35 Under 35 2019: 26 - 19 revealed!

The Accountancy Age 35 Under 35 rankings seek to highlight the rising stars of the accountancy profession, featuring those who have made great professional contributions to the field and their individual firms.

Each day this week, we will be releasing the next batch of 35 Under 35 winners, culminating in the top five being announced on 20 December, 2019.

Today, we present the second round of noteworthy professionals who made the Accountancy Age 35 Under 35 rankings.

26. Phil Hartley, Tax Manager, Mitchell Charlesworth

A qualified chartered accountant and charter tax adviser, Hartley joined Mitchell Charlesworth in 2018 and quickly established himself within the firm. Taking initiative across the company’s four offices, Hartley works with a diverse range of clients, taking proactive steps to meet their needs and deliver in an efficient manner.

In addition to his daily work, Hartley also runs internal training sessions on corporate tax and R&D tax relief, mentoring colleagues along the way. He delivers seminars on various tax issues, creates written content for the firm’s website and social media, and is always looking for ways to improve the firm’s offerings.

25. Sophie Parkhouse, Partner, Albert Goodman

After originally completing her training with Albert Goodman in 2006, Parkhouse returned to the firm in 2016 as its technical and training director. In 2019, she was offered the role of partner, becoming the firm’s first non-client facing partner and offering her more responsibility. Described as a self-starter, Parkhouse has worked closely on a number of initiatives and projects at Albert Goodman, including a firm-wide change to an online, electronic AML platform.

She is also responsible for the training strategy of the firm, which contributed to the firm becoming an early adopter of the Level 7 apprenticeship. Externally, Parkhouse is the ICAEW South West President, and has been elected to sit on the central ICAEW Practice committee.

24. Lucy Hampson, Audit Director, Mazars

At Mazars, Hampson has committed to bettering both the firm and the audit market, acting as a mentor to senior managers and developing an engaged audit team. In her role as audit director, she works to consistently level up the quality of audit files and establish Mazars in the marketplace through timely work, project management and research.

Hampson also holds a place on the internal Mazars Quality Monitoring team, where she performs cold reviews on audit files and offers feedback direct to the partner, enhancing the firm’s audit quality. She was also integral to helping the firm recently win three LSE fully-listed clients.

23. Georges Daubney, Senior Tax Manager, Cowgills

Since joining the firm as a graduate in 2007, Daubney has established himself as a qualified professional, completing both his ACA and CTA qualification. At Cowgills, he has helped grow the tax team and has become one of the firm’s leading advisers, responsible for managing a varied portfolio of clients and businesses.

Working heavily with the corporate finance department, analysing the Entrepreneurs Relief position and managing the firm’s tax due diligence work are all ways that Daubney works to support the firm. Additionally, Daubney has been instrumental in advising a number of company sales to private equity of up to £50 million. At the firm, he both manages and mentors six tax juniors and trainees, sharing his innovative ideas and searching for ways to future-proof the firm.

22. Dominic Longley, Associate Director, Smith & Williamson

After joining Smith & Williamson in mid-2018, Longley quickly established himself as an expert within the company on the application of new accounting standards, providing technical accounting advice to a range of businesses. Additionally, he runs accounting update sessions at internal conferences across the firm and at industry group events.

He has also published multiple articles on accounting changes, keeping an eye on the profession as a whole while still providing tailored advice to his firm.

21. Alan Frost, Business Consulting Director, Mazars

After joining Mazars in 2007 as a graduate, Frost progressed up the ranks to become a Director in 2016, supporting various departments throughout his time at the firm. He has led Mazars’ Business Consulting team, worked on its M&A team, and has found a specialty in the hospitality and leisure sector. He has led on a number of multi-national bids, and continues to champion the firm’s London-based Entrepreneurial Business and Private Client team.

Continually demonstrating a commitment to the profession, Frost also sits on the SLT of Mazars’ Consulting practice and has been appointed to the ICAEW’s Entertainment, Sport & Media advisory group. Since 2017, he has put the firm’s graduates through a training plan to ensure they progress in their careers with all the required knowledge while empowering junior team members.

20. Luke Taylor, Partner, Smailes Goldie Group

Taylor joined Smailes Goldie Group in 2009 as a trainee, qualified as a chartered accountant in 2012, and hasn’t stopped moving up in the company since. Moving from a Manager to an Associate until finally becoming a Partner in 2017, he has made a number of improvements to the firm during his eight years with the company. Leading the Academy Sector and Cloud Accounting work, he also jointly heads the firm’s SG Blueprint business advisory service.

Additionally, Taylor oversees the recruitment, training and management of the firm’s trainees while working on his own diverse client portfolio. Over the past year, he took responsibility to transition the firm to paperless working using Silverfin, streamlining the process and supporting multiple facets of the firm.

19. Waqar Shah, Managing Associate – Solicitor, Mishcon de Reya LLP

In 2014, Shah became the very first hire of Mishcon de Reya’s Tax Disputes team, and has risen through the ranks to support a number of FTSE 100 and ultra high-net-worth individuals on a variety of tax issues. Shah managed cases all the way up to the Supreme Court and was a key player on a number of high-profile UK cases, such as Mercedes’ victory against HMRC at the Court of Justice of the European Union.

While working full-time, Shah recently completed the Association of Tax Technicians’ qualification, and is a regular presenter at seminars and webinars. He works closely with Mishcon’s Social Impact team to promote greater BAME representation and spends time out of work mentoring undergraduate law students from low income backgrounds.

View our 2018 rankings here.