It’s vitally important for us to actively support the mission of The R&D Community. To improve standards both within our Firm and beyond, and drive advisors to approach R&D tax relief ethically and in the spirit in which they’re intended. We want to advocate for this positive change and continual improvement amongst the wider community of like-minded professionals.

We’re all stakeholders in this industry so we want it to go from strength to strength. If we don’t strive to protect it in the right way, that’s a major risk for innovative companies, the UK taxpayer and for all of us who work in the industry.

– Ciaran Downs, Accounting & Tax Technical Lead

CPD training for R&D Tax Relief teams

Their first priority was to engage their team of 20 in the training content, and to ensure they all have the same understanding of the essential guidance and legislation that sits behind R&D tax relief.

Having recently joined the R&D team from another department at Sedulo, I found myself facing a steep learning curve. However, I’m pleased to say that the R&D Community resources have been instrumental in easing this transition. These resources have not only helped me consolidate the knowledge I gained during my accountancy studies but have also kept me up to date with the latest changes to the scheme.

Particularly noteworthy was Richards Edwards’ introduction to the merged scheme, which provided a clear and comprehensive overview of the changes, significantly boosting my confidence when explaining these concepts to clients.

Another module that I found especially valuable was the module on conducting client meetings. This course has been crucial in improving my confidence when advising clients and has given me strategies to avoid common misunderstandings. The practical insights and techniques shared have already proven useful in my day-to-day client interactions.

– James, Tax Consultant

This is a busy and growing team, so it’s important to make sure people are engaging with training resources regularly to keep their knowledge fresh and support their work on specific R&D claims.

Over time, the team has found that access to the training platform has been transformational. Now that the online courses can be the core of everyone’s CPD, they’re freed up from an element of internal training (both attendance and preparation), and can spend time on targeted internal training needs, quality control, complex claims and developing their growing client base.

It’s been particularly helpful for training up new staff who join the team, including those seconded from other internal departments. Putting them through the core training has given them a good grounding in R&D as a ‘starter for ten’, before they start peppering colleagues with questions!

The R&D Community has been a welcome addition to my repertoire of resources, enabling me to quickly refresh my knowledge of R&D fundamentals and delve into more intricate aspects of R&D legislation, which is especially beneficial when preparing for meetings with complex clients. Moreover, it has established a standardised foundation of training and understanding across our team, ensuring all members, regardless of their prior experience or prior training, are aligned with the R&D guidelines, helping achieve a more cohesive service delivery.

– Ryan, Technical Manager

Improving R&D screening leads to step-change in quality over quantity

We found the courses on Qualifying Leads and Ethics especially useful. Now that there’s so much scrutiny from HMRC, it’s more important than ever before to be able to screen new clients effectively. Team members who focus on Business Development are now all trained to do this, and it’s made a real difference.

– Ciaran Downs, Accounting & Tax Technical Lead

Ciaran went on to tell me that he’s seen an evolution in mindset and approach from a Business Development standpoint. By implementing a more effective and detailed screening process as set out in the training, expectations are properly managed upfront and prospects are filtered more accurately. Sometimes, the initial time spent with a potential client can be unproductive. This can happen if the likely amount of qualifying R&D expenditure doesn’t justify the effort involved, or if their activities don’t clearly qualify as R&D.

But every meeting with a prospect is still a valuable learning opportunity, a connection strengthened, and a chance to showcase Sedulo’s knowledge with an ethical and thorough approach. At the end of the day, it’s about educating the prospective client as to the qualifying R&D criteria and the claim process, and enabling them to make an informed decision about whether or not to proceed.

Being part of the R&D Community has been incredibly helpful. From a compliance and enquiry perspective, the collaborative nature of the R&D community fosters transparency and shared learning, helping businesses navigate the evolving landscape, substantiate their R&D claims effectively, and defend valid claims.

– Rob, Compliance Manager

Unexpected benefits of networking with R&D professionals

Ciaran Downs, Accounting & Tax Technical Lead within Sedulo’s Allowances, Incentives and Reliefs division, has taken the opportunity to join our members WhatsApp group, where he can tap into the wider community “hive mind” and pass key insights onto others on the team.

It’s felt good to get to know other people also working in the industry, and to feel more connected with peers who have a similar mindset and work on the same types of problems day in, day out.

Even if you’re lucky enough to work in a team of 20 people as I do – you can chat and share ideas, you’re all informed about R&D tax incentives and the industry, which is great! But it’s still only 20 people, whereas it’s fundamentally different to crowdsource from a group of 200 advisers. You get a very direct view into the collective knowledge and experience of this much wider community and some brilliant ‘outside the box’ thinking, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how supportive and helpful this community is.

Having spent my formative years in R&D tax at a much larger accountancy firm, I’m aware that the knowledge pool in places such as that – whilst rich and valuable – is often closed and protected from the wider industry. The idea then to turn that on its head, and work collaboratively as a larger community of R&D aficionados for the benefit of each other, our clients and the industry is radically different and something I believe in strongly.

– Ciaran Downs, Accounting & Tax Technical Lead

Inside the members forum, there are a wider array of expert perspectives on subjective elements of the scheme. Even with the more objective elements, it’s great to hear different ways to explain the more niche or complex rules.

It’s also lead to some unique opportunities, like their partnership with SmartClaim which began in October 2024 thanks to a webinar hosted by The R&D Community. Sedulo have become early adopters of ethical AI to support R&D claim preparation, and have a front row seat to provide feedback and influence SmartClaim’s continued product development.

Best practice in R&D tax relief

For the whole team at Sedulo, taking expert training with The R&D Community, and tapping into our member networks, has paid off.

The standard of knowledge and expertise in their team is more consistent, even among new starters, and their new approach to screening clients is leading to higher quality claims and greater efficiency.

They are looking forward to sending three of their team on The R&D Community’s Certification in R&D Tax Relief course starting in April 2025, and more on future cohorts.

If you’re looking to follow best practice and up-skill your own R&D team, membership of The R&D Community is a great place to start. Watch the free membership demo to meet our team, take a peek inside our training platform, and learn how your R&D service can grow from strength to strength with the right training and support.

Watch the free membership demo