# Prepare the photographer's expenses “Prepare the photographer's expenses” is a tax assistant job simulation on FinderK. You work at Pembrey and Lowe Accountants, an original fictional company, and complete 3 assignments in about 55 minutes. It is for anyone who wants to practice tax assistant work. No previous work experience is required. - Role: Tax assistant - Industry: Tax preparation - Career: Finance and accounting (https://finderk.com/careers/finance-and-accounting) - Level: Early career - Time: About 55 minutes, 3 assignments - Access: Included in Plus - Created by: FinderK - Work tools: Mail, Office documents and spreadsheets, Chat - Page: https://finderk.com/simulations/prepare-the-photographers-expenses - Last updated: 2026-10-10 ## Summary A photographer has sent a year of spending with her own notes on what counts as business. Sort each item under the firm's expenses guide, ask her the right questions, and hold the rules kindly when she pushes for a holiday and cash wages to count. ## Full brief You are a tax assistant at a small accountancy firm. A self-employed photographer has sent twenty one items of spending, a mileage log and her answers to the annual questionnaire. Some items are plainly business, some are capital, some are partly private, and some she sincerely believes are business but are not: the fuel she claims alongside mileage, a client lunch, wedding blacks, a week in Lisbon with her partner. You build the expense schedule, write her the questions, and then deal with her reply arguing for the trip and adding cash wages with no records. Automated checks confirm your totals and saved work; your judgement is reviewed against the standard for the role. ## What is Pembrey and Lowe Accountants? Pembrey and Lowe is a fictional small accountancy firm preparing tax returns for self-employed clients. This case is the return for Nadia Kovacs, a wedding and portrait photographer, for the year to 5 April 2026. It runs from Monday 9 to Friday 13 November 2026. Amounts are in pounds. The rules applied are the firm's own expenses guide. The tax assistant classifies and queries; the tax manager reviews and signs off; the client approves her return. ## Who do you play? You are the tax assistant in the Personal tax team. You prepare sole traders' expense schedules under the firm's expenses guide and write to clients for information. You may not agree that an item is allowable when the guide says it is not, or tell a client her tax bill; Dominic Faulkner reviews and signs off returns. Harriet Lim supervises your work. ## What will you do? 1. 1. Sort the expenses (20 minutes) 2. 2. Write to Nadia with the questions (15 minutes) 3. 3. Update the schedule and write the file note (20 minutes) ## Which skills will you practice? - Classify expenses as allowable, mixed use, capital or not allowable - Apply the mileage rule without double counting - Ask a client clear questions for missing evidence - Explain a rule to a client who disagrees ## Frequently asked questions ### How long does “Prepare the photographer's expenses” take? About 55 minutes, across 3 assignments. When the time is up, you get 10 minutes to round up and submit. Pausing stops the clock. ### Is “Prepare the photographer's expenses” free? No. It is included in FinderK Plus. With a free account you can also do it without grading. ### Do I need tax assistant experience? No. No previous work experience is required. The listed level is early career. ### What do I get when I finish? You get feedback on each assignment you submit. Completing all required assignments earns a completion certificate. It records participation and is not professional accreditation. ### Is Pembrey and Lowe Accountants a real company? No. Pembrey and Lowe Accountants is an original fictional company made for practice. Its coworkers may make mistakes, so check their suggestions against the evidence.