Former RSM Tenon partner makes move to Kinetic Partners
Gary Ashford joins Kinetic Partners from RSM Tenon
FINANCIAL SERVICES advisory firm Kinetic Partners has appointed tax partner Gary Ashford, ending his four-year association with RSM Tenon, where he served as head of national tax investigations and dispute resolution.
A fellow of the CIoT, Ashford specialises in advising on the various FATCA inter-governmental agreements, global transparency, voluntary tax disclosure facilities – including the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility and the Swiss/UK tax agreement – as well as asset preservation.
His CIoT responsibilities include sitting on its council, membership of the Professional Standards Committee and representing the institute on the General Assembly of the Confederation Fiscale Europeenne, the umbrella body for tax advisers throughout Europe.
Ashford began his career with HM Revenue & Customs, where he spent more than 15 years, before in 1999 joining EY as a tax consultant in a three-year stint. Another three-year spell with Chiltern followed, until an appointment as head of tax investigations in the Midlands with Grant Thornton in 2003.
Kinetic chief executive Julian Korek said the appointment allows the firm to offer a broader tax offering.
He said: “Gary’s standing within the tax industry and level of specialist expertise will ensure he is a highly valuable addition to the team. We are excited to be expanding our global tax offering to meet the needs of our clients in an ever changing global financial services marketplace.”
Ashford added: “Global transparency is now at the top of the list of priorities for OECD member countries, with the increasing trend in tax information exchange agreements and FACTA-type agreements. We are seeing fiscal authorities around the developed world become ever more sophisticated in the way they tackle cross border activity.
“That trend will only continue and I am pleased that Kinetic Partners are well-placed to help clients face up to those challenges. Tax is becoming a major focus in anti-money laundering regulations and so I am seeing a significant interest in businesses with offshore structures seeking clarity to ensure they are tax compliant in the new world ahead.”