MARK J REES CASE STUDY
“The team at randd uk were able to speak the language of our clients”
Mark J Rees LLP is one of the largest independent accountancy firms in Leicester, delivering a full range of client-centred accountancy, audit, tax and business advisory services – benefiting from the experience of over 60 team members across a range of specialisms.
With a client base encompassing small and large businesses with many owner-managed businesses, the firm operates across a variety of sectors, including engineering and manufacturing.
Andy Turner, Partner at Mark J Rees LLP, tells us his ‘rannd uk story’!
Setting the trends
Operating across a number of cutting-edge sectors, the firm’s clients began to approach the team for R&D tax claim support during the early days of the scheme.
This set the firm’s path towards a partnership with randd uk – which has recovered in excess of £14.5 million for the firm’s clients.
Andy said: “We’ve been working with randd uk for over 10 years now, and they’ve helped us with the many of claims we’ve done for clients in that period.
“When this scheme came in, it was really advantageous to businesses doing innovative work and we suggested this to a number of our clients, so we began preparing them as a service for those clients.
“We found over time that, with lots of our
with randd uk was clear from the start, particularly for clients in highly technical sectors, which is where the majority of its R&D claims arise.
“The team at randd uk speak the language of our clients. For example, one of randd uk’s consultants in the early days had an engineering background, so he could go out and talk to the client from that perspective and work out what was being done, what was new and what qualified for a claim.
“I think where it helped particularly is helping clients to understand whether they’d actually done eligible R&D. It’s quite easy to say to a client, “are you doing R&D”, and they’ll say no, even if they’re doing qualifying work, because they don’t know. randd uk’s team is able to change that perspective.”
Navigating changes
When the RDEC and SME schemes merged in 2024, the firm found itself having to navigate the changing R&D tax landscape – made much easier by having randd uk at its side!
Andy continued: “Now that our clients have gotten to understand what classifies as R&D, we’re seeing a lot more interest in how their work fits within the current eligibility criteria.
“The rules themselves haven’t changed that much, but the goalposts have moved significantly. The consultants that work with us are great from this point of view, as they have a strong tax compliance background, which is what our clients really need at this time.”
Tackling challenges
Throughout its relationship with randd uk, the firm has recognised the issues facing R&D tax relief itself, particularly its image with clients. It has since relied on randd uk to prepare compliant claims and manage enquiries as HMRC steps up its investigations into claims.
“In the space of just 18 months, the Government’s attitude towards claiming this relief has totally changed,” said Andy. “From our perspective, having a partner that deals with these enquiries on a regular basis is really important.
“It’s a huge thing for us. It would be extremely difficult to deal with these in isolation, particularly at this point when HMRC’s approach to enquiries is intensifying. randd uk knows how to identify what caseworkers look for and how they’re trained to approach claims.
“If we didn’t have randd uk supporting us, it would be more of a challenge for us! randd uk is making sure that we’re staying compliant and appropriately navigating enquiries.”
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