[private] Windes & McClaughry Accountancy Corporation, a leading Southern California accounting and consulting firm with 83 years in business, today announced that Donita Joseph will serve as the Chair of the Committee on Estate Planning for the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA).
“We’re very proud of Donita’s appointment and have all the confidence that she’ll serve the position well,” says John Di Carlo, managing partner of Windes & McClaughry. “The appointment is a testament to the respect and confidence Donita has earned among her peers with her expertise, passion, and dedication to the profession.”
Joseph has been a member of CalCPA for 21 years. She joined Windes & McClaughry in 1989. As a partner in the firm’s Tax and Accounting Services department, Joseph is responsible for the estate and trust practice. She has her bachelor of science in business with an emphasis in accounting from Rockhurst College in Missouri and masters in taxation from the University of Southern California.
“I’m looking forward to increasing the value of CPAs in the practice of estate planning,” says Joseph. “This committee is comprised of members who have extensive experience dealing with estate and trust matters.”
Previously, Joseph served as chair of Estate Planning for CalCPA’s Long Beach/Orange County Chapter and former president of the Long Beach Estate Planning and Trust Council. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), on the board and past treasurer of Camp Fire USA of Long Beach, on the board of trustees for the Long Beach Museum of Art, and a member of the Accounting Circle for University of Southern California’s (USC) Leventhal School of Accounting.
This announcement follows one earlier this month where another Windes and McClaughry partner Tim Good, was named vice-chair of the CalCPA. He and Joseph will serve two-year terms.
About Windes & McClaughry
With 83 years in business, Windes & McClaughry has 19 partners, and more than 140 employees in two offices located in Long Beach and Irvine. The firm offers a full range of services, including: audit and assurance, cost segregation, employee benefits, estate and trust planning, human resources recruiting and consulting, and tax planning, consulting and compliance. The firm focuses on the needs of both publicly traded and privately held businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and high-net-worth individuals. Windes & McClaughry is an independent member of Baker Tilly International. For more information please visit www.windes.com.
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[private]William J. Wilkins Confirmed as Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service, Assistant General Counsel for Treasury
William J. Wilkins was confirmed Friday by the United States Senate to serve as Chief Counsel for the International Revenue Service and as Assistant General Counsel at the Department of the Treasury.
“William Wilkins is a widely recognized expert in tax policy and his guidance will be a valuable asset to this Administration. We are pleased to welcome him to our team,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
Wilkins has been a partner in the Tax Practice group of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (WilmerHale) since 1988, where he has counseled nonprofit organizations, business entities and investment funds on the issues of tax compliance, business transactions and government investigations. From 1981 through 1988, Wilkins worked for the United States Senate Committee on Finance, first as a tax counsel and then as Staff Director and Chief Counsel. He was an associate with King & Spalding in Atlanta before joining the Senate Finance Committee.
Wilkins serves as Chair of the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association. He also served on the governing boards of the American College of Tax Counsel and the American Tax Policy Institute. Wilkins is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School.[/private]
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Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has today announced that Fiona Walkinshaw will be joining the firm on 14 September as a partner in its tax practice. Fiona joins from law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain where she was lead partner in its tax and commercial litigation group, responsible for a wide range of domestic and international disputes including fraud and finance-related, partnership disputes and tax claims.
Richard Buck, senior tax partner at Deloitte, comments: “We are delighted to be welcoming someone of Fiona’s calibre to the firm. Not only is Fiona one of the leading tax litigators in the UK, she also has an outstanding reputation in her field and with clients.
“Deloitte has a well-established indirect tax dispute resolution and litigation practice which has worked on a number of high profile and complex cases including Marks & Spencer, Condé Nast and Rank. We are aiming to mirror this market leading team with an equally successful direct tax litigation practice and Fiona will be a key member in that team.”
Fiona Walkinshaw comments: “The launch of HM Revenue & Custom’s new Litigation and Settlement Strategy in 2007, the reform of the process for dealing with direct tax appeals and the growing influence of European law on UK direct taxes has resulted in a significantly higher focus upon direct tax litigation. I look forward to the opportunity presented to me by Deloitte to establish a successful direct tax practice within such a firm.”
Fiona has 20 years of litigation experience, 10 of these are as a partner, and has been litigating EU group cases for more than eight years. As a result of her work in this area, Fiona was invited by the French Government in 2005 to advise on the potential introduction into French law of class action legislation. She was the only UK adviser.[/private]
[private]David Birchall is the new chairman of the influential Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) in Birmingham.
Mr Birchall, a partner in the private client team at Clarke Willmott LLP, was formerly secretary of the group, which represents professionals involved in trust and estate work in 33 countries around the world. He begins a two-year term as chairman in succession to Gary Barber, of fellow city law firm Mills and Reeve.
A member of the Law Society, Mr Birchall specialises in tax and estate planning, particularly for high-net-worth (HNW) individuals and entrepreneurs, and also advises on wealth protection for HNW sports people.
David has already begun his duties as Chairman by hosting the STEP Annual dinner at Edgbaston where over 100 guests attended the event.
David Birchall said: “I am delighted to have been elected as Chairman for the next two years. I have been an active member of STEP for over 9 years and look forward to continuing the work already in place to raise the awareness of the TEP qualification in the professional community.”[/private]
[private]Baker & McKenzie strengthens its Global Tax capabilities in Hong Kong with the addition of Steven Sieker as a Partner in the Hong Kong office. Steven’s practice focuses on Hong Kong, Canadian and Asian regional corporate tax advisory work, wealth management and tax litigation.
