The History
KJ Pittalis & Co. was established in 1958 by Mr K. J Pittalis soon after qualifying as an International Accountant. He specialised in dealing with new family start-up businesses, and his main focus was in helping them succeed and grow.
John Pittalis, his eldest son, joined in 1986 after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse. The firm has evolved since then into a modern accountancy practice assisting clients with their financial requirements.
There are many family groups of clients that are still with us from the early 1960s, and we are now dealing with the second and third generation family members.
The biographies below include the number of years each team member has been with the firm, and this dedication matches the loyalty shown by our clients.
In 2021 the firm appointed three new partners from within who all had more than ten years post qualification experience. In total the practice now has six fully qualified persons with extensive knowledge in a variety of financial areas.
The practice has traditionally been based in Finchley, North London and now has a new Central London office in Marylebone.
Current personnel
There are four partners:
John Pittalis is the managing partner dealing with taxation investigations and other specialist reports, as well as still being involved with daily client work.
Rumit Gandhi has been with the practice for 16 years since he started employment and qualified through the firm’s training programme. Apart from being experienced in general matters he has been involved in many HMRC investigations.
Thomas Michael has been with the firm since 2015 as a senior manager. He has considerable audit experience, and in corporate and personal tax. His clients are mainly SMEs and non-resident companies with income in the U.K.
Elena Papuc has been with the practice for 14 years and she qualified through the firm’s training programme. Apart from being experienced in acting for SMEs, she has been involved in many HMRC investigations, and the tax structuring for the sale of major businesses.
Elia Joannides has over 30 years’ experience with the firm and deals with family-owned businesses. He also oversees the payroll department and the workplace pension scheme for clients.
Consultants
The firm over the years has built up a good relationship with specialists in their field, who have worked in conjunction with us to assist clients.
This includes Kyri Pittalis, who is the third-generation family member to become an accountant. Kyri qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Grant Thornton in the City before moving into a Corporate Finance role, advising mid-market and SME businesses on raising finance and M&A matters. Kyri then founded his own financial consultancy that uses his own team of interim finance professionals to take on complex finance team projects that include transformations, debt restructuring and M&A processes
Payroll Department
Payroll has become an increasingly important function for clients and ourselves. The introduction of RTI and workplace pensions has meant further obligations being imposed on employers.
Gita Geciene is the payroll manager and has been with the firm for over 10 years. With her team she assists clients with their various wages and HR enquiries, as well as the processing of the regular payroll.
IT Support
Nicholas Krase, the IT manager, has been with the firm for over 20 years. He has been responsible for ensuring that the practice avails itself of the appropriate software and has up to date IT functions.
He also advises clients on their IT systems and processes.
Services
The practice specialises in acting for owner managed businesses, providing a variety of accounting and taxation services. We have a dedicated team involved in extending professional services to our clients and assisting their businesses in moving forward. Our team works hard to get to know you and your business so that we can deliver timely, individual advice helping clients to improve their business and personal wealth.
In addition, the practice has a reputation in dealing with high level HMRC enquiries. These can involve routine investigations or those involving the Hidden Economy team of HMRC.
Tax planning is another field where the practice engages with its clients, particularly with regards to capital gains tax, inheritance tax planning and company reorganisations.
We view ourselves as business advisors as well as accountants and recognise that our clients require much more than ensuring compliance. Businesses today face many challenges. We work closely with our clients to ensure that they overcome these and achieve their goals.
