Australia’s best and brightest tax advisers acknowledged

The Tax Institute has announced the winners of the 2018 Tax Adviser of the Year awards.

The winners were presented with their awards this evening during the Institute’s National Convention Gala Dinner at the Cairns Convention Centre.

The awards recognise achievement in four categories – Chartered Tax Adviser of the Year, Corporate Tax Adviser of the Year, SME Tax Adviser of the Year and Emerging Tax Star.

The Chartered Tax Adviser of the Year award is presented to a tax professional who has consistently demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit, strategic business expertise and innovative ideas. This year the award was presented to Stephen Carpenter CTA.

Stephen is a senior partner in KPMG’s National Deals Tax practice, specialising in mergers, acquisitions and capital markets transactions. He has advised on many of the largest corporate actions in the Australian market and manages KPMG’s tax relationships with many of Australia’s leading companies and private families. Stephen has held numerous leadership roles at KPMG, including National Managing Partner for People and Performance and leader of KPMG’s Victorian tax practice.

The other 2017 finalists in the Chartered Tax Adviser of the Year category were KPMG’s Dana Fleming CTA, Mutual Trust’s Paul Hockridge CTA and Arnold Bloch Leibler’s Paul Sokolowski CTA.

The Corporate Tax Adviser of the Year award, for a prominent tax professional in the corporate environment, was presented to Arnold Bloch Leibler’s Clint Harding CTA.

Clint advises across most taxes, with particular expertise in corporate and international tax, the taxation of financial instruments and transactions, and the management of tax audits and disputes with the ATO. His clients have included both public and private organisations (particularly in the corporate and banking sectors), high net worth individuals, and some of Australia’s largest family groups. Clint is the author of numerous tax articles, is a regular presenter, and is currently a working member of The Tax Institute’s Large Business and International Committee.

The other finalists in the Corporate Tax Adviser of the Year category were AMP Capital’s Kelly Heezen, KPMG’s Michelle Bennett CTA and the Australian Taxation Office’s Tania Koit CTA.

The SME Tax Adviser of the Year, for a leading tax adviser in the small-to-medium enterprise (SME) environment, was presented to the Australian Taxation Office’s Anthony Bach CTA.

Anthony has worked at the ATO for over 17 years and is currently a member of the Tax Counsel Network, principally working in its Private Business Structures work focus group. Prior to that, he worked in the Private Groups and High Wealth Individuals business line as a director in Risk & Strategy and as a senior technical advisor. He has also worked in the Superannuation business lines at the director level.

The other 2017 finalists in the SME Tax Adviser of the Year category were WRC Chartered Accountants’ Andrew Ward CTA and RSM Australia’s Corey Beat CTA.

The Emerging Tax Star award, for a developing tax professional who has demonstrated commitment and passion in building their tax career, was presented to EY’s Aimee Riley ATI.

Aimee is an associate in the Law team at EY and is admitted as a Lawyer of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. She completed her Masters of Law in 2016 and was a finalist in the Taxation category in the 2017 Lawyer’s Weekly 30 under 30 Awards. Aimee works predominately with high net wealth individuals and large private groups in advising and managing their tax and estate affairs. Her experience to date has centred on the implementation and management of effective tax strategies, including resolving complicated trust law issues and developing specific solutions to accommodate family succession strategies.

The other finalists in the Emerging Tax Star category were McCullough Robertson Lawyers’ Catherine Nufer-Barr FTI and Deloitte’s Rhys Cormick.

This year, the Emerging Tax Star also received the Gordon Cooper Memorial Scholarship, which will entitle the winner to participate in the Institute’s Graduate Diploma of Applied Tax Law at no cost.

The Tax Adviser of the Year awards are judged by an independent expert panel that comprises leading members of the tax profession.

ENDS

 

 

For more information, please contact: Sharon Lenton, Media Relations Contact: 02 8223 0011

The Tax Institute is the leading forum for the tax community in Australia. Our reach includes membership of 12,000 tax professionals from commerce and industry, academia, government and public practice and 40,000 Australian business leaders, government employees and students.  We are committed to representing our members, shaping the future of the tax profession and continuous improvement of the tax system for the benefit of all, through the advancement of knowledge, member support and advocacy.

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