A C Mole & Sons Chartered Accountants
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We are one of the South West’s leading independent firms of Chartered Accountants, Chartered Tax Advisers and business advisers.
We have been advising a broad range of clients across the UK and overseas for more than a hundred years.
Our success is built on the fact that we take the trouble to listen and to understand what our clients want from us. We offer them a personal service and award winning tax advice.
If you want to be treated as a person and not a file number, to deal with approachable professionals who have their feet on the ground, to receive sound advice in language you can understand, we believe we are the firm you are looking for.
Albert Charles Mole was born on 20 May 1874. After working briefly in Exeter and Edinburgh he travelled to Clifton, Arizona, to join the Arizona Copper Company where he found a very different world. His diary for 13 October 1897 records "My first real Wild West experience…Tonight a cowboy shot the town up. He rode through shooting for all he was worth….the Sheriff says he felt the wind pass as one of the shots passed by."
In October 1902 he returned to establish his accountancy practice in Taunton. He was elected Mayor of Taunton in 1915 and served on Somerset County Council for 43 years. He was a Justice of the Peace, serving on the County Bench from 1927 until he retired as Chairman in 1950. He was an Income Tax Commissioner from 1943 to 1957 and was secretary of the Bath and Wells Diocesan Board of Finance from its formation in 1913 until 1944.
In 1908 he even found time to write a book, The Students' Epitome of Accountancy & Bookkeeping.
A C retired from the partnership in 1940. He died on 21 May 1960, the day after his 86th birthday.
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The firm grew until in 1914 the offices on the corner of Billet Street and East Street became too small and A C acquired Stafford Lodge – later to become Stafford House - on Billetfield.
In 1925 Arthur Gridley Browne (who had qualified with the firm) became A C's first partner. A C's sons Horace and Edgar became partners in 1928 and 1933 respectively.
Horace remained a partner until shortly after the Labour government which came to power in 1965 introduced corporation tax and capital gains tax, averring that he would not contemplate learning about these "new fangled taxes".
Edgar was a director of Stansells, White Brothers and chairman of the Castle Hotel. He retired in 1970.
For a short time between 1912 and 1916 there was a London office at 46 (and subsequently 29) Memorial Gardens, EC.
Things were very different for trainees in those days. When Peter Shapland, who became a partner in 1955, joined the firm in 1939 his parents had to pay a premium of £5 and 5 shillings for the privilege. In return he received a salary of £10 a year.
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Frank Foord, who had joined the firm in 1928, became a partner in 1955 and opened an office in Castle Cary. The Cary office was subsequently headed by Gerald Morris until it closed in 2001.
Four new partners joined in the sixties: Ernest White in 1960, John Evemy in 1962 and Michael Blackwell and Gerald Morris in 1968.
As Edgar Mole had done before him, Michael joined the boards of Stansells and the Castle Hotel, eventually accumulating a staggering thirty directorships.
John took on the treasurership of the Somerset County Cricket Club in 1969 and introduced new financial controls. Such was the success of the new system that he was invited to Lords to lecture to the other Counties on the merits of proper financial disciplines. He resigned the treasurership in 1979, the year Somerset won both the Gillette Cup and the John Player League. The firm subsequently secured the Club's audit.
In 1980, Stuart Pullen joined the partnership, steadily building the firm’s portfolio of farming clients.
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In 1992 we opened a new office in Bridgwater.
The nineties also saw two mergers. In 1996 the Taunton office of Kidsons Impey closed. KI partner Christopher Rimmer became a partner in A C Mole & Sons and together with the KI staff moved across the road to Stafford House.
Three years later in 1999 the Taunton office of Apsleys also merged with A C Mole & Sons at Stafford House. The mergers broadened the client base considerably and gave individuals more scope for specialisation.
One result of the expansion was that Stafford House became too small for the growing firm and the decision was taken to move to a new, purpose built office at Blackbrook. The move took place on 5 December 2004 and to preserve a tradition, the new office was named Stafford House.
In 2006 we were joined by clients of Ian Marfell on his retirement and by clients of Laurence Ashman who merged his practice with A C Mole & Sons.
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In 1997 we filed the UK's first electronic tax return, an event recorded the next day on the front page of the Financial Times and widely reported in the tax press and on BBC radio. The FT included the event in its financial highlights of 1997.
