Meet the Merit Accountants team

Chartered Certified Accountants and Chartered Tax Advisers serving businesses and individuals across the UK

Merit Accountants was built on a simple premise: the best financial advice comes from people who’ve lived it. Our partners are not career accountants who have only ever worked in practice. They include a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and Fellows of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. They have built their own businesses from nothing to over £1m in turnover, and they have guided hundreds of UK businesses from start-up to £1m turnover and beyond. Our team includes Chartered Tax Advisers and professionals who have worked inside HMRC. The Accountancy People, founded by partner James Sheard, now trades as Merit Accountants. Clarus Knight Accountants, founded by partner Richard Mahoney, merged with Merit in 2025.

Few accountancy firms combine business-building and tax experience at partner level, and it shows in the advice you receive.

We are accountants in Manchester, London and Hertfordshire, with offices in Stalybridge, central London and Potters Bar, and we act for over 3,000 clients across 14 sectors throughout the UK. In the last two years we have saved clients over £9.2m in tax, through structured planning that starts as soon as you join us.

Merit is audit registered by the ACCA, a Xero Platinum partner and a registered Authorised Corporate Service Provider, so we can verify identities and file at Companies House on your behalf. Every VAT return and set of accounts we prepare is reviewed by a second tax specialist before it is filed.

Our partners

Managing Partner

Hussein Bhaiji

Hussein Bhaiji is an award-winning Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) and Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), with over 20 years of UK tax expertise, including time working inside HMRC and at top 20 UK accounting firms.

He won the prestigious Chris Jones Prize from the Chartered Institute of Taxation and leads Merit’s tax advisory work, including HMRC investigations.

Read Hussein Bhaiji’s full profile

Partner

James Sheard

James Sheard founded The Accountancy People from zero clients and zero staff, scaling it into a thriving multi-million-pound practice, which is why when James advises business owners on growth, he speaks from lived experience.

James is a fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales having qualified in 1989. He trained in the City of London with Moore Stephens (now Moore UK) before doing a stint in commerce with a large transport group.

James’s particular interest is in family businesses and the self-employed. He has a passion to help people understand their finances so that their money can work for them and not the other way around.
James lives in Saddleworth and is married with grown-up children. He is a keen member of Saddleworth Runners who run on the moors, but is also partial to a parkrun; attempts to play golf and keeps bees in his garden.

He enjoys the countryside, where he spends time with his dog, Mish.

Read James’s full profile

Partner

Mukkarram Ali

Mukkarram Ali brings over a decade of senior financial leadership experience and is the former Group Financial Controller at one of the UK’s largest industrial property developers.

He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and refined his expertise at Deloitte, one of the Big Four accounting firms, and at other audit and accounting practices in London.

Mukkarram manages complex group audits and carries out technical audit and accounting work for a wide range of businesses. He leads Merit’s audit work and, with Hussein Bhaiji, the complete finance function, focusing on business performance at every client review.

Outside work, Mukkarram enjoys time with his family and paints. His artwork has been featured in exhibitions throughout the UK, the USA and beyond.

Read Mukkarram’s full profile

Partner

Richard Mahoney

Richard Mahoney partners with entrepreneurial and fast-growth businesses to build strategic financial plans, combining qualified accountancy with hands-on advisory experience for founders looking to scale.

He founded Clarus Knight Accountants in 2014 and served as Managing Director for 11 years, guiding the firm’s growth and client-focused approach until its merger with Merit Accountants in 2025. Richard is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA).

He works with founders on growth strategy and coaches them towards their long-term objectives. His advice covers scaling, financial management and operational efficiency, for early-stage ventures and for established businesses planning to expand or change direction.

Outside work, Richard is involved in community sport. He is Chairman of Camden Town Football Club, where he is raising finance and securing commercial sponsorship, the same work he does for clients.

Read Richard’s full profile

Partner

Oshka Gamage

Oshka Gamage is a Chartered Certified Accountant with over 15 years of experience, known for building long-term advisory relationships that go far beyond compliance.

She manages the finance function for the clients in her portfolio, which spans healthcare, charities, property, technology, consultancy, retail, wholesale, transport, automotive, manufacturing, hospitality and social media influencers.

She stays in contact with her clients throughout the year, not only at year end. Her expertise lies in setting up and running finance functions, from bookkeeping and management reporting to statutory accounts prepared under UK accounting standards. She also works with clients’ in-house finance teams on compliance and regulatory requirements, and supports them with due diligence, business planning, cash flow management and trading forecasts.

Outside work, she enjoys time with her children and travelling to new places.

Read Oshka’s full profile

What sets our team apart

Most accountancy firms are staffed by talented professionals who have built their careers entirely within practice. Our partners have collectively started businesses, secured investment, managed HMRC enquiries from both sides of the table, and advised clients at every stage of a business’s life, from incorporation through to exit.

Our partners oversee the work clients rely on every month and every year: bookkeeping, management accounts, accounts preparation, corporation tax returns and self assessment tax returns, with a Chartered Tax Adviser reviewing the tax position throughout.

This means that when you ask us a question, you get an answer grounded in real-world commercial experience. That means what the legislation says, and also what HMRC looks for in an enquiry and what saves money in practice.

If you’re looking for accountants who’ll file your returns and send you a bill, there are many firms that do exactly that. If you want accountants who treat your business like their own, Merit is built for you.