A LONG-established Swindon accountancy firm has joined forces with Optimum Professional Services to ensure its business clients can fully prepare for the government’s plans to digitalise the tax system.

Reeves & Co, run by Chris Vaughan, who has been in accountancy in Swindon for more than 40 years, has merged his business with Optimum, which offers a range of professional services, including legal and accountancy.

Chris, a sole practitioner, believes joining with the Optimum team will provide the best way for his clients to prepare for Making Tax Digital. This is the government’s initiative which will require (with very few exceptions) business owners and landlords to submit quarterly reports online. MTD is due to be phased in from 2019.

Richard Mathews, CEO of Optimum Professional Services, said Making Tax Digital (or MTD) is one of the most sweeping changes to the taxation system to be introduced for years and it is vital that advisers are prepared and ready to help their business clients.

“Making Tax Digital is being phased in from 2019, and it is very important businesses are ready, not least with the necessary software,” he said.

“This is something that Chris, as a sole practitioner, would have found difficult to achieve for all his clients. At Optimum, we are geared up for MTD and ensuring our clients are fully prepared.

“At the same time, it’s great that Chris has joined the team here at Optimum Professional Services. He brings with him a huge amount of accountancy experience, gained over a long career spent here in Swindon.”

The Reeves & Co office in Gorse Hill has closed and Chris has moved across to Optimum’s headquarters at Windmill Hill Business Park, West Swindon.

Chris said: “I am delighted to be joining the Optimum team, where my clients will not only have the support they need for the Making Tax Digital initiative but access to additional services, including those provided by the legal team.”

For more information about Making Tax Digital, and what it means for businesses, visit https://www.optps.co.uk/ or call 01793 538 198.