Stephen Herring joins Institute of Directors
Former BDO tax partner takes post at IoD
THE INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS has appointed former BDO tax partner Stephen Herring as its head of taxation, weeks after his retirement from the firm.
Herring (pictured) ended his 11-year tenure at the sixth-largest firm in July, and he was succeeded by Richard Rose.
After gaining a degree in economics and politics at the University of Manchester, he joined Arthur Andersen & Co in 1975, before going onto spend five years at Grant Thornton between 1984 and 1989.
A 12-year stint with Ernst & Young followed, where he held a number of management positions including head of London corporate tax and managing partner for the media and resources office, before eventually leaving and joining BDO.
Herring’s appointment at the IoD is effective immediately.
He told Accountancy Age:”My role at IoD will include defending the right (and, in the cases of business, the duty) of executives and individual taxpayers to seek to plan and reduce their tax liabilities on a sensible and sustainable basis.
“Similarly, the process of tax reform for both businesses and individuals has made a useful start but now needs to be accelerated to ensure the UK economy will thrive and compete successfully with its competitors.”
The institute is the UK’s largest and – having existed for more than 100 years – oldest membership organisation for directors, boasting around 36,000 members across the country.
The influential group controversially hit the headlines recently in calling for the government to abandon its high-speed rail project HS2, branding it a “grand folly”.