In December 2001 were the first firm to file a tax return via the Internet and our experience in electronic and Internet filing is such that the Revenue regularly ask us to comment on and trial new features before they are launched.
In May 2002, we reached the final shortlist in the national Butterworths Tolley (subsequently Lexis Nexis) Tax Awards for "Best Tax Team in a Small to Medium Sized Firm" category. We were again short listed in 2003 and in 2004 we brought home the trophy.
In the autumn of 2002 the firm was authorised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation to practice as Chartered Tax Advisers.
We are regularly quoted in the accountancy, tax and national press.
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Paul Kingdom
Nigel Banks
Paul Aplin
Ian Pinder
David Perry
Chris Loveluck
Associates
Steve became a partner in 1985 and established A C Mole & Sons Bridgwater office in January 1992. As Managing Partner Steve has overseen the firm’s growth to become one of the South West’s leading accountancy practices.
Steve specializes in advising professional partnerships and corporate clients with a particular emphasis on business management advice and profit enhancement and regularly attends client board meetings to this end. He is regularly involved in raising finance and frequently advises on acquisitions, mergers and disposals.
Outside the office Steve’s passion for Burnley Football Club is renowned and he is a regular at Turf Moor.
To email Steve please click here.
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Following graduation from Exeter University in 1983, Paul joined Robson Rhodes as a trainee Chartered Accountant. He qualified, receiving a place in the Order of Merit, and moved to Taunton in 1986. Following qualification as a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Paul became the Tax Partner of Apsleys in 1989. Apsleys Taunton office merged with A C Mole & Sons in 1999. He is also a member of the ICAEW Tax Faculty.
Paul acts for a wide range of clients including a number of substantial professional practices and higher wealth individuals. He is also involved in advising on business structures and exit routes and has a particular specialism in dealing with Lloyd’s underwriters. Paul sits on the ICAEW South Western Tax Advisory Committee.
In his leisure time Paul is a keen walker (with his Welsh springer spaniel, Zoë) and opera enthusiast. He lives at East Brent with his wife Wendy, assisting her in running her business providing international medical writing and training services to the Pharmaceutical industry. Paul is a Church of England Reader, bell ringer and former churchwarden. He was also formerly a Chairman of Tiverton Round Table.
To email Paul please click here.
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Nigel Banks
Nigel was born in 1950 in Essex. He has a degree in history from Exeter University and trained as a Chartered Accountant with a medium-sized London practice. He qualified in 1975 gaining 4th place in order of merit in the final admitting exam and winning the prize for auditing.
After a spell with KPMG Bristol office Nigel moved to Taunton in 1978. Nigel became a partner with Apsleys which merged with A C Mole & Sons in 1999.
He acts for a wide range of incorporated and unincorporated businesses with a bias towards the larger corporate client and also deals extensively with charities and Housing Associations (RSLs).
In addition Nigel has built up a portfolio of dentists in both public and private practice and is fully conversant with all the particular accounting and taxation aspects of this profession.
He is a trustee of two local charities – Somerset Counselling Centre and Taunton Aid in Sickness Fund – and the Recorder for the Taunton Court Leet.
Outside the office Nigel is a keen bird watcher, an Exeter City season ticket holder and Finance Director of the Supporters Trust which owns the club. He also still plays squash once a week.
To email Steve please Nigel here.
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Paul Aplin
Paul joined A C Mole & Sons with an honours degree in biology and chemistry in 1980 and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1985; he qualified as a member of the Institute of Taxation in 1989 and became the firm’s first tax partner in 1992.
He is Deputy Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales Tax Faculty and a member of its Technical Committee. He writes for various tax and accountancy journals and is regularly quoted on tax issues in the national press. He is co-author of Tottels Tax Investigations Manual and has lectured for SWAT, The Chartered Institute of Taxation and the Tax Faculty.
Paul acts for a wide range of personal and company tax clients.
Away from the office he is a keen hill walker and climber, with a 21,000' Himalayan and many high Alpine peaks to his credit; his other interests include photography (he is a licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society), keeping ducks and sharing the occasional pint of Exmoor Ale and bag of crisps with his collie, Linford. Linford, of course only gets the crisps.
To email Paul please click here.
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Ian is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years experience, including 20 years as a partner in A C Mole & Sons and previously with international firms.
