| Peter Bean |  |
| On the Professional Front |
| How did I get here? | I joined the Inland Revenue in 1986 as a trainee inspector but I saw the light and left in 1989, to join a national firm of accountants in Manchester, passing the Institute of Taxation final exam in 1994. In August 2004, John and I set up John Jepps LLP. |
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| Why I like my work: | I really enjoy giving clients the good news that there IS an answer to their problem - and that we can work together to sort it out. |
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| What I don’t like in business: | Other professionals who let me down. |
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| Key piece of advice to others: | It is very important to manage people’s expectations: Don’t say “yes” when you mean “probably”. Don’t say ”possibly” when you mean “no”. Don’t say ”this week” when you mean ”this month”. |
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| Best business moment: | Hearing the words “I’m thinking of selling a property…” |
| and the worst... | Hearing the words “I sold a property 6 months ago…” |
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| If I weren't a tax consultant: | Guess I’d be Reiki practitioner from a beach hut in Bali! |
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| Extra-curricular activities | |
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| In my other life: | I'm a school governor and involved with a local charity. On the side, I run an unofficial taxi service for my 2 sons (13 and 9), taking them to Brass band rehearsals, concerts and contests. Seeing as the band were crowned British Champions in April 08 and won "North West Counties' Youth Band of the year" in Oct 2007 and 2005, (coming in as runners up in 2006), it’s a worthy cause! |
| Paying my debt to society: | I work as a volunteer for a charity, on a scheme called “TaxHelp for Older People,” which has the full backing of HMRC. We provide free advice for pensioners on low income and I have done home visits and “surgeries” from Age Concern in Manchester. The charity, “Tax Volunteers,” was set up jointly by the Low Income Tax Reform Group of the Institute of Taxation and TaxAid. |
| What I do to keep fit: | Play golf. I do a number of “fun runs” to raise money for Cancer charities and recently ran the Liverpool Half Marathon - finishing in a creditable 1 hour 43 minutes and live to tell the tale! |
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| Some Fun Stuff |
| Favourite Holiday Destination: | West Coast of Canada watching the Orcas. |
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| Where i'd rather be: | Re-living a birdie at the 17th hole at St Andrews over a pint of Guiness. |
| I wish I could: | Sing in tune. |
| Superpower I'd like to have: | Ability to fly. (But I’d settle for being able to sing in tune!) |
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| My Personal Hero: | Mohammad Ali has always been my sporting idol and I would love to listen to the 1980’s version of him talking about his life. |
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| I'd like an audience with: | The Dali Lama, as I would be fascinated to hear his thoughts on the modern world and how his beliefs help him to make sense of what is happening. |
| …and on the professional front: | I can’t say that I would relish going head to head with any professional but I wouldn’t mind asking Gordon Brown whether he actually thinks through much of his legislation and how it impacts on the common man. |
