Robin E. Pipkin, a Raleigh, North Carolina attorney with a long-standing practice in business and tax law, has joined Sands Anderson PC as a shareholder of the firm, President M. Pierce Rucker announced today.
“Robin is an important and welcome addition to our firm, as he brings long-standing skills in tax, real estate and business law to our North Carolina office and gives us the opportunity to provide a broad range of legal services to our clients,” said Rucker.
Rucker pointed out that the addition of Pipkin keeps the North Carolina office, based in Research Triangle Park, on the growth path defined in the firm’s latest strategic plan. Additional attorneys are currently being sought for the office.
Pipkin has been admitted to the North Carolina Bar since 1981 and was admitted in 1989 to the U. S. Tax Court. He was most recently a partner in the Raleigh firm Pinna Johnston & Burwell, P.A. and his accounting experience also includes several years of work at Price Waterhouse. His law practice includes representing clients in tax and estate planning matters, corporate matters and in commercial real estate.
A lifelong resident of Raleigh, Pipkin earned his B.S. and J.D at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Founded more than 150 years ago, Sands Anderson has 67 lawyers practicing among its offices in Richmond, Blacksburg, Fredericksburg and McLean, Virginia, and the Research Triangle of North Carolina. In 2009, it was ranked 9th in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly annual listing of the state’s largest law firms. Sands Anderson provides a full range of legal services to corporations and businesses, healthcare providers, financial institutions, state and local governments, the insurance industry and individuals. For more information, visit www.SandsAnderson.com.
Clifton Gunderson has announced that Ed Marcum is the new partner-in-charge of its Indianapolis office. Marcum will be responsible for the overall operations and growth of the Indianapolis office. He will also coordinate client services with other Clifton Gunderson offices and firmwide.
Marcum joined Clifton Gunderson in 2006 and brings more than 30 years of experience providing tax services for public and private companies in a variety of industries to his new role. He most recently has served as the tax practice leader for the Indianapolis office. Marcum specializes in corporate and business services related to the capital formation, business expansion and mergers and acquisitions. He also has extensive experiences in serving the tax needs of high net worth individuals and families. Prior to joining Clifton Gunderson, Marcum spent 27 years at the Indianapolis office of Ernst and Young.
“Ed’s passion is developing business and he has done a great job of that for our Indianapolis tax practice,” said Sauder. “As the new partner-in-charge of our Indianapolis office, we are excited for the opportunity to leverage Ed’s talent and leadership strengths to drive growth across all of our practice areas.”
Clifton Gunderson has been serving the Indianapolis-area community since 1986. During its 24 years serving Indianapolis clients, the office has grown to nearly 80 professionals – including 11 partners – providing a wide range of assurance, accounting, tax, entrepreneurial business, wealth management, government consulting, valuation and forensics, and technology solutions to its clients.
About Clifton Gunderson
Clifton Gunderson, ranked as one of the nation’s largest certified public accounting and consulting firms, provides a wide range of assurance, accounting, tax, and consulting services to clients in a variety of industries. Founded in 1960, Clifton Gunderson has a staff of more than 1,800 professionals serving clients from 40 offices across the country. The firm has been recognized as one of the country’s best places to work.
KPMG in the UK announces that Alastair McLeish will become UK Head of Tax and Pensions with effect from 1 July 2010.
He succeeds Sue Bonney who will continue to work with the UK tax practice, spearheading a drive to embed more tax solutions within KPMG’s advisory services. She will remain Head of Tax at KPMG Europe LLP.
Jane McCormick will become head of corporate tax at KPMG in the UK.
Richard Bennison, Chief Operating Officer at KPMG in the UK and KPMG Europe LLP, commented: “Since her appointment as Head of Tax in 2006, Sue has grown our practice successfully and overseen us establish market leading positions in some key segments of the market. I am pleased that Sue will continue to work with us to build on that growth in the UK and that she will continue as head of tax for KPMG Europe LLP.
“Alastair has built our highly successful pensions advisory business which is now acknowledged as the market leader in advising corporates and has run the rest of our people services business over the last 18 months. Our pensions business is now so large and successful that we have decided to change the name of our overall tax practice from Tax and People Services to Tax and Pensions to reflect the significance of this service line. Alastair will bring a fresh perspective to the tax leadership role.”
Sue Bonney, head of tax for KPMG Europe LLP, commented: “I am very pleased to be handing over to Alastair, who has done a great job with our pensions and people services business, and I look forward to continuing to be closely involved with the tax practice. It’s been an exciting four years, operating in a challenging but very stimulating marketplace and I am sure that Alastair will take the business on to great success.”
Alastair McLeish, currently UK Head of People Services at KPMG, said: “I am very excited to be taking the helm of the UK Tax and Pensions practice. There are huge opportunities out there for us and I look forward to working with the team here to maximise these.”
Alastair McLeish
Alastair McLeish joined KPMG’s Birmingham office in 1994, as the second partner in a relatively new Pensions team of 20 people, principally providing commercial advice to companies in relation to their pension arrangements. Since his appointment as Head of Pensions in 2003, the Pensions practice has grown rapidly to in excess of 350 staff and 20 partners.
His current role is Head of People Services KPMG Europe LLP, which comprises Pensions, International Executive Services, Employment Tax, Employee Incentives, Employee Benefits and Personal Tax across eight countries.
Alastair has a BSc from Heriot-Watt University and is a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries (FFA).
NZ Revenue Minister Peter Dunne has announced the establishment of a private sector GST Advisory Panel to help businesses and the Government implement the GST increase announced in Budget 2010 yesterday.
“The panel will act as a conduit between businesses and the Government with a dedicated website and 0800 number to be set up to deal with queries and comments from businesses as they move their systems to the new rate,” Mr Dunne said.
“The panel will also be able to advise businesses on any common concerns,” Mr Dunne said.
“It will have an important role in working with Inland Revenue to ease businesses’ transition to the new 15 percent rate on 1 October,” he said.
“The panel will monitor how business is dealing with the change so the Government is aware of particular issues they may face in recording and charging GST at the new rate by the due date.
“It is crucial that the Government hears about any issues promptly so they can be addressed,” he said.
“The panel will also advise the Government on concerns for particular industries, activities or types of transaction related to the GST rate increase,” Mr Dunne said.
Members of the GST Advisory Panel are:
- Frank Owen (Chair), Retired Accountant.
- David McLay, Tax Barrister.
- Craig Macalister, Tax Director, Institute of Chartered Accountants.
- Phil O’Reilly, CEO, Business New Zealand.
- Karen Radford, Director, New Zealand Retailers Association.
GST Advisory Panel member biographies
Frank Owen (Chair)
Frank Owen is a retired chartered accountant. He is a former Chairman of KPMG New Zealand’s National Tax Practice, and a former member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants National Tax Committee. He was previously owner and Managing Director of TEO Training Ltd which undertook large GST training programmes in both New Zealand and Australia.
David McLay
David McLay has practised as a tax barrister since 2003, following 17 years as tax partner with Bell Gully, and is a prominent tax lawyer wtih considerable experience in most areas of tax law and tax litigation. He is Chairman of the Income Tax Act Rewrite Advisory Panel.
Craig Macalister
Craig Macalister has been Tax Director of New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants since 2005. He was previously KPMG’s National Tax Director. Prior to joining KPMG, he worked at Inland Revenue, principally in the Department’s Policy Advice Division as a Senior Tax Policy Analyst.
Phil O’Reilly
Phil O’Reilly is Chief Executive of Business New Zealand. He has a background in business, advocacy and communications in enterprises in New Zealand and Australia.
Karen Radford
Karen Radford is currently a Director at New Zealand Retailers Association. Director at Radford and Company Limited and Development Director at Queen Margaret College, Wellington.
Raveh, Ravid & Co. CPAs, the Israeli member firm of the Russell Bedford International accounting network, has appointed Doron Cohen and Helena Storm as partners.
Starting May 2010, Doron Cohen will lead the tax department at Raveh Ravid & Co. He began his professional career in the Israeli tax authorities where he worked as a tax auditor and later held several leading positions. In 2005, after more than 10 years with the tax authorities, he joined a Big-4 firm in Israel as head of the tax department. Whilst there he was engaged in tax consulting, tax planning, representing clients in tax audits, and providing solutions for complex tax issues
Sullivan & Worcester LLP has announced that Ameek Ashok Ponda, a tax partner in Boston and a member of the firm’s management committee, has been appointed to the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC).
IRSAC provides a forum for senior IRS executives and representatives of the public to discuss tax administration issues. IRSAC members include lawyers, accountants, academics and economists from around the country. As an advisory body designed to focus on broad policy issues, IRSAC reviews and comments on taxation policies, procedures, and programs, with a view to advising the IRS Commissioner on matters of tax administration and to suggesting operational improvements.
“Ameek’s appointment to IRSAC’s very select group of tax professionals is a testament to his expertise and his commitment to improving our taxation system,” said Joel R. Carpenter, co-managing partner of Sullivan & Worcester. “Ameek follows in the footsteps of the founder of S&W’s Tax Department, Frederic G. Corneel, a recognized giant in the tax bar who twenty years ago served on the IRS Commissioner’s Advisory Group, the predecessor body to IRSAC. We are proud that members of our Tax Department are so civic minded, even as they continue to steadfastly serve the needs of our clients.”
Mr. Ponda is the current director of Sullivan & Worcester’s Tax Department, which is among the six finalist law firms nationwide for Chambers USA Awards for Excellence 2010 in Taxation Law. He has published numerous articles in leading tax journals, which have been recognized for their analytical depth and their prescriptions for tax policy. Several of Mr. Ponda’s tax articles precipitated changes in thinking at the Treasury Department that culminated in changes to the federal tax law.
A member of the American Law Institute, the International Fiscal Association, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), and the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston (SABAGB), Mr. Ponda was selected in 2007 as one of the Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40,” an award recognizing Boston’s next generation of business leaders and innovators. “Ameek is an incredibly accomplished and thoughtful tax attorney,” said SABAGB President Natasha Varyani. “He is a doyen of the tax bar, and will bring real world experience and practical insights to IRSAC’s mission.”
In addition to his impressive professional accomplishments, Mr. Ponda is actively involved in cultivating a new generation of tax lawyers. For more than a decade, he has been an adjunct faculty member at Boston University School of Law’s Graduate Tax Program, teaching courses in Business Tax Planning, Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions, International Transactions, RICs & REITs, and Financial Products. “A stalwart member of our nationally recognized tax law faculty for over ten years, Ameek at times has taught as many as three courses per year,” said Professor Daniel M. Berman, Director of the Graduate Tax Program at the Boston University School of Law. “He will be a fantastic and energetic addition to IRSAC.”
“It’s truly an honor to be selected as a member of IRSAC,” said Mr. Ponda. “Our federal government relies enormously on the IRS to effectively and efficiently administer our tax system and collect taxes. Public input into that process can only advance the cause of sound tax administration, and I look forward to contributing to IRSAC’s mission.”
United Utilities Group PLC today announces that Russ Houlden is to be appointed to the Board as its new Chief Financial Officer.
Russ Houlden, age 51, has held a number of senior financial positions both in the UK and internationally and is currently Chief Financial Officer at Telecom New Zealand which he joined in 2008. Prior to that, from 2002-2008, he was based in London as Finance Director at global law firm Lovells, following three years at British Telecom, which he joined from ICI where he spent 19 years.
Russ is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a Fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers. He studied Management Science at the University of Warwick.
His starting date is yet to be determined but is expected to be in the autumn of 2010.
Philip Green, Chief Executive of United Utilities, said:
“I am delighted that Russ has agreed to join United Utilities. His combination of experience within finance and treasury will prove invaluable to the company, along with his extensive experience of operating in a regulatory environment and managing large capital expenditure programmes. I welcome him to our Board and very much look forward to working with him.”
Russ Houlden said:
“I am excited to be leaving one great company and joining another great company right at the start of its new five year investment contract, to work alongside Philip and his team. I am inheriting a strong balance sheet and a company that is well positioned for the 2010-15 regulatory period.”
Baker & McKenzie tax partner Helen M. Hubbard from the Firm’s Washington DC office will join the US Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Tax and Benefits, effective June 1, 2010.
Ms. Hubbard has extensive experience in advising local and multinational companies on a broad range of US domestic tax matters. Ms. Hubbard is the Vice Chair for Government Relations of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation. Prior to joining Baker & McKenzie, she served as Tax Legislative Counsel at the US Department of Treasury.
In her new role, Ms. Hubbard will be responsible for providing legal advice to Fannie Mae on all tax matters. This includes matters relating to Fannie Mae’s corporate tax return, portfolio holdings, debt and equity issuances, derivative transactions, mortgage products, mortgage-backed securities and structured transactions, compensation practices, employee benefits, tax reporting obligations, state and local sales and use taxes, and state unclaimed property laws.
“We congratulate Helen on her appointment to Fannie Mae,” said Leonard Terr, head of the Firm’s North America Tax Practice Group. “Helen is a respected and talented team member, and we eagerly anticipate the impact of the addition of someone of her caliber to Fannie Mae.”
