Client manager Charlie Goss is this month celebrating five years with Charter Tax, where she is part of the Corporate team. She joined having qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2012 with another local firm.
“My background was predominantly working with OMBs [owner managed businesses] and high net worth clients, looking after both their accounting, tax compliance and tax planning opportunities,” says Charlie, who also completed her CTA qualification last year. “This is still one of my focuses, but my role also has an international element now, especially working with non-UK domiciled clients. I am also involved with corporate tax advice including restructuring and transactions.”
She continues: “Being both a chartered accountant and a chartered tax advisor, I look at both the accounting and tax angles of different situations. Although I am part of the corporate team, my work very much crosses over with our Private Client team and I particularly enjoy this dual-aspect.”
Part of her role in the Corporate team involves being part of the Charter Tax outsourced FD [finance department] service.
“Providing this support means we are often talking to our clients on a daily basis, so we really feel like part of their team,” says Charlie. “It’s a wonderful feeling to be so involved with our clients and to help their businesses grow and succeed.”
Charlie admits that, when still at school, she didn’t want to be an accountant – mostly because her Mum thought that she should be… However, after completing her A levels, Charlie started working in an administrative role at a firm of accountants, which swiftly led her to embarking on training for her AAT and ACA qualifications.
“I realised that a career in accountancy wasn’t the boring number-crunching that I had thought and is very much about building relationships with clients and understanding their businesses and personal plans to help them achieve their goals,” she says.
Charlie adds that Charter Tax – although a firm of less than 35 people – is an ‘extremely well-qualified team, with a huge amount of technical knowledge and experience under one roof’.
She continues: “This, and the close-knit team, means that we are well prepared to tackle many complex issues to help our clients.
While Charlie is marking her fifth anniversary, Covid-19 will mean that she’ll be celebrating the date virtually with her colleagues.
She says of home working: “It has been strange not being able to meet clients but, as Teams and Zoom calls have now become the norm, clients that you may have predominantly spoken to on the telephone before are now able to see you face to face on a video call, which although the technology was available, we just didn’t use very much before. Although I miss being in the office with colleagues, we are a very close team and we are in contact with each other on a daily basis. As a training firm this is especially important, to make sure everyone is getting the support that they need.”
When she’s not at her desk, Charlie is a keen gym-goer – with a particular focus on powerlifting, something she has taken part in competitively in the past.
“Throughout the various lockdowns, my lounge has had to double as a make-shift gym, so that I can continue to train at home,” says Charlie. “I also have a love of food, wine and gin, and can’t wait to get back to meals out with friends, once restrictions are lifted. On top of these hobbies, spending time with my lurcher, Amber, is always a top priority – she’s kept me company through many months of working from home.”
