Gareth John

Biography

I qualified ACA in 1996 whilst working for Coopers & Lybrand (now part of PwC). I am Fellow of the Institute and served two terms as District Society President in East Anglia from May 2019 to May 2021.

Soon after qualifying I moved into professional training which I have been doing ever since. In 2009 I founded First Intuition Cambridge Ltd and have since then built a successful group of professional training businesses delivery courses for ICAEW, AAT, ACCA and CIMA qualifications.  I own training centres in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Norwich, Ipswich, Peterborough, Luton, Leeds and Sheffield.  I also operate a Distance Learning business for the AAT qualification.

I am very well connected in the accountancy and finance sector in East Anglia (and also in Yorkshire) and also in the broader business community. There are very few firms in East Anglia that I don't have personal links with.

I am married with two daughters.

I am a keen horse rider and indoor rower, and love eating good food with friends and a bottle of two from my wine collection.

Declaration of Interests

Membership of, or interests in, formal bodies or groups, including other professional bodies

• Member, Cambridge Hawks DRC
• Member, Cambridge 100 Club
• Member, Cambridge Dinners for Business

Membership of ICAEW Council, ICAEW Boards and other ICAEW Committees

• Council
• ICAEW Education and Training Board
• ICAEW Business Committee
• Chair, ICAEW East of England Regional Policy Board

Partnerships, Directorships or beneficial interests in companies

• Shareholder and Director, First Intuition Cambridge Ltd
• Shareholder and Director, First Intuition Chelmsford Ltd
• Shareholder and Director, First Intuition Leeds Ltd
• Shareholder and Director, Gareth John Training Ltd
• Shareholder and Director, Fenvino Ventures Ltd
• Shareholder and Director, First in Apprenticeships Ltd (now dissolved)
• Shareholder and Director, Apple Advantage Training Ltd (now dissolved)
• Partner, First Intuition Luton LLP (now dissolved)

Professional or social relationships with individuals who have business relationships or who compete with ICAEW

• Since my business delivers training for multiple accountancy qualifications including ACA, I have many professional relationships with individuals who work for AAT, ACCA and CIMA.  A number of these extend to social relationships based on networking in the counties that I operate in.
• I have similar professional relationships with members and employees of business membership organisations, particularly the CBI and to a lesser extent the IoD.
• I attend the annual AAT Tutor Conference and I am occasionally interviewed for their various publications.
• I have appeared in podcasts for some industry observers recently.
• I have regular discussions with ESFA, the body responsible for apprenticeship funding.
• My wife Emma Claire John is also an FCA, and is Director of the Partnership in Care Ltd and The Suffolk Association of Care Providers Ltd.  She is company secretary of Gareth John Training Ltd and First Intuition Cambridge Ltd.

Any other matters you feel should be identified

• I have good contacts in the cloud accountancy sector including at the likes of Xero and various Apps that form it's business ecosystem.