Cooper Parry

Leading our Digital Transformation business across Salesforce, NetSuite, Data & Analytics and Cybersecurity.

Managing Director - Cooper Parry Digital

Leading all firm market activity across the venture capital ecosystem.

CP's Tech & High Growth platform is the UK's #1 accounting & advisory team for start-ups and scale-ups.

Partner - Head of Early Stage, Tech & High Growth

Middlesex Cricket

Board Observer

HM Revenue & Customs

Appointed to the board.

The Administrative Burdens Advisory Board (ABAB) is an independent board comprising members from a range of business backgrounds and professions who represent the small business community. The Administrative Burdens Advisory Board's goal is to make a noticeable difference for small business by supporting HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to help make tax easier, quicker and simpler.

ABAB - Advisory Board Member

Labrys

Part of founding team.

Responsible for all finance implementation, structuring, corporate treasury, HR & incentives. Successfully raised and completed multi £m Seed Round before rolling off and handing over to full time CFO.

Now - Advisor to the Board.

Group CFO

Acclivity Advisors

Acclivity is a boutique advisory firm specialising in providing accountancy, taxation and consultancy services to entrepreneurs and high growth, early stage businesses both nationally and internationally.

Founder & Managing Director

HM Treasury

Consultative Committee member tasked with reviewing the current taxation system and providing meaningful insights that can result in a simplification of the regime.

Office of Tax Simplificiation -  Consultative Committee

Richmond Gatehouse LLP

1. Co-founder with a specific focus on early stage startups & High growth SME's.

- Full stack advisory, consisting of: structuring, accounting, (Corporate/Personal) direct/indirect taxes & systems. As well as strategic development, fund raising and founder matters.
- Particularly aim to build relationships and demystify accounting and taxation to non-finance professionals

2. Managing multi-office accountancy firm, business/brand development & strategic partnerships

3. Advising & mentoring both hopeful and established entrepreneurs on wide ranging matters including finance & strategy. In particular making meaningful introductions where beneficial.

Partner

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

I engaged with various governmental departments, discussing frontline business matters and opportunities for innovation, in a forum facilitated by Vince Cable.

Member of Entrepreneur Forum led by the Secretary of State for Business

PricewaterhouseCoopers

- Private Equity, M&A (London)
- Tax (Jersey, Channel Islands)

Senior Associate

Managing Director, Cooper Parry Digital | Head of Early Stage, Tech & High Growth |

I lead our Digital business that supports clients across their Salesforce, NetSuite, Analytics & Cybersecurity needs.

I also lead market activity for CP in the Venture Capital ecosystem. 

Our specialist team works with Founders, CFOs and Boards of early stage, scale-up and high growth businesses, navigating challenges spanning finance, strategy, technology, and deal support. We are highly active in the scale-up ecosystem and have worked as the accounting partner for leading organisations and communities and have built community platforms such as TechCFO and VentureCEO.

I started my career at PwC, then established and ran successful early stage focussed firms such as Acclivity Advisors. Following the successful exit of Acclivity to Cooper Parry, where I am now a Managing Director.

I wrote the best selling book 'The Finance Playbook for Entrepreneurs', so that entrepreneurs of ALL backgrounds could benefit from the very best teachings. 

Thinking back, I can see how my family-business beginnings have influenced where I am today, teaching me primarily how to spin multiple plates at the same time, but more importantly the significance of being surrounded by the right people.  

This unique skillset has afforded me a number of Board positions across industries within public & private sectors. At present, these include:

1. Middlesex County Cricket Club (Board Observer, Chair of Growth Committee)
2. Queen Elizabeth's Global Schools (Chair, International Schools project)
3. Labrys (Advisor to the Board)
4. HM Revenue & Customs - ABAB (Board Member)

As well as the above, I advise Government on how to innovate for SMEs & entrepreneurs through consultative committees and forums.

All of these roles have shown me the value of sharing what I know beyond my own sector;

And so, I enjoy speaking at universities, schools, accelerators and incubators on a wide variety of relevant entrepreneurship related topics.

Asif Ahmed

Profitability isn't the ultimate validation.

That's a lesson you only learn the hard way.

After working with 500+ venture-backed start-ups, here's the uncomfortable truth:

The most dangerous position to get into? 

When your P&L looks perfect but your fundamentals are weak.

Here's why being cash-focused ultimately builds stronger businesses:

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀. 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

Companies obsessing over profitability develop lazy habits:

→ They don't know their unit economics deeply
→ They avoid hard decisions about efficiency  
→ They confuse "not losing money" with "building value"
→ They miss the difference between margin and runway

Meanwhile, cash-burning companies (done strategically) are forced to develop critical skills:

𝟭) 𝗥𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Every pound spent requires justification. No budget bloat. No vanity projects.

𝟮) 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆  
They know CAC, LTV, payback period, and burn multiple empirically. These aren't just spreadsheet exercises, they're critical to survival.

