Getting to Know… Valery Montagnon-Jones

Welcome, Valery! Can you tell us a bit about your career journey?

I started my tax career at PwC where I worked in the firm’s tax team looking after the partners’ tax affairs moving on to Deloitte focusing on a purely private client base with varied tax issues including residence and domicile. I’ve just left a 12 year stint at Brebners where I looked after a varied portfolio of Private Client Tax clients including ultra-high net worth individuals and owner-managed business professionals. I enjoy identifying tax planning opportunities for clients, surrounding residency and domicile, income tax, inheritance tax and capital gains tax. I am very familiar with UK tax issues for private clients generally including the range of taxation issues facing owner managed businesses.

With tax being so broad and knowing that no one person fully has the knowledge to service all clients it was important to be part of the bigger team that Simmons Gainsford, Sumer Group offer to be able to deliver high quality advice to clients.

You’ve had a successful career within tax. What are some key lessons you’ve learned along the way, and what advice would you give to younger professionals looking to build a strong career in tax?

Be comfortable in knowing that you can’t know everything and indeed you don’t! Tax is complicated and the legislation can often be difficult to navigate and interpret, chat things through and ask for help.

Have an inquisitive mind, as not only will that help in delivering thought through advice but so many clients have varied interests for which they are oblivious of the tax implications.

With all the AI hype at the moment it is important to check and re-check the AI opinion with actual legislation.

What excites you most about this new role?

I am very excited to be joining a larger firm again after many years at a smaller practice, the expertise in a larger firm provides a great opportunity for many clients to provide quality advice using experts across the business.

In addition, this OMB Private client role provides much wider scope to utilise my expertise across a broad client base with input and interaction across many differing tax specialisms – private client, corporate tax, employment taxes and VAT.

How do you see your experience benefiting the team, and what do you hope to bring to the firm?

I have spent many years dealing with private clients of all sizes, from landlords and sole traders to ultra-high net worth individuals, non resident taxpayers and those with more complicated affairs. This breadth of knowledge and varied client base, coupled with Simmons Gainsford’s tax expertise will benefit all clients.

I am extremely personable and immensely enjoy meeting and speaking to clients and contacts, having worked in London for over 25 years I am able to tap into a large professional network to grow and develop the private client tax team.

What do you like doing outside of work?

I am married to a tax professional so it can be hard to completely switch off from tax particularly around Budget or 31 January. However, I enjoy spending time with my family (2 adult daughters and an 8 year old ice hockey mad son) whilst trying to allow time to keep myself active whilst enjoying the outdoors.

We are keen cricket fans. I enjoy skiing, always eager to leave 31 January behind and head to the mountains where I can be found off-piste, trying to impress other skiers with speedy eye-catching stunts invariably ending face-down in the snow, blaming the Après.

Tell us a fun fact

I have zero musical talent but both my daughters are budding musicians, with the oldest, who is also a Physics graduate, being tipped in a recent article in The Guardian as UK’s “one to watch”. You can check her out on SoundCloud or Spotify – Jessy Blakemore. The second daughter Jade Blakemore can be seen DJ’ing at various venues and festivals.