Rooted in the UK. Growing in the UAE.

About Camden Hill

Our story

I trained and qualified as a chartered accountant in London at a small three partner practice specialising in owner-managed businesses, now part of Haines Watts. There I prepared financial statements, audited small to medium companies and groups, prepared personal and corporation tax returns and advised start-ups, learning from day one what matters to business owners. I then went on to manage audits at top tier firms BDO and Grant Thornton, before moving to Dubai in 2008.

Like many expats, I arrived knowing the profession but not the local rules, and had to learn the UAE system from scratch. I spent the next few years in industry, first in group reporting for a FTSE 250 shipping company, then as Financial Controller for an international engineering consultancy. Along the way I've seen how often newcomers are given wrong or misleading advice, simply because they don't yet know what questions to ask.

I founded Camden Hill in 2015 to change that for expats and small business owners. Since then, the UAE has introduced VAT in 2018, Corporate Tax in 2023, and e-invoicing is on the way. Each change brings a new wave of questions, and helping clients through them is at the heart of what we do.

As an expat and a working mum, without grandparents round the corner or family to call on, I understand the pressures our clients face, because I face them too. It's why I built Camden Hill as a remote practice, so my team can balance work and family as well. We explain things clearly, tell you what you actually need to know, and make sure you're never left guessing.

Jo Maye, Founder

The Camden Hill team around the table in a meeting — Our regular in-person team meeting

Meet the team

Jo Maye FCA

Founder

Jo is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) with over 25 years' experience across tax, accounting, audit and financial management, in both UK practice and UAE industry. She has lectured on ICAEW tax papers for PwC Academy in Dubai, contributed to PwC Middle East's regional VAT course manual and delivered their first internal tax course in the region. Alongside leading Camden Hill, she works as a fractional CFO for project-based businesses, leading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations on NetSuite and Vantagepoint.

Outside work, Jo is a keen gardener who grows her own food, raises chickens (yes, in Dubai), and writes about it for her local community.
Suraiya Paruk CA(SA)

Finance Team Lead

Suraiya qualified as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa in 2003, after winning a university prize for top student in Advanced Managerial Accounting and Finance. She trained with PwC auditing SME businesses, then worked as a Finance Manager in telecoms, leading reporting, budgeting and a post-acquisition accounts integration for Vodacom. She now leads Camden Hill's finance team, overseeing bookkeeping, VAT and Corporate Tax work, and her audit background means she knows exactly what good records look like.

Outside work, Suraiya is an avid reader and a travel addict, and makes the world's best cookies.
Elia Villegas

Admin Manager

Elia holds a degree in Accountancy and brings over 20 years' experience in UAE administration, including more than a decade as Administration Manager for an energy company in the Jebel Ali Free Zone. At Camden Hill she looks after payroll, client onboarding and AML compliance, VAT and Corporate Tax registrations through the FTA portal, and the practice management system that keeps our workflows running smoothly.

Outside work, Elia loves cooking and spending time with her family, and is an active member of her church.

How we work

Built around family life

Back in 2015, remote working was still rare in the UAE, and many talented professionals, particularly expat parents, found it almost impossible to stay in the profession. Long, hot summers and school holidays that stretch for months make a traditional nine to five office job hard to sustain, and too many experienced accountants were stepping away altogether.

So we built a practice that works around family life, fully remote and flexible by design, years before Covid made it commonplace. It allows us to attract and keep experienced, capable accountants who might otherwise have left the profession. For our clients, that means a settled team who know your business, working year round, including through the summer months, and people who genuinely understand what it's like to juggle a busy life alongside running a business.

Systems that don't let things slip

We sort our own systems just as carefully as we sort yours. The whole practice runs on modern practice management software, with automated workflows and reminders that track every deadline and request. That means no chasing you for the same document three times, and nothing slipping through the cracks. We stay on top of every new tool going, and despite being a small firm, we're often invited to test new accounting software before it's released.

Remote never means relaxed about security

Our team works through secure Microsoft cloud PCs, so your financial data stays within our protected Microsoft 365 environment and is never stored on personal laptops or devices. Every piece of work follows a clear process and is reviewed before it reaches you.

Find out if we're the right accountants for you

If you own or run a business in the UAE, we'd be pleased to hear from you.

Book a call Or call +971 50 536 9825, WhatsApp us or email info@camdenhill.co.uk