Although he is the firm’s Audit Compliance Partner and has an extensive portfolio of audit clients, Ian regards himself as a general practitioner and his client list reflects this. In addition to the audits, Ian provides advice and support to manufacturers, retailers, motor traders, professional partnerships, trusts, charities, churches, pension funds, builders, property developers, landlords, clubs, pubs, consultancies, public sector bodies and a range of other organisations.
As a Chartered Tax Adviser, Ian also advises on all aspects of tax for individuals, companies, partnerships and trusts.
Ian is a Mathematics graduate and is married with three adult children. He is an active member of St George’s church, Wilton where he was treasurer for almost ten years.
To email Ian please click here.
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David Perry
David joined the firm in 1989 after studying for a degree at Bath University. He qualified as a chartered Accountant in 1992 and went on to achieve further success becoming an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation in 1996.
David was made an associate of A C Mole & Sons in 1999 and became a partner on the 1st August 2000. David is a general practitioner providing financial and taxation advice to an expanding portfolio including limited companies, sole traders and partnerships. He also specialises in agricultural accounts and taxation matters and heads the firm’s agricultural department with Chris Loveluck. As David is a Chartered Tax Adviser, he is ideally suited to dealing with the very complex areas of Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax issues particular to farmers and land-owners.
David’s leisure time is spent trying to entertain and keep up with two young children. Other leisure activities include playing golf and rugby; David being a member of Wiveliscombe Rugby Club.
To email David please click here.
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Chris Loveluck
Chris qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1981, worked in East and West Africa for three years as an audit manager with a major international firm, and joined Kidsons Impey in Taunton in 1984. He became a partner in 1992, and transferred to A C Mole and Sons on their merger in 1996.
Chris has a wide client portfolio, including accounts for limited companies, sole traders and partnerships. He enjoys giving sound commercial and tax advice to all his clients. In addition, Chris heads the firm's agricultural department which acts for some 250 farming families and companies.
Chris enjoys family life, cycling, and golf. In his younger days he even managed to win an international rugby cap, when he represented Liberia!
To email Chris please click here.
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Our associates are key members of the team, holding client portfolios and playing a role in the management of the firm.
Robert Zelazik is based in Taunton and advises a wide range of self employed, partnership and company clients.
Amanda Gunter is both a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Tax Adviser and acts for tax clients ranging from individuals to substantial corporate groups.
Christine Glover specialises in audit and compliance work and is involved with our larger corporate clients.
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Taunton Office
Stafford House
Blackbrook Park Avenue
Taunton
Somerset
TA1 2PX
Tel: 01823 624450
Fax: 01823 444533
E-mail: info@acmole.co.uk
Bridgwater Office
Riverside House
Riverside Business Park
Wylds Road
BRIDGWATER
Somerset
TA6 4BH
Tel: 01278 446088
Fax: 01278 450027
E-mail: info@acmole.co.uk
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Clients seek a professional service but they also want to deal with people who take an interest in them, who are approachable and who put them at their ease. For this reason, our recruitment process places as much emphasis on personality as on academic and technical skills.
We offer training for membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW), the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) and the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT).
We also provide, through our membership of SWAT, training to all technical staff at all stages of their careers.
We set high professional standards but combine this with a relaxed atmosphere where a good sense of humour is regarded as an essential attribute.
For details of current vacancies, please email careers@acmole.co.uk
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Agriculture
Auditing
Business Advice and Corporate Finance
Information Technology
Taxation Services
Accounting Services
We provide a full range of cost-effective accounting services.
Whether you are just starting out or have an established business we can advise on ways to set up, simplify or enhance your accounting system.
We can prepare annual accounts to help you comply with legislation, in support of tax returns or for presentation to banks and other lenders.
We can assist you with cash flow and profit forecasts and help to design and implement effective management accounting, reporting and information systems. We can prepare your VAT returns and can assist with grant forms, legal aid forms and government statistical returns.
We offer a payroll bureau service to relieve you of the burden of running payrolls.
Whatever your general accounting needs, we can help you.
For more information, please contact Ian Pinder or Robert Zelazik.
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Auditing
We provide statutory and non-statutory audit services to a wide range of businesses, including limited and unlimited companies, charities, friendly societies, pension funds and organisations funded by government agencies.
We can provide specialised reports such as those required by the Law Society and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and those required under the Financial Services Act. We also work with other organisations such as schools, clubs and housing associations.
We are committed to developing a long-term relationship with our audit clients, and believe that the audit is a valuable process in the overall management of the business. Our audit partners and staff are also responsible for tax, accounting and general business and financial advice, and work alongside audit clients to help identify business opportunities and risks, and to resolve key business issues.
For more information, please contact Ian Pinder, Nigel Banks or Steve Golby.
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Information Technology
Our IT philosophy is simple: the function of information technology is to increase the efficiency of the business, not to fill rooms with grey boxes.
A computerised accounting system is just that and we take the time to examine a client's particular needs before giving advice. Sometimes computerisation is not a sensible or cost effective solution and if that is the case, we say so.
We are Sage dealers simply because we have found that this is the software most clients already use and the software most suitable for general business applications. We have experience of many other brands of software including Access, Sumit, Pegasus, Farmplan and Quicken.
We believe strongly that supplying software is only part of a process. Selecting the right software and hardware in the first place is vital. We can install any software we supply and give an overview of its capabilities and initial guidance; we can provide further training and advice as needed.
For more information please contact Nigel Banks or Steve Golby.
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Taxation Services
We have one of the strongest tax departments in the South West. Four partners and one associate are both Chartered Accountants and Chartered Tax Advisors, an exceptionally high proportion. We are regularly quoted in the professional and general press on tax issues.
We have a national reputation and won the Lexis Nexis award for the UK’s best tax team in a small firm in 2004, having been finalists for the award in 2002 and 2003.
We have pioneered electronic tax services and we filed the UK’s first electronic tax return in 1997. In 2001 we became the first accountants to file a return via the Internet. We have been involved in the development of a number of H M Revenue & Customs on line services and have unrivalled experience in this area.
We act for a wide variety of individuals, businesses and companies, from small firms to groups with turnover in excess of £200 million, and can advise on general tax planning, tax compliance and more complex areas.
For more information please contact Paul Aplin, Paul Kingdom or Amanda Gunter.
Individuals and Trusts
Our aim is to make the completion of your annual tax return as simple for you as possible.
We deal with returns for a wide variety of individuals based in the UK and overseas and handle everything from straightforward repayment claims to complex estate planning.
We offer proactive advice on reducing income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax liabilities.
Whether your tax affairs are very simple or very complex, we have the expertise to help.
Companies
Our corporate clients range from small “one man” companies to groups with turnover up to £200 million.
In addition to routine tax compliance services we can advise on IR35 issues and matters relevant to husband and wife companies.
We can advise on tax efficient remuneration planning including approved and unapproved share schemes and company pension schemes.
Our advice to clients on capital allowances has saved them hundreds of thousands of pounds in corporation tax.
We have an excellent track record in disputes with H M Revenue & Customs over employed/self employed status.
We can advise on the tax issues involved in company sales and acquisitions, repurchase by a company of its own shares, reconstructions and demergers.
Our experience in dealing with tax investigations is extensive.
We act for many different types of business.
Our approach concentrates as much on planning ahead as on mitigating the tax on past transactions.
We offer advice on income tax, corporation tax, SDLT and VAT.
We have an excellent track record in disputes with H M Revenue & Customs over employed/self employed status.
Our services include PAYE and VAT health checks as well as guidance to clients before, during and after visits by officers of H M Revenue & Customs.
We have extensive experience in dealing with tax investigations.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, delivered his tenth Budget speech on 22 March 2006.
Included in the Budget announcements were some unexpected measures including radical changes to trust taxation and a proposal to bring forward the filing date for personal tax returns. The Chancellor also announced the withdrawal of the Home Computer Initiative and confirmed the withdrawal of the zero rate of corporation tax.
There were changes to some tax incentives including an increase in the tax relief on venture capital trust investments to 30% and a doubling of the amount that can be invested in an enterprise investment scheme company each year to £400,000.
There were minor changes to tax relief for research and development expenditure.
Allowances increased generally in line with inflation.
Overall the Budget missed a significant opportunity to simplify the tax system and to provide a genuine boost to enterprise.
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We're always happy to answer your specific questions or requests but we'd also like to hear from you if you have any general comments about A C Mole & Sons or the site.
If your contact is of an extremely urgent nature, please telephone us on 01823 624450 for our Taunton Ofiice, which is manned Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm.
Or email info@acmole.co.uk
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