ICAEW is offering a new, short training course for members, providing an introduction to transactions in the construction and real estate sector. On 7 and 8 July from 9-11am, this virtual training course will bring together expert speakers from accountancy, surveying, taxation and law who will demystify concepts, point to issues and share their experiences of working together on property projects.

Ros Rowe, Subject Matter Expert for ICAEW’s Construction & Real Estate Community, is chairing the training course. She was a founding member of the community, which now has more than 6,000 members. “It has gone from strength to strength since it was founded in 2019 and I’m delighted to be involved in this first Fundamentals Course,” she says.

Having worked on large, complex property projects herself, Rowe says finance professionals in this area need to understand the intricacies of financing, accountancy and tax, as well as having an excellent grasp of the jargon and nuances that surveyors and legal experts bring to the mix. “There are risks in every project,” she explains. “Working together, from the beginning, with specialists who can anticipate risks, reduces the chance of nasty surprises leading to a better outcome.” 

The themes

In this Fundamentals Course, expert speakers will provide an overview of their approach to a project followed by a discussion around a case study that highlights how the interaction between specialists works in practice.

As every construction, trading and investment project is different, the course is shaped to highlight crucial aspects of a transaction without being overly complex. 

On day one, there are presentations by a surveyor and an accountant, followed by a discussion of some of the issues they would consider when advising a UK property investment company that is buying the freehold of a built-to-rent property. 

Day two is structured with a legal presentation followed by one on taxation. After this, there will be a discussion about a company that is buying land and building houses.

The expert speakers

The panel of speakers is made up of Jonathan Fothergill, Investment and Valuation Advisory, Global Valuation Team, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; Stacy Eden, Head of Real Estate and Construction, Riaz Farooqi, Real Estate Tax Associate Director, and Louise Cowell, Indirect Tax Associate Director, all from RSM; and Michelle Beaumont and Jonathan More, both Real Estate Partners at Irwin Mitchell LLP. 

“The calibre of speakers and their different backgrounds and experiences brings home the benefits of looking further than the numbers,” says Rowe.

Book the Virtual Construction & Real Estate Fundamentals 2022