BDO appoints two Tax Partners in London office

BDO has expanded its tax offering with the appointment of two senior members to its London office. The move represents a coup for the UK’s fifth-largest professional services firm, as Ian Bowden and John Claypole arrive from Big Four firm PwC and mid-tier competitor Mazars respectively.

2019 has proven to be a key year of growth for BDO. In its first 12 months as the UK’s fifth-largest professional services firm, the global auditing and advisory firm has committed itself to a swathe of new hires and promotions, appointing a succession of new Partners in recent months to meet with heightened client demand. Now, following a string of Partner appointments spanning the firm’s London and regional offices, BDO has further grown its advisory resource with the appointment of two new Partners in its Tax practice.

Ian Bowden brings 20 years of experience to his role as Partner with BDO. He will help clients utilise existing and new IT systems and work with them to take advantage of the latest technology developments in finance. Since leaving his career as a software developer with Microsoft in 1998, Bowden has been in the employ of Big Four firm PwC. He was most recently the National Tax Technology Leader of PwC’s tax reporting and strategy team, helping businesses deliver tax, digitally, strategically and operationally.

Jon Claypole arrives at the same time, and also represents something of a coup for BDO, having been a Tax Partner with mid-tier rival Mazars. Claypole also brings Big Four experience to BDO, as he joined Mazars in 2008 from EY, where he was a Senior Manager. He will now take charge of BDO’s tax dispute resolution team, using his experience to resolve disputes with HMRC across BDO’s full spectrum of clients with a focus on corporates.

Commenting on the appointments, Paul Eagland, Managing Partner at BDO, said, “As technology continues to disrupt the way we work we aim to give our clients even more added-value in this area. Ian’s knowledge and expertise of tax technology make him a fantastic addition to the partnership. Our tax disputes and resolutions team is also in high demand and Jon’s appointment will allow the team to continue to serve a growing number of clients in this area at a consistently high standard.”