tax Consultancy team at SGD.
Married to Sophie, Dan is kept busy outside of work by his three young daughters (including twins born in 2016) and by his leadership role in a local church.
David brings 50 years of experience as a chartered accountant to his non-executive role within SGD. He is a former Chairman of the Governors of Coventry University, former President of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and currently chairman of the Chamber’s Brexit Club.
Married to Lesley with four adult children David’s interests include Rotary and golf.