Paul Cox and Kieran Smith made partners at Crowe UK
Crowe has named two new partners in the UK. Paul Cox takes on the role in the firm’s corporate tax wing, while Kieran Smith is promoted in the VAT and customs duty team.
Nigel Bostock, Chief Executive at Crowe, commented, “Aside from being great technical operators, the work of Kieran and Paul over the years has embodied the Crowe spirit, and their dedication to the firm and our clients is commendable. Paul and Kieran’s breadth of knowledge and experience make them a perfect fit to join the partnership.”
Crowe is a national audit, tax, advisory and risk firm offering global reach and local expertise. As clients look to adapt to a challenging economy, the firm is seeing increasing demand for help managing costs, and deploying new technology solutions across its offerings.
In Crowe’s corporate tax practice, Paul Cox joins the firm’s partnership with almost 20 years of experience in the accountancy profession. This includes more than a decade with Big Four firm PwC, where he was latterly a Private Business Tax Manager, before spending a further two years as a Senior Tax Manager at Deloitte.
Cox advances to partner from his previous role as a Director at Crowe, having worked at the firm for six years. He has also spent time in industry and as part of M&A focused teams, giving him a wider understanding of the demands on finance teams beyond the key tax issues.
Speaking on his promotion, Cox said, “Almost 20 years after beginning my career in tax and accounting, I’m delighted to be promoted to partner at Crowe. Given the economic challenges over the last few years and increasing tax complexity and burden, there’s no shortage of opportunities and risks to discuss – especially given the latest increase in corporation tax. Now more than ever, companies need to have an appropriate tax strategy to ensure they are equipped to navigate the changes ahead, and I look forward to assisting clients in this space.”
Meanwhile, in Crowe’s VAT and customs duty practice, Kieran Smith is also promoted from Director. He steps up as Partner in the team, with a particular focus on consulting in the not-for-profit sector.
With 23 years of experience, including three years spent working as a VAT inspector at HMRC, Smith works very closely with several non-profit organisations, including educational charities involving schools and academies, and in the care sector, helping clients to improve VAT efficiency and chart economic uncertainty. His work ranges from VAT inspections to advising clients on matters such as partial tax exemption methods and the purchase of new buildings and other assets.
Smith added, “While VAT celebrates its 50th anniversary this April, it continues to pose new challenges for a range of sectors that my colleagues and I are equipped to help with. We pride ourselves on being able to simplify the complexity of tax in order to assist our clients in making smart decisions and I am proud to have been part of the growth of the VAT team since joining the firm in 2006.”
