Senior Members of the CosmoServe Management Team

Antonis Kassapis - International Business and Tax Planning Consultant

Joseph Kassapis - Financial Management Consultant

Diane Stassis - Auditing & Assurance Services Consultant

Katia Petri - International Business Development Manager

Yiannakis Violaris - Banking & Administration Services Manager

Sharon Shelley - Accounting Services Manager

Antonis Kassapis
B.Sc., FCA (Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)
International Business and Tax Planning Consultant

Antonis was born in Cyprus in 1956.  At 18, after graduating high school in Nicosia, he moved to Birmingham, UK, for further studies at college and university.  He graduated from the University of Aston in Birmingham in 1978 receiving a Combined Honours  B.Sc. in Architecture and Computer Science.  After spending a year in London, working in the accounting department of a civil engineering consulting firm, he returned to Birmingham to join a firm of chartered accountants for a training contract with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Upon successfully completing his training contract and professional examinations in 1984, he became a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.  In 1985 he returned to Cyprus and joined the Nicosia office of an international firm of accountants and auditors, where he soon became the manager of the offshore & international business section.  In his 7 years with this firm, Antonis was involved in the design and implementation of many international structures for efficient tax planning, utilizing the combination of the low taxation incentives of Cyprus with its wide network of treaties for the avoidance of double taxation.   He also became a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus.

Late in 1991, Antonis founded  A.K. CosmoServe Ltd, a specialist firm providing a comprehensive range of services to international businesses.  The firm, together with its associated firms, employs today more than 40 professionals of various origins and disciplines, and has clients and professional associates on a worldwide scale.

Antonis has written numerous articles in relation to company and trust formation and management, international tax planning and other related topics of his expertise, which were published in major international specialist publications, and has made presentations at various conferences internationally. He has been for many years, and still is, a member of the International Business, Shipping and Foreign Investments Committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC).



 

Joseph Kassapis
B.Sc., CPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), CMA (Institute of Management Accountants, USA), CIA (Institute of Internal Auditors, USA),
Financial Management Consultant

Joseph was born in Cyprus in 1958.  In 1975, after his secondary education at a Nicosia school, he moved to the UK, where he did a BSC degree in Mathematics at Aston University, in Birmingham. Following his graduation in 1979 he moved to London where he worked with an Accounting firm until 1982 when he returned to Cyprus, joining an accounting firm. In 1985 he left the accounting profession to join the Middle East division of one of the world’s largest NGO's as Financial Controller.  In 1987 he moved from the Not-For-Profit sector of industry to the mainstream commercial world, joining the Middle East / Asia / Africa division of the world’s largest manufacturer & installer of synthetic sports surfaces.  He joined as Chief Accountant and successively progressed to Financial Controller, Commercial Manager and finally Finance Director.

Joseph joined the CosmoServe group in 1996, where he is the technical director responsible for accounting & auditing and quality control.  He is in charge of all financial, accounting, auditing and tax affairs of the group.

With his specialist education and experience, Joseph considerably enhances the group’s capacity for providing clients with specialised financial management consultancy services.  He also devotes considerable time in professional training & education, running, organizing or delivering professional examination courses and seminars on a wide range of topics, including International Accounting Standards, International Auditing Standards, Internal Auditing and Corporate Governance.

In addition to his university degree in Mathematics he is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), being a very active member both of the USA professional bodies and their local chapters.  He is also a member of the Cyprus Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPAC).



 

Diane Stassis
FCCA (Fellow of Chartered Association of Certified Accountants)
Audit & Assurance Services Consultant

Diane was born in the Isle of Man, British Isles. She graduated high school in 1980.  In 1981 she continued her studies in accountancy at Leeds, UK, where she also commenced the professional examinations of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants. From December 1984 to July 1986 she worked for a large local firm of Chartered Accountants in Leeds. In July 1986 she moved to Cyprus with her family. From April 1987 to December 1990 she worked for the Nicosia member firm of Grant Thornton International, as an audit senior in the offshore companies department. During this period she completed her professional examinations and qualified as a member of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants in 1989. In January 1991 she joined a large International Banking Unit, as the Financial Controller, where she stayed until December 2000.

In January 2001, Diane joined the CosmoServe Group as a manager of the audit department, specialising in the provision of accounting, auditing and consultancy services to international businesses. In 2007 she was made Director of the licenced auditing services section of the CosmoServe Group, with responsibility for all audit and assurance services. Diane is also a member of the Cyprus Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPAC) and speaks fluent English and Greek.



 

Katia Petri
B.A. (Hons) Economics, M.Sc. International Finance
International Business Development Manager

Katia was born in 1970 in Nicosia, Cyprus. After graduating from the English School of Nicosia in 1988, she pursued her university studies in the U.K. where she graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of East Anglia, Norwich. She then proceeded to do a Masters degree in International Finance at the University of Surrey, Guildford. On completing her studies, in 1992, she moved back to Cyprus, where she joined the CosmoServe group in April 1994.

Katia is responsible for the overall development and operation of the international business section, including our network of associates in worldwide jurisdictions.  She speaks fluent Greek and English.



 

Yiannakis Violaris
B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering, M.Sc. Engineering
Banking & Administration Services Manager

Yiannakis was born in 1967, in Cyprus. After he graduated from high school in Cyprus, he moved to Russia for university studies. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters Degree in Engineering both from the State Technical University of St. Petersburg. Between 1993-1995 he worked with an international construction company as a Workshop Manager and then moved to a tourist firm as a Business Development Manager up to 1998, when he joined CosmoServe.  Currently, Yiannakis is undertaking an MBA (Master in Business Administration) at the University of Cyprus.

Yiannakis is responsible for the Business and Banking Services and for liaising with our Russian speaking clients. He speaks fluent Greek, Russian and English.



 

Sharon Shelley
B.A. (Hons) Business Studies, ACA
Accounting Services Manager

Sharon was born in South Wales, UK, in 1965 where she completed her high school education. She then moved to Oxford to study for a BA (Hons) degree in Business Studies. After graduating in 1987 Sharon worked for a firm of chartered accountants in Reading as an auditor while studying for the professional examinations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), successfully qualifying as an ACA in 1991.

In 1992 Sharon's career moved into business, starting as an accountant for a major UK private hospital and then, in 1995, as Management Accountant and eventually group accountant for major multinational companies gaining experience in group finance and consolidation for subsidiaries based in Europe, USA, India and Taiwan and in the preparation of management accounting reports for international subsidiaries and group reporting.

Sharon moved to Cyprus in October 2001 to join the CosmoServe group as a senior accountant bringing her extensive experience of finance and accounting for international businesses to the team. She is now an integral member of the senior management and heads up the Accountancy and Non Assurance Services Department.