AA Awards 2008: Tax Team of the Year

BDO Stoy Hayward has turned a series of crackdowns by the tax man in the UK
and overseas to its advantage by expanding its tax practice and offering new
services.

BDO, which is the UK’s sixth biggest accounting firm by income, has added 100
tax professionals over the past year and doubled the size of its private client
team. BDO has also expanded its ‘transfer pricing’ advice team in response to
increased demand from clients.

The firm’s client satisfaction rating rose from 7.7 to 8.3 over the past year
reflecting a strong year for the firm. Revenues grew by 25.75% to £105m, beating
the firm’s 20.5% target.

As well as recruiting more staff BDO also expanded its tax function by
acquiring Chiltern in October 2007 and Lines Wilson in March this year. These
acquisitions helped expand BDO’s client base of corporates and rich individuals
and gave it a bigger presence along the south coast of England.

The tax practice was restructured to focus on key service areas, while
communication with clients was improved through a tax update newsletter and
monthly email. Staff workshops were held to generate new ideas to improve
customer service and to swap ideas and discuss topical tax issues.

The judges said: ‘This is a team that’s produced great growth in revenues and
demonstrated real ambition, especially with its acquisition strategy. There’s
real commitment to the clients and a well-honed focus on what they are
attempting to do demonstrating real clarity of thought.’

Personal touch

BDO, founded in 1903 as Stoy & Co, has more than 600 offices in 100
countries. It’s goal for 2007/08 was: ‘To become the first choice professional
services firm, to grow our tax function significantly and to offer clients a
more proactive service based on strong personal relationships.’