About

About Our Business

We are a small, niche accountancy practice specialising in work for the parish, town and community council sector in England and Wales.  Our team of experienced practitioners understand local councils, including the role they may undertake as trustees of local charities. 

VAT for local authorities is a complex area and we know the pitfalls that catch unwary councils. Established in 2015, We have enabled hundreds of local councils to maximise VAT recovery on millions of pounds of projects, including village halls, pavilions, sports grounds, theatres, market halls, car parks, moorings and swimming pools. 
Based in the south of England, we visit clients across England and Wales and provide online, telephone and email support. We offer friendly, practical advice, affordable expertise and effective results.

We deliver finance-related advice and training through 36 county associations of local councils in England, answering around 500 queries and delivering over 2,000 online training places each year.  We also provide bespoke training and support for individual councils.   

Our consultants are amongst the best in their field, providing optimal solutions for our clients. 

Our Team

With more than 60 years of experience serving clients nationwide between us, our team is dedicated to help our clients and our community. 

Steve Parkinson

Steve is an AAT Licensed Accountant with over 30 years experience in the public and voluntary sectors and 7 years of running his own practice.  He specialises in VAT and finance matters for local councils, having liaised with HMRC on on behalf of the local council sector from 2008 to 2014. 


Steve was Town Clerk at Alton Town Council in Hampshire for 14 years prior to starting his own practice in 2015. 


He has also been delivering training on local council finance since 2002 and provides a wide programme of online training for county associations of local councils.

Debra Smith

Debra is an experienced VAT consultant, having started her career with HM Customs & Excise as a VAT inspector before becoming a consultant with Ernst Young.  She joined the Parkinson Partnership in 2018 and responds to most of the VAT queries that come through our advisory service to county associations, as well as undertaking consultancy work. 


In addition to her 25 years  background in VAT, Debra is an experienced parish councillor in Yorkshire. 

Tim Light

Tim is an experienced internal auditor who delivers some of the Parkinson Partnership's training under contract, on topics such as internal control.  He also provides continuity of practice cover in the event of the unexpected.


He has his own business providing internal audit services to parish and town councils, having previously worked as an internal audit manager for Hampshire County Council.  He is currently chairman of the Internal Audit Forum.

Sarah Rowland

Sarah provides training administration and analysis.  Her previous experience with Hampshire Association of Local Councils is important in liaising with county associations and course attendees. 

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