Aim: “To be a sounding board and friend of my clients, dealing not just with the audit, accountancy and tax advice but also professional business consultancy.” Expertise: Business compliance services, tax planning, trusts & estates, private client services, company secretarial services. Work and Clients: Gary specialises in business consulting and commercial problem solving. This includes starting up in business, selling businesses, financing and tax planning. His clients are smaller and medium sized owner-managed businesses mainly in south east England but also throughout the UK and overseas. They are from a variety of industries including property, agriculture and professional practices. The route to Shipleys: After a spell in retail banking with Barclays, he joined a predecessor firm of Shipleys in 1976, and became a principal when that firm merged with Shipleys in 1993. Memberships: Saffron Walden Initiative.

Most entertaining deal or case: "Many years ago, when I was still a teenager, we had a client who owned two London restaurants. Basically these were theme restaurants - the theme being that the waitresses dressed as school girls (although they never looked like that when I was at school!) and the food was bangers and mash, spotted dick etc. I had to visit the restaurants every month to carry out their bookkeeping, VAT returns etc. These restaurants became quite famous, especially in some of the tabloids and especially the News of the World which did a big expose with pictures of respectable city gents being 'caned' by the 'headmaster' and scolded by the schoolgirl waitresses. A couple of my friends cottoned onto to this and we came to an arrangement that if they acted as chauffeur to London (there was no M11 or M25 then) they could sit in a corner of the restaurant and watch the goings on! Unfortunately after a couple of years things got rather out of hand at the restaurants, especially in the evenings, and they had to be closed down but it was quite entertaining while it lasted." What I like about my job: "Meeting clients who are keen to improve and move their businesses on. I like the way we can have a direct effect on the profitability and tax efficiency of their businesses." Proudest professional moments: "There is not one particular moment but countless times when we have been able to help a client, and those others directly affected, to improve their standards of life." Interests outside work: Gary is a keen golfer and skier and enjoys spending time with his children, holidays, snowboarding, golf, shooting, fishing and socialising.