𝟯) 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿-𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴
They must articulate value creation constantly. This clarity drives better decision-making at every level.

𝟰) 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲
Cash management is predictive. Profit analysis is historical. One protects your future, the other reviews your past.

- - - -

The counterintuitive truth:

A company burning £100k/month with 24 months runway and crystal-clear metrics is stronger than a profitable company that doesn't know why it's profitable.

The difference is control.

Cash-focused founders know exactly:
→ How long they have to hit milestones
→ What drives their economics  
→ Where to deploy capital for maximum impact
→ When to accelerate or conserve

Profit-focused founders often know:
→ That they made money last month
→ (And hope it continues)

✅ One is building a machine. 
❌ The other is hoping the machine keeps running.

💡 What financial metric do you think founders obsess over that actually limits long-term success?

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✒️ Specifically for: Fast Scaling venture-backed founders & CFOs

Tax Partner - Leading the National Equity Reward & Venture Capital Team

Tax Associate Partner - Tech & High Growth Team

Tax Director - Tech & High Growth Team

The Jags Foundation

Director & Chairman

Partick Thistle Football Club

Board Director at Partick Thistle Football Club, representing The Jags Foundation.

Director

Johnston Carmichael Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers

Tax Director, Head of Entrepreneurial Taxes

Leading Johnston Carmichael's Entrepreneurial Taxes team across Scotland - primarily based between Edinburgh/Glasgow as well as the wider Johnston Carmichael office network.
Key focus around EMI and other employee incentive schemes, SEIS/EIS investment and other corporate projects including R&D, transaction advisory and wider business solutions/support.

Senior Manager, Head of Entrepreneurial Taxes

Grant Thornton UK LLP

- Work in Glasgow Corporate Tax Team based in the Glasgow Office
 - Also have a role as Scottish Lead for National Innovation Team with a specific focus on R&D Tax Relief/Patent Box/Video Games Tax Relief
 - Work on a large portfolio of SME/Large Companies, with particular focus on privately held owner managed businesses.
 - Experience in corporate tax compliance, and advisory projects including R&D Tax Relief Claims/Patent Box Work/Video Games Tax Relief Claims/Capital Allowances etc.
 - Portfolio included clients in Food & Drink, Technology, Life Sciences, Automotive & Construction Sectors.

Manager

Assistant Manager

Working in Corporate Tax department, compliance based with involvement in advisory projects and a particular interest in R&D/Patent Box claims.

Executive

Working in Corporate Tax department, primarily compliance based with involvement in advisory projects. Also experienced working in the Private Client (preparation of Personal Tax Returns) and Indirect Taxes (in particular VAT) teams.

Associate

Tax Associate Partner - Tech & High Growth 🚀 Team at Cooper Parry - Advising venture and private equity-backed scaleups

Recently I have moved to lead the newly formed Venture Capital & Equity Reward team at Cooper Parry - we support on all things SEIS / EIS / VCT, implementation of MIPs (EMI, CSOP, Growth Shares etc), Employment Related Securities and finally, Tax Valuations.

I also work in Cooper Parry's Tech and High Growth Team, supporting Venture and PE-backed businesses as they scale operations - starting from Seed/Series A, through Venture/PE rounds and support companies as they gear up for future liquidity events including an exit! Combined, our specialist team works with Founders, CFOs and Boards of early stage, scale-up and high growth businesses, navigating challenges spanning finance, strategy, technology, and fundraising.

Cooper Parry is one of the fastest growing accountancy firms in the UK. We were recently crowned the No.1 Accounting Firm to Work for in the UK by Best Companies, The Best Place to Work in Europe by the Employee Engagement Awards.

We are breaking the mould of your average accounting and advisory firm. The Big 6 firms are struggling for capacity, struggling to retain motivated people, and are unable to deliver the close relationship-led service that scale-ups need at fee levels that makes sense. We are hearing this right across the UK. The landscape of accounting and advisory firms with appropriate expertise, agility and capacity to support scale-ups and fast growth companies is changing. Cooper Parry is filling the gap for scale-ups with a different approach that is well aligned to the mindset in the high growth and venture-funded community.

Cooper Parry’s own growth and disruptive approach has been powered by our own people and our own culture. We are challenging grey. We are challenging boring. We are challenging status quo. We are finding and retaining individuals who have an appetite for growth and disruption just as the scale-ups in the technology community do.

Before joining Cooper Parry, I worked for Scotland's largest independent accountancy firm, leading their Entrepreneurial Taxes Team. I have also worked in Grant Thornton's Corporate Tax Team. As I have worked across a range of client sizes, sectors, and markets, I have found that my passion lies in supporting Tech & High Growth businesses as they seek to grow & scale. And that is why I am proud to work as part of Cooper Parry's Tech & High Growth Team!

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