Commenting on the Steven Sieker’s appointment, Michael Olesnicky, Head of the Firm’s Asia-Pacific Tax Group, said, “We are pleased to have Steven back with us. Steven’s extensive experience and knowledge of Hong Kong complements the skill-set within the team. Steven has an excellent reputation, representing a wide range of corporate and individual clients in a number of leading tax matters in Hong Kong and the region. He also brings a wealth of experience in tax litigation and wealth management matters, which further augments our capabilities and profile in this area. Steven’s appointment reflects the continued growth of our Tax practice in Hong Kong and China, providing us with a solid platform to assist our clients with the challenges they are facing in the current economic environment.”
Steven is recognised as a leading expert on Hong Kong tax matters by Chambers Asia 2008. He has written and contributed to a number of publications in Hong Kong, Canada and internationally, and is the author of the Hong Kong volume of the CCH series “Tax Planning and Compliance in Asia”. Steven is a past member of the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department Board of Review, has been a part-time instructor in Tax and Revenue Law at Hong Kong University and City University of Hong Kong. He is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and is a former executive director of STEP and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
Steven is a Baker & McKenzie alumni, having worked as an Associate from 1998 till 2004 and as a Partner from 2004 till 2007 in the Tax Group in the Hong Kong office. He returned to Canada in 2007.
Steven graduated from the University of Alberta with Bachelor of Arts (Honours) First Class and from Dalhousie University with an LL.B. He is admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and England and Wales, and as a barrister and solicitor in Alberta, Canada. Upon graduation, Steven was a law clerk to the Supreme Court of Canada.[/private]
Baker & McKenzie’s dedicated Tax Group in Hong Kong and China is consistently acknowledged as the leading law firm-based practice. The team has been awarded the Tax & Trusts Law Firm of the Year at the ALB Hong Kong Law Awards continuously for the last eight years in a row and is ranked Tier 1 for Hong Kong and China in the World’s Leading Tax Transactional Firm – International Tax Review 2009 and 2008.
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Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has appointed Alan Sinyor, one of the UK’s leading VAT practitioners, as a tax partner and Head of VAT to add significant weight to an already well respected VAT practice. Alan, who was director of the International VAT Group at Freshfields, takes the number of partners in the team to 22.
BLP has the largest and broadest based tax practice in the City legal market and is the only large City law firm to offer the full range of tax services. The department has dedicated teams to provide contentious and advisory tax advice across corporate, finance, real estate, funds, VAT, personal tax, trusts and charities. Alan’s role will focus on contentious and non-contentious VAT and indirect tax work.
BLP’s tax team was recently named “Best Tax Team in a Law Firm” at the LexisNexis Taxation Awards and from a strong base has been growing in scale, breadth and profile since the hire of industry leader Michael Wistow as head of tax in 2007. Elizabeth Bradley and Julian Hickey have been recently promoted to partnership and the team has recruited heavily at the senior end including Liesl Fichardt, Jonathan Levy and Andrew Watters who form the highly regarded tax risk and resolution team and, more recently, corporate and finance tax specialists Michael McKenna and Kevin Cummings.
Michael Wistow, BLP’s head of tax, said: “More and more clients require cutting edge tax advice in these difficult times and unpredictable markets and our growing reputation is helping to attract leading mandates on contentious as well as non-contentious matters. Alan’s wide range of VAT expertise both domestically and internationally will further enhance our capabilities.”
Alan added: “I am impressed with what the team has achieved in such a short space of time and am excited at the prospect of further developing and enhancing BLP’s VAT capability. BLP’s flexible international strategy will provide opportunities through our offices in high-growth economies and our leading global panel of preferred law firms.”
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Aegis Group plc, the media communications and market research group, yesterday announced the appointment of Nick Priday as group CFO with effect from 1 September. He replaces Alicja Lesniak, who is retiring from the group in October. Currently director of financial reporting, Nick has held a variety of finance roles at Aegis since joining in 2003 and qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young.
Alicja Lesniak, group CFO, commented:
“I have enjoyed being part of Aegis. Good progress has been made as the group evolves to meet the challenges of tough markets and the needs of clients. I am delighted to see Nick appointed, having helped develop him as my successor. I look forward to returning to my plural career as a non-executive.”[/private]
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The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) announced today the addition of Mark Warren as Vice President for Tax Policy. An accomplished tax professional with strong bipartisan credentials, Warren will drive RILA’s tax agenda, tackling a range of key tax issues affecting retailers today.
With more than 20 years of exceptional experience, Warren holds a law degree from Georgetown University as well as an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University Law School and was an adjunct professor with the Georgetown McDonough School of Business.
In his last role, Warren served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Legislative Affairs, where he advised the Secretary and other Treasury officials on legislative matters concerning tax, pension, Social Security, the budget and economic policy.
“We are delighted to have Mark join our team. As a seasoned expert in tax policy with outstanding legislative and professional experience, Mark brings invaluable leadership, talent and insight to our organization and will be a strong advocate for the retail industry,” said RILA President Sandy Kennedy.
Warren’s career on Capitol Hill spanned more than 10 years, including serving as a special counsel to Senator Kit Bond (R-Missouri), Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, and Staff Director and Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business.
Warren, who officially joined RILA on July 14, will guide RILA’s tax offerings and working groups. The RILA Tax Committee is comprised of senior-level tax executives from America’s largest retailers and focuses on issues ranging from business and international tax reform to tax accounting and reporting, as well as regulatory and operational issues.
“With his exceptional credentials and insider perspective, Mark will be an outstanding addition to the RILA team,” said John Emling, senior vice president for government affairs.
The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) promotes consumer choice and economic freedom through public policy and industry operational excellence. Its members include retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers – which together provide millions of jobs and operate more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers domestically and abroad.[/private]
