Accountants, VAT and Jaffa cakes - from the desk of Sabrina Peri, Feedr’s Head of Finance

A note from Katie, MD at Feedr

Sabrina is our Head of Finance at Feedr and has been with us for the past two years; in that time, she's done an incredible job transforming our finance function. As well as being instrumental in keeping the business running smoothly, she brings huge value through the guidance and support she gives the wider team. I'm really excited that, through this Expert Voices series, she's able to share some of her insights beyond our team.

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Sabrina Peri

You won't be surprised to know that I'm a qualified accountant.

However, you might be surprised to know that I knew absolutely nothing about accounting and finance before I stepped foot into my first job (...and for a while after!). One of the interview stages for said job included a presentation on a charity of my choice, and I distinctly remember a family member telling me to talk about the charity's financial accounts. A pretty obvious point, in retrospect, but not something I'd thought to do myself.

I had a lot of misconceptions about the skills an accountant needed and the job they did day to day. I expected it to be numbers heavy with a focus on complex mathematics, which wasn't my cup of tea. On that basis, I was surprised that my psychology degree and maths GCSE ticked enough boxes, and the surprise stayed when I met my peers (both of whom had studied relevant degrees, therefore had existing technical knowledge and professional exam exemptions).

Since entering the profession over 13 years ago, a lot has clearly changed - and not just for me. But I think some things have held fairly firm. I believe that a lot of people still misunderstand accounting and accountants, don't have much financial literacy, and even inadvertently devalue the skillset and expertise that we spend years building.

So while, day to day, you'll find me knee deep in spreadsheets, HMRC manuals, and financial jargon, what I'm most passionate about - as a proud accountant - isn't the technical part of my role at all. Instead, it's changing perceptions, improving financial literacy, and future proofing the profession. If you're interested in understanding how I do that, I hope you'll stick around.

‍Without further ado, welcome to part one of my three-part series!

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Changing perceptions

If I asked you to think of and describe an accountant, would you reach for their appearance, personality or the work they do first?

Over the years, I've had a few people tell me that I don't look like an accountant. I've always taken that as a compliment, and I should probably state that it wasn't unexpected. For a long time, business wear was in and personal expression was out. My personal expression takes the form of piercings, tattoos and skinny jeans - probably not what most people picture when they think of an accountant! That being said, the profession has come a long way from the occasional casual Friday. Nevertheless, sometimes perceptions can be changed by something as simple as showing the character behind the credentials.

At Feedr, I bring my whole self to work every day. But while I might not embody a typical accountant, my appearance is a fairly passive way of rewriting stereotypes.

In recent years, I've taken a much more active role in trying to change perceptions. The catalyst was presenting in an All Hands for the first time in 2022: I had big shoes to fill as my predecessor's presentations received great reviews and were a source of entertainment. No pressure! Thankfully I'm competitive, determined, and a little bit creative so it worked out well.

In all seriousness, that moment was pivotal. My career had been built in accounting firms; rather than explaining statutory documents and income extraction strategies, I was suddenly challenged to make finance accessible and fun. With that, my own perceptions of what mattered and how to connect with people changed. I knew the importance of telling the story, but I learned the importance of telling it in a way that everyone would remember.

So how do I do that now, as Head of Finance at Feedr?

In case you don't know, Feedr is a B2B workplace food platform. We help organisations create exceptional workplace experiences through the provision of great food from our network of independent, quality food businesses, supported by technology that makes ordering and management seamless.

One great thing about working in the food and beverage industry is VAT. I know how that sounds - but bear with me!

In certain industries, VAT can be pretty straightforward. That's not always the case with food; even reading the legislation can be confusing. The starting point is that food for human consumption is zero-rated, but this is subject to a range of exceptions, some of which have their own exceptions! For example, frozen yoghurt is an excepted item (ie standard-rated), except if "unsuitable for immediate consumption when frozen" (which therefore would remain zero-rated).

Perhaps unsurprisingly then, there have been a number of disagreements between businesses (both manufacturers and retailers) and HMRC on the VAT treatment of certain food items. These cases, which often end up in court, prove to be great content for presentations and team training.

On the one hand, they showcase the intricacies of VAT legislation and the importance of getting the VAT treatment right. A lot of our teams at Feedr have some kind of dealing with VAT, whether it be fielding questions, reviewing our restaurant partner menus, or placing bespoke orders for our customers. While my team are always on hand for advice, technical awareness does matter.

On the other hand, these cases often provide an opportunity to bring levity to what could otherwise be a jargon and legislation heavy topic. And in my opinion the best example is an infamous one: the humble Jaffa cake.

In 1991, HMRC and McVitie's took to court to argue over whether a Jaffa cake was indeed a cake (thus zero-rated) or a biscuit (thus standard-rated, ie VAT would be charged at an additional 20% based on current rates). Purportedly, a giant Jaffa cake was baked and used as evidence! A number of factors were considered, including size, how they're eaten, and what they're like when stale. For those that aren't familiar with this case (spoiler alert!), McVitie's won.

McVitie's have since used this case in several marketing campaigns. You might have seen billboards recently stating "We're a cake! You biscuit". My favourite, though, is a video advert from 2021, which ends with: "if a cake can be a biscuit, you can be anything".

One of the first presentations I delivered to my Feedr colleagues was an All Hands which included the Jaffa cake case. It still gets referenced in the office sometimes, almost two years later, which I'm pretty proud of (as does my subsequent hour-long VAT training session - more entertaining than it sounds, I promise!). A couple of weeks ago, an ex-colleague sent me a photo of the current Jaffa cake billboard, saying it reminds them of me.

Last year, I even convinced my wife to see A Jaffa Cake Musical at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It was all about the VAT case, and my wife still sings one of the songs occasionally! I think she enjoyed it more than I did.

I should note that I've also presented an ongoing VAT case about giant marshmallows, run quizzes (one ingeniously titled "this or VAT?") and thrown a few accounting jokes around.

I know that numbers aren't for everyone (I prefer words, myself - possibly an unusual admission for an accountant, but I love to tell a good story). But I hope that by shining a light on some of the more interesting areas of accounting and finance - both past and present - everyone can find a way to engage that feels surprisingly light and, dare I say, perhaps even enjoyable.

If my legacy is a Jaffa cake as a result - I'll happily take that.

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No matter who you are, what you do, or how you ended up here: thanks for reading.

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"From the desk of" is a new series by Feedr, creating a platform for our team's experts to share their knowledge and perspective beyond their day-to-day roles.

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