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BHP’s tax trio excel to a new level

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A finance expert with more than 25 years of industry experience has completed the UK’s most in-depth and rigorous taxation qualification to become a fully qualified Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA).

Kirsty Swinburn who is from Charnock, Sheffield and based at the Sheffield office of BHP Chartered Accountants, is also a qualified Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA).

Zoe Roberts, a partner in BHP’s tax division, says: “It’s very rare for an accountant to be both ACA and CTA qualified”.

“Kirsty first started working in BHP’s accountancy division in 1991 and after 3 years of study, she achieved her ACA qualification. She then moved across into the tax department in 1995 and has just completed the challenging CTA qualification which is a major achievement.

“Her dual qualification is very impressive and a real benefit for our clients, who often don’t just want advice on one aspect of finance in isolation, but a wide breadth of technical knowledge across a full range of areas.”

In addition to Kirsty’s success, Ben Szoke and Adam Zaman, who are also based at BHP’s Sheffield office, have successfully achieved the first level of the CTA qualification. Zoe adds: “Kirsty’s qualification means our tax division now has 18 Chartered Tax Advisers within its 50 strong team, which reinforces our position as the largest tax team in the region. We are also very pleased with Ben and Adam’s progress, and they are both set to achieve the gold standard qualification by 2018.”

Anyone completing The Chartered Institute of Taxation’s Chartered Tax Adviser qualification must already have a relevant professional qualification in place. Participants have to study six different areas of taxation and pass four, three hour long, written examinations followed by further exams in law, professional responsibilities and ethics, as well as incorporating three years of professional experience into their studies.

BHP Chartered Accountants employs more than 300 people across five offices in Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. The company’s tax specialists advise clients ranging from individuals to multi-national businesses on all areas of tax including business taxes, personal taxes, capital taxes, VAT, indirect taxes, trusts, estates and employment taxes.