Who and Why?
Meet the YesTax Team

At YesTax, we have a very clearly defined idea of the people we want. Our management team combines an abundance of experience in several specialist areas of taxation with a friendly, approachable client service philosophy. Put simply, we’re good people wanting to work with good people. Our staff embody the culture of the firm and we’re very proud of the team we’ve assembled.

Mark Wood FCCA
Director

mark@yes.tax

Mark is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants having qualified in 2010. He has specialised in R&D tax relief since 2010 and to date has presided over no fewer than 500 successful claims, saving his clients tens of millions of pounds in the form of corporation tax relief and R&D tax credits.

As well as R&D tax relief Mark specialises in two further areas of tax relief: Patent Box and Video Games, both since their introduction into the UK corporation tax framework in 2013 and 2014 respectively. One of the first Patent Box claims made by a UK company was prepared by Mark, and to date, several million pounds worth of corporation tax relief has been saved across both of the above schemes under his guidance.

Outside of work Mark enjoys both playing and watching football, although as a Coventry City fan most of the enjoyment tends to come from the playing side of things! He is also a keen runner, having completed many 10Ks and half marathons over the years. A lifetime ambition was realised by Mark in early 2019 as he completed the London Marathon. Mark is a member of Mensa and is currently on a 1,000+ day streak on Duolingo attempting to learn Spanish and Arabic!

Find out more about Mark

Rachael Hart
Director

rachael@yes.tax

Rachael qualified as a taxation technician in 2003, working in the tax and accounting field, both in practice and in industry in the early part of her career. In 2011 Rachael became an R&D tax relief specialist at the UK’s first R&D tax advisory firm and has submitted over 400 successful claims. Rachael joined YesTax in 2019 as R&D Tax Manager and in 2023 was appointed as Director.

Outside of work Rachael spends most of her time running around after her two young children! When she gets a moment to herself, Rachael is also a keen runner who has taken part in the Sheffield Half Marathon twice and has participated in various 5K and 10K races. Additionally, Rachael has a keen interest in identifying the best place for afternoon tea and has sampled numerous venues over the past few years. She is always on the lookout for recommendations!

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Natalia Pope BA (HONS), MA Law
Director

natalia@yes.tax

Natalia qualified as a commercial property lawyer in 2009 and spent 7 years in practice specialising in both freehold and leasehold sales and acquisitions. In 2014, critical changes to the capital allowances legislation were made and it became crucial for parties to pool and transfer available allowances at the time of the legal transaction. Keen to secure these valuable tax savings for her clients, Natalia turned her focus solely to this area. Since then she has worked exclusively with tax advisers and accountants, specialising in incentives and reliefs to secure valuable tax savings for her clients. Natalia’s excellence in this area ensures clients act at the right time, and not only protect, but maximise their tax saving opportunities. Versed in all aspects of R&D and Capital Allowances tax legislation, Natalia will quickly assess the potential and scope for a claim. She is easy to work with and her energetic and friendly personality make her an extremely popular member of the team – she is loved by all that meet her!

Outside of work, Natalia loves the great outdoors and enjoys walking, running, netball and tennis. Natalia is most frequently found on the netball court, where she still plays competitively in the top division of the Sheffield league, and enjoys a play maker role in centre court!

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Hayley Kemp
Director

hayley@yes.tax

Hayley has worked within the accountancy and tax industry since 2004, specialising solely in R&D tax relief since 2013. Hayley’s most recent post was heading up the Incentives and Reliefs Tax Division for one of the UK’s largest tax consultancy firms. During this time, Hayley handled a vast number of successful claims in a wide range of sectors such as software, engineering, defence and cosmetics. She has also worked closely with numerous accountancy firms to develop seamless partnerships in providing specialist tax services to their clients.

Outside of work, Hayley is kept very busy chasing around after her young children. She is also a passionate cook and loves to try out new recipes on her willing husband when she has the time. Hayley is also a member at her local gym -should she ever decide to go!

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John Moxon FCA
Founder and Consultant

john@yes.tax

John is an ICAEW Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA) who has solely specialised in this area of tax since 2009. He was a Director at the UK’s first R&D tax consultancy firm and his next role saw him head up one of the UK’s largest R&D tax advisory teams. John co-founded YesTax in January 2019 and after the company’s sale to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) in October 2022, he now acts as a consultant. He has advised many of his clients for over a decade and particularly enjoys undertaking HMRC enquiry resolution work. John has written for Taxation Magazine about the problems in the R&D tax advisory market and is a strong advocate for increased regulation within the sector.

Outside of work, John is a proud Sheffield United season ticket holder, having watched his beloved Blades for over 35 years. In his time, John has also been part of several mountaineering expeditions which have taken him to the Himalayas, Andes and beyond. Ascents of Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro (twice!), Elbrus, Muztagh Ata, Cho Oyu, Mont Blanc and Dhaulagiri VII sit proudly on his mountaineering CV. He is the proud father of two young boys, which he often cites as the reason for looking far older than he actually is.

Find out more about John

Callum Byers ACA CTA
Head of Capital Allowances

cal@yes.tax

Cal graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2014 achieving a 2:1 (BSc) in Mathematics and is a Chartered Tax Adviser (CIOT) and Chartered Accountant (ICAEW).

Having spent 6 years specialising in capital allowances claims at a Big 4 practice, his experience in this area of taxation is vast. Cal has advised a wide range of businesses operating in a variety of sectors, including supermarkets, retailers, leisure chains, hospitality, manufacturing/industrial and aviation. He has an excellent understanding of the regularly shifting capital allowances legislative landscape and is well-versed in advising on multi-million pound capital allowance claims

Following his time at University and prior to his career in tax, Cal worked briefly as an operational manager for Royal Mail, responsible for managing and coordinating a team of c.20 staff as a key part of the sorting and delivery pipeline.

Outside of work Cal is a keen snowboarder and runner, and will rarely miss watching the Formula 1 on a Sunday afternoon. He is always on the lookout for the next sci-fi, fantasy or historical fiction audiobook to keep him company on his commute to the office!

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Holly Young FCCA
Senior R&D Tax Consultant

holly@yes.tax

Holly has specialised in R&D tax relief since June 2015, having been involved in the submission of hundreds of claims. She has wide-ranging knowledge on all aspects of preparing a successful claim and has worked with companies across a wide range of sectors.

Holly started her career working for her family business and thus is highly passionate about helping other SMEs. She has a strong accounting background having achieved a 1st class degree, then going on to complete her ACCA qualification in 2017. As a result of her passion for the subject, she achieved two ACCA prizes. Prior to specialising in tax, Holly worked as an accountant in a medium-sized practice.

Outside of work Holly enjoys spending time with her friends and family, eating out and walking. She is also a keen beekeeper and loves her weekly netball and Zumba sessions.

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Chris Norris ATT
Senior R&D Tax Consultant

chris@yes.tax

Chris has solely specialised in R&D tax relief since 2014, having left University with a degree in Financial Mathematics. Chris worked his way up from Tax Assistant to Consultant and opted to join YesTax in the summer of 2020. Chris is now a Senior Consultant, providing his expanding client base with sound R&D advice and support. Chris takes a keen interest in complex legislative issues and is regularly found studying the CIRD manual! During his time working in the R&D tax sector, Chris also qualified as a Taxation Technician (ATT).

Outside of the office, Chris’s main interests involve keeping himself active, more often than not on the football pitch. He also loves his golf, running and road cycling (sorry drivers!). His biggest sporting achievement to date was his completion of the Paris Marathon in 2019 where he was able to raise money for both MIND and Sheffield’s local Samaritans Centre.

Having recently taken a keen interest in the armed forces (but not wanting to live the military lifestyle), Chris is also an RAF Reservist and is currently in training to join the RAF Regiment.

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James Smith ATT
Senior R&D Tax Consultant

james@yes.tax

James graduated from the University of York with a degree in Computer Science and has specialised in the field of R&D tax relief since 2019. James’ software industry background has resulted in him being heavily involved in many claims for software companies undertaking a wide range of developments. These includes machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies as well as more traditional types of software development such as backend database integrations. James takes a constant interest in new developments within the software industry, allowing him to understand the way in which these can apply to R&D tax relief claims. James is currently partway through his ATT studies and one day hopes to become a Chartered Tax Adviser.

Outside of the office, James is a keen hockey player and has played since the age of 7. He currently plays for Sheffield University Bankers and is looking forward to a full, uninterrupted season for the first time since moving to Sheffield. As well as hockey, James enjoys the occasional cricket game and is a Blackpool FC fan - so it’s unlikely there will be any office rivalry here!

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Megan Blaney ATT
Senior R&D Tax Assistant

megan@yes.tax

Meg graduated from Bangor University in 2017 with a first class honours degree in Accounting and Finance (BSc). Prior to joining YesTax, she spent time travelling around Australia and New Zealand, embarking on a number of outdoor pursuits including skydiving and glacier hiking.

With travelling and student life sadly a distant memory, Meg has begun to forge a career in specialist tax. Currently part-ATT qualified, she is working towards her full qualification with ambitions to one day become a Chartered Tax Adviser. Recently promoted, she is now building her own client portfolio in a wide range of sectors.

Outside of work, Meg is a big sports fan, notably rugby, cricket, football and as of very recently, ice hockey. Meg supports Wales across a number of sports, with her club loyalties lying with Sheffield Wednesday. Meg wisely chose not to mention this during her interview process. She is also a keen dancer (having completed many exams in this discipline) and loves the outdoors. She is often found exploring the Peak District and Welsh mountains and in 2015 she went a step further by successfully summiting Mt Kilimanjaro.

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Imogen Williams
R&D Tax Consultant

imogen@yes.tax

Imogen graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in Business Management. During her time at university, Imogen liked to give up some of her free time to give back to charities that have helped her as well as her friends and family. After finishing her degree and learning about YesTax being a business for good, she knew it would be the perfect fit for her. Imogen has recently started her ATT studies with the hope of moving on to becoming a Chartered Tax Advisor in the future.

Outside of work, Imogen loves taking her sausage dog on walks in the Peak District (as far as his little legs can get him). Imogen also loves exploring new places and has visited 23 countries so far and counting.. She will however always use some of her holidays for her yearly trip to Donegal in Ireland where she loves catching up with family and going horse riding on the beach.

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Meshaal Qureshi
R&D Tax Assistant

meshaal@yes.tax

Meshaal graduated from Birmingham City University with an undergraduate degree in Accounting and will shortly be completing her MSc in Artificial Intelligence. This combination of accounting and technology gives Meshaal a highly relevant background for her burdening career in R&D tax. Upon learning about YesTax, Meshaal was enthusiastic to be working for a charitable company! Meshaal is keen to keep up with new advancements within the technology industry, especially artificial intelligence. She will soon be starting her ATT studies and one day hopes to become a Chartered Tax Adviser.

Outside of the office, Meshaal spends a lot of her time traveling! She keeps herself active by going to the gym regularly and taking long walks. She will spend a lot of time exploring Sheffield and the Peak District, which are very different from her hometown of Birmingham.

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Melanie Cheshire
Office Manager

melanie@yes.tax

Mel’s working life started in 1984 at PwC where she worked until 2008. Her career was punctuated by career breaks to bring up her two sons, although she also looked after a third child called Alison whilst at work. After a three year stint at a local accountancy firm, she joined Howarth Lynch in 2011 working alongside John, Mark, Hayley, Rachael and Alison. When YesTax came calling in 2019, she didn’t hesitate to follow the old team and continue her close association with the YesTax team members.

At YesTax, Mel is the controlling centrepiece of the office. Her role involves a variety of administrative and secretarial tasks and she is excellent at keeping everyone in check. The few who cross Mel always regret their actions!

In her spare time, Mel’s two grown up sons keep her busy, as do the Sheffield Steelers ice hockey team. Mel travels far and wide following her team, more out of a love for hunky North American men fighting on ice than the game itself. She also keeps fit with regular boxercise classes, but acknowledges that her ripe age is making this more and more difficult!

Find out more about Melanie