Bristol VAT specialist joins Centurion team

A Bristol-based VAT specialist has joined Centurion VAT Specialists to help the company expand their offering into Bristol and the South West.

Julie Rawlinson-Smith of Horfield in Bristol joins the company with 25 years of experience gained from her time at KPMG, Ernst and Young and HM Customs and Excise, where she worked closely with public and third sector organisations.

Julie, who was previously a manager for the ‘Big Four’ has been tasked with building on her strong connections to develop Centurion’s client base in her local area. She will work closely with colleague Louise Gray from Bishopston to provide bespoke VAT solutions to businesses in the South West. 

On joining the team, Julie said: “My particular VAT speciality is working with charities, the NHS and Housing Associations and given that it is a period of enormous change for the public sector I am particularly looking forward to helping those organisations meet the challenges they face.

“I worked with some of the Centurion team in previous roles and have been following their success with interest since they started so this is a very exciting move for me.”

Centurion VAT Specialists is a boutique consultancy, made up solely of high level VAT consultants with expertise in various sectors including education, local authorities, government departments, charities and manufacturing.

Director, Louise Gray, said: “Bringing a new team member onboard has always been a key part of our development strategy. We have worked hard to develop a strong client base in south Wales and Julie brings with her a skill set that provides us with the ability to widen our client base still further both geographically and by sectors.

“Our company is unique in the sense that all of our staff are senior manager or director level which means that we have very high standards when it comes to recruiting new team members. Julie has worked in VAT for over 25 years so she has just the level of expertise we are looking for.”

Located in Langstone Business Park, Centurion VAT Specialists review the VAT practices within corporate, public sector and charitable bodies and was originally set up by the University of Wales, Newport, in 1998, in order to help the higher education sector handle the complexities of VAT.

In 2007 it became an owner managed consultancy and has since expanded its VAT service offering across the public and corporate sector in Wales, identifying ways in which VAT can be used to improve cash flow and create savings for businesses on a contingency fee basis.