A tax adviser who helped implement tax regimes in war-torn African countries is one of the front-runners to take Kieran Poynter’s crown at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Richard Collier-Keywood, the firm’s head of tax, is one of two front-runners in the race to head up the UK’s largest firm according to insiders, the other being Glyn Barker, managing partner for clients and markets.

Four candidates have been nominated for the position of PwC managing partner. The other two are Richard Sexton, head of assurance, and Ian Powell, head of advisory, Accountancy Age can reveal.

The breadth and backgrounds of the candidates will mean a colourful contest for the top job.

Collier-Keywood worked in Uganda in the early 1990s and was once ambushed with the local revenue’s commissioner of investigations by a gang of men waving pistols.
The tax chief is a former Coopers & Lybrand partner.

Powell was an administrator of MG Rover, one of the most high-profile corporate collapses of recent years.

In July 2006, Barker, previously head of assurance, was appointed a managing partner reporting directly to incumbent managing partner Kieran Poynter in what was called a tightening of the governance structure. He became head of audit and business advisory in 2002.

Partners are set to vote on the candidates using a single transferable vote system, with the winner set to be unveiled on 18 April.

All four candidates have a window of four weeks to set out their manifesto and vision for the UK business of the world’s largest accounting firm, with the opportunity to hold a series of meetings with partners.