Big Four advisors Jon Gilpin and Audrey Fearing join BDO and RSM
BDO has boosted its Midlands operation with the addition of Jon Gilpin, formerly at PwC, as a Partner. Rival RSM has meanwhile added tax specialist Audrey Fearing, formerly at EY, to its London outfit as a Partner and head of the public sector VAT team.
Jon Gilpin joined PwC soon after the completion of his bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and French from the University of Birmingham. Over a period of twenty years, he specialised in various audit provisions, focused on the UK and global markets. Gilpin was most recently a Director in the firm’s Birmingham office.
Gilpin will join BDO’s Birmingham office, one of the firm’s eighteen offices across the United Kingdom, as a Partner. He brings considerable audit and accountancy expertise at local and international firms, providing technical accounting advisory in both the private and public spheres.
Commenting on the appointment of Gilpin, Paul Eagland, Managing Partner of BDO, commented: “Jon’s wealth of experience in working with ambitious businesses will be a valuable addition to our already strong audit practice and our continued focus on helping UK businesses succeed with their national and international ventures.”
Two months ago, the accounting and consulting firm also added Richard Barnwell and Steven Law to its partner team. “Hiring skilled and experienced experts is vital for us to continue to provide the right advice to help our clients plan and stay fit for the future,” said Eagland.
Rival RSM, meanwhile, has picked up former EY Partner Audrey Fearing. In recent years, she has held various roles across the Big Four firm’s tax practice, latterly as lead of the government and public sector tax team. Earlier in her career, from 2000 until 2006, she was a Director Indirect Tax at Deloitte, and previously grew through the ranks from Advisor to Senior Manager between 1992 and her promotion to Director.
Fearing started her career at the HMRC. She holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Geology from Kingston University, and has been a Board Member at Habinteg. She is a chartered tax adviser and is a founding member of the European Commission’s VAT Expert Group, focused on sculpting future EU Vat legislation.
Fearing joins RSM as a Partner and head of the firm’s public sector VAT team, and will leverage her extensive tax knowledge to support NHS, local authority and social housing clients around issues pertaining to VAT. Commenting on the appointment, Ian Carpenter, RSM’s head of VAT said, “We are delighted to welcome Audrey to the team. She brings with her unrivalled experience and expertise in government and public sector VAT and will be a huge asset to our not-for-profit clients.”
