Meet your team

Our clients’ needs are broad so we try to avoid pigeon-holing our team members into narrow areas. That way your main contacts can deal with more of your issues without having to refer you on to those who don’t know you so well.

Our team has strong local roots which means we are in tune with the way business is done in the Highlands. Advances in technology and communications are making the world seem smaller but there will always be a place for local knowledge and we have that in abundance.

Alan Cooper (Director)

Alan studied accountancy at university and then trained with a small firm in Edinburgh, qualifying as a CA in 1994 and moving up to Inverness in the same year. He has been advising small businesses in the Highlands ever since. Alan oversees our Accounts work and takes the lead in our Consultancy, Business Planning and Tax Planning activities, but is available to all clients in most other areas as well.

Nicola Mackay (Director)

Nicola joined an accountancy firm in Inverness straight from school, qualifying with the ATT and finding her niche in tax. She now oversees CMM’s Tax Compliance services but also handles Tax Planning and Tax Enquiry work. In keeping with our ethos Nicola isn’t just restricted to tax however and has a broad knowledge of the firm’s other services.

Yvonne Urquhart (Senior Manager)

Another Highland native, Yvonne worked with CMM’s directors many years ago but joined the firm in 2015 after returning from a number of years in Australia. A qualified CA (of the Australian institute), Yvonne manages our Payroll department and also manages Accounts, Cloud Accounting, Tax and other Business Support services for a selection of clients.

Ailie Cooper (Office Manager)

Ailie is from Inverness and is married to Alan. She assisted CMM in various capacities for many years before joining us on a permanent basis in 2016 just before our last office move. Ailie is now our office manager, responsible for ensuring everything works smoothly behind the scenes. She is also often the first point of contact for new clients and for visitors to our office.

Claire Fraser (Client Manager)

Another resident of the Black Isle, Claire originally worked with CMM as a college student but joined us full time in 2015. Claire is a qualified accountant via the ACCA and is one of two Client Managers, responsible for Accounts, Tax, Cloud Accounting and other Business Support services for a number of clients.

Kim McAllister (Payroll Senior)

Kim is also Black Isle born and bred and joined us in 2011 to work in Payroll, Bookkeeping and Accounts. As the firm has grown, and Payroll work has become more complex, Kim now works exclusively in this area, processing payrolls on both Xero and Sage and handling clients' pension submissions.

Zak Labanca (Client Manager)

Zak joined us in 2017, completing his ACCA qualification soon afterwards, and has now also qualified as a Tax Technician via the ATT. Alongside Claire, Zak is a Client Manager, handling all routine matters for a portfolio of clients, including Accounts, Tax, Cloud Accounting and other services.

Paul Urquhart (Client Services Assistant)

Continuing the Black Isle theme, Paul is from Fortrose and joined CMM in 2017. He is mainly involved in keeping our Xero processing clients’ records up to date, but also assists the rest of the team in many other areas.

Jodie Grimmond (Payroll Senior)

Jodie is from Nairn and joined CMM in 2020. She has over 20 years experience in payroll processing and works alongside Yvonne and Kim running client payrolls on Sage and Xero, including pension submissions.

Aly Riddle (Accounts Trainee)

Aly is from Inverness and joined CMM in 2023. He supports the Client Managers, preparing clients' accounts and tax computations and also maintaining bookkeeping records using Xero. Aly is training towards his ACCA qualification.