October 28, 2026

The best accountants and tax advisers in 2026

Welcome to the Spear’s ranking of the best accountants and tax advisers who help wealthy clients face the uncertain tax landscape in the UK

By Spear's

For Britain’s wealthiest, the past two years have changed the rules.

Non-dom status was abolished in 2025, and from 2028 the so-called mansion tax, a council tax surcharge on homes in England worth more than £2 million, will apply. Billionaires including David Reuben, Lakshmi Mittal and John Fredriksen have already left for more favourable tax regimes, while others are staying and restructuring their affairs for a very different fiscal future.

But of course, at the centre of this shift are also the accountants and tax experts tasked with guiding their clients through such uncertain times.

Explore the full 2026 Spear’s Tax & Trust Indices:

Themes in 2026

Keeping a broad practice

These advisers must consider tax owed from clients’ family businesses, liabilities from different asset classes, family offices and employees, family estates, land, trusts and offshore assets, as well as tax which could be owed when dismantling or selling any of the above, and passing it down to the next generation.

Matters are further complicated when wealthy families rarely fit neatly into a single category and often have a combination of corporate, trust and personal wealth planning needs.

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Gregory Smye-Rumsby, partner at Dixon Wilson, explained that keeping a broad practice was best for his UHNW clients, ‘because their affairs often involve multiple interconnected personal, business and tax issues.’

A client may live in one country, hold investments in another, have beneficiaries elsewhere, and use a trust governed by the laws of a fourth jurisdiction. Thus, successful accountants and tax advisers must take a generalist, advisory-led approach, understanding personal and business tax planning, compliance, tax returns, international tax advice, HMRC enquiries and the distinction between technical tax advice and legal representation.

‘My role is, essentially, interpreting complex tax rules, explaining their practical implications and helping clients understand how they apply in real-life situations,’ explained Smye-Rumsby.

Sue Knight, who leads Grant Thornton’s Birmingham office, has a UHNW private client focused practice which often comes to the aid of families whose affairs have become fragmented after working with several different advisers.

‘They need someone to step in and pull every disparate piece together into a coherent plan,’ she told Spear’s. This sentiment was echoed by Ann-Marie Atkins of Evelyn Partners who described her role as ‘the conductor of the orchestra’.

Ann-Marie Atkins described her role as the ‘conductor of the orchestra’, referring to her efforts to form a coherent, holistic plan for her clients // Image: Tsuguliev, Shutterstock

Ultimately, top advisers are responsive, technically strong and able to interpret what is often a complex and intimidating necessity of life – tax – for their clients. ‘My job is to demystify complex tax issues, speak to clients in plain English and give clear advice on which option best achieves the client’s goals, even where that is not the best tax answer,’ explained John Bull, head of private clients at Blick Rothenberg.

Succession: more psychology than tax

The changes to inheritance tax and business property relief have driven significant succession-planning work for accountants and tax advisers over the past two years.

Much of an accountant’s or tax adviser’s work in this capacity involves helping first-generation wealth creators understand their wealth, establish what they genuinely want to achieve and then develop arrangements that work for both the existing and future generations.

Simon Baylis, of BDO, works with internationally connected families to help them determine how much wealth to pass to future generations, the purpose of that wealth and how to achieve philanthropic objectives.

‘A lot of it isn’t tax. It’s psychological. It’s about purpose, and making sure you’re doing the right thing for the child,’ he explained.

Emma Hosking-Williams, also a partner at BDO stressed the importance of timing: ‘Succession planning works best when undertaken gradually over time, allowing families to adapt and consider issues fully.’

Lifestyle before tax

2026 has been dominated by headlines about billionaires leaving the UK –from Chris Rokos to Kurt Björklund. ‘Chris Rokos is an example of what is happening; it’s an extreme example and a public example, but that’s the reality across not just big hedge fund managers, but all wealthy people,’ said David Lesperance when asked about the exodus of HNWs from the UK to more favourable tax regimes.

This year’s Spear’s Tax Survey revealed that the UAE remains the primary beneficiary of HNWs’ global moves. The Gulf state is cited by 36 per cent of respondents as the preferred jurisdiction for relocating clients. Italy ranks second at 21 per cent, followed by Portugal at 15 per cent.

However, advisers have warned Spear’s that clients may be making decisions benefitting their tax exposure but not their lifestyle.

‘I always try and say to a client, “try and be driven by lifestyle, don’t be driven by tax. So if, you know, if you want to go and live in Italy, go and live in Italy and we’ll make it work”,’ said Robert Pullen of RSM, while David Crabtree, a new addition to this year’s index, stressed that his approach prioritises flexibility and simplicity over tax minimisation alone. ‘Clients often initially ask to save tax but are ultimately more concerned with maintaining control, preserving family options and achieving outcomes that fit their circumstances.’

As policy changes reshape the calculations behind wealth preservation, succession and residency, Spear’s recognises the need to spotlight some of the best tax advisers and accountants in the industry. Having advised billionaires, multigenerational families and royalty, our advisers are incredibly well-placed to offer detailed, confident advice while remaining cognisant of the needs and requirements of the UHNW community.

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Methodology
The best accountants and tax advisers: some names to know
The best accountants and tax advisers: the complete list
Contact us

Methodology

Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.

Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.

Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.

The best accountants and tax advisers: some names to know

Daniel Crouch

Focus: US-UK tax affairs
Position: Partner
Firm: EY

With an understanding of both US and UK tax, dual-qualified Daniel Crouch tells Spear’s that with him, ‘You don’t need two advisers. You only need one.’

A partner in EY’s US-UK cross-border tax services team, Crouch joined the firm – then Frank Hirth – in 2009. He now heads a specialist team focused on private clients, particularly lawyers and private equity executives. The latter, he says, have ‘taken a bit of a battering from various governments over the last decade’.

His role is highly collaborative, and his clients, who also include family enterprises and other HNW individuals with US connections, benefit from EY’s wide network and breadth of expertise. Alongside his UK chartered tax adviser qualification, Crouch is a US enrolled agent, meaning he is authorised to advise on tax matters involving the Internal Revenue Service.

Read Daniel Crouch’s full profile on Spears500.com

Ismael Hajjar

Focus: International tax and wealth structuring
Position: Partner and head of international private wealth and family office
Firm: PwC

‘We’ve built the largest private client practice in the region,’ Ismael Hajjar, partner and head of international private wealth in the Middle East, says of PwC’s growth in the region. Since joining the firm in 2022 from fellow Big Four firm EY, Hajjar says he has seen his team’s revenue skyrocket.

He pins the success down to his threefold focus: working with elite families on structuring, governance and family office establishment; assisting UHNWs moving to the region; and working with government agencies to support and shape programmes to attract family offices.

It’s been a source of additional business for his team. The amiable tax adviser tells Spear’s: ‘When governmental agencies are speaking to individuals they’re trying to attract, they’ll often say, “We’ll introduce you to our own [external] adviser who can answer all of your questions.” That’ll then lead to us onboarding that person and supporting them on what they’re doing in the region.’

Read Ismael Hajjar’s full profile on Spears500.com

Dawn Register

Focus: Complex tax investigations and disputes
Position: Head of specialist tax services
Firm: BDO

BDO’s Dawn Register is an expert in tax dispute resolution, supporting clients facing HMRC inquiries and serious investigations, and managing voluntary disclosures.

A 2023 Spear’s Award winner, Register is highly regarded across the tax advice industry, with peers at other firms regularly recommending her to Spear’s. In 2026 she became head of specialist tax services at BDO in London, overseeing the firm’s experts in incentives and grants for research and development, VAT and indirect taxes, tax assurance and risk management, and tax dispute resolution.

Register’s work can involve some of the most complex and sensitive areas of the UK tax system, which she describes as ‘horribly complicated’. Yet it is the variety of the work that keeps her engaged. ‘I feel very fortunate to do the job that I do in that I never get bored. I’m always challenged, and every case is interesting,’ she says.

Read Dawn Register’s full profile on Spears500.com

Sarah Farrow

Focus: Tax affairs for non-domiciles
Position: Partner and head of UHNW team
Firm: EY

Sarah Farrow is at the helm of EY’s ultra-high-net-worth tax team, the private client offering emerging from EY’s acquisition of Frank Hirth in 2021.

Farrow has more than two decades of experience in handling the complex tax issues that HNWs, businesses, family offices and sophisticated investors face. She recalls advising a Middle Eastern client who approached her for help after inadvertently under-reporting their UK tax after ‘years of miscommunication between the client’s bankers and their former tax advisers’.

‘The numbers were very large, and it took three months just to calculate the tax due,’ says Farrow. ‘We agreed on the amount with HMRC without them raising any queries, which is unusual.’ She adds that the client successfully saved £350,000 as a result.

Read Sarah Farrow’s full profile on Spears500.com

David Crabtree

Focus: US/UK HNWs
Position: Partner
Firm: Ostberg Sinclair & Co

David Crabtree is a partner at boutique firm Ostberg Sinclair & Co, where he heads up the firm’s HNW US-UK team. A dual-qualified tax adviser, he works with wealthy individuals, entrepreneurs, business owners and private equity professionals on cross-border tax matters.

While his practice is ‘tax focused’, Crabtree tells Spear’s that he often takes a broader advisory role; rather than offering ‘simply tax compliance’, he guides clients on ‘anything from business structuring, wealth structuring through to estate planning and succession planning’.

He places a high importance on knowing his clients’ ambitