Alexis Tsielepis, Managing Director of Limassol-based Chelco VAT Ltd., has earned the coveted Expert in European Value Added Tax (VAT) diploma after achieving the highest grade ever awarded in the history of the degree.
After a year and half of classes in Belgium and Barcelona, a verbal and written examination and a 105-page thesis, Tsielepis scored an unprecedented 95%.
The ‘Expert in EU VAT’ degree is awarded only to the very best indirect tax practitioners from all over Europe who attempt the course. The degree is administered and awarded by the VAT Forum, an international partnership of indirect tax specialists. Tsielepis is the first and only Cypriot to have attempted the degree and soon after the results of the examination were announced, he was invited to represent the Forum as a Partner, which is another first for a Cypriot tax consultant.
“VAT is not as straightforward as it may seem,” an elated Tsielepis commented shortly after the graduation ceremony in Brussels on September 30. “It is a highly specialised subject that takes a lot of effort and dedication to master.”
He added that it was not the grade or the accolades that mattered.
“It is the fact that my knowledge of VAT is now on a different level,” he said. “Having successfully completed this admittedly demanding degree, I now feel confident that I can benefit my clients, associates and students with truly knowledgeable, comprehensive and reliable indirect tax advice.”
A Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA), Tsielepis sits on various committees charged with VAT and other tax matters and has authored a number of tax syllabuses and articles on matters pertaining to Cyprus and EU indirect taxation.
He is also an ACCA grader and examiner and advises reputable international professional bodies on advanced Cyprus VAT and taxation.
Through Chelco VAT Ltd, which specialises in strategic VAT planning and compliance, Tsielepis lectures extensively on VAT to private and public companies, professionals and institutions as well as government agencies and departments.
A week earlier, affiliate chartered accountants Costas Tsielepis & Co Ltd, Chartered Accountants announced the appointment of Nicolas Papapanayiotou, BSc, MBA, FCCA, as Senior Manager of its Taxation Department.
Nicolas holds a BSc in Economics and Accounting and an MBA in Financial Management from the University of Hull. He is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA) and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC).
He had over ten years of experience with the tax department of Deloitte Cyprus in the fields of national and international tax advisory and compliance and provided direct tax advice across a range of industries, including financial, oil and gas, shipping, trading, investment and banking. His experience also includes tax due diligence and international tax planning.
Alexis Tsielepis, Director and Head of Taxation of Costas Tsielepis & Co, said that Papapanayiotou’s appointment was necessitated due to the rapid expansion of the firm’s taxation department and the increasing need to provide its local and international clientele with highly specialised, timely and more in depth tax advice.
“His appointment will further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the department,” Alexis said, adding: “Our industry is rapidly changing for the better. The role of the tax advisor in today’s demanding world of global tax administration is now more important than ever, and rightly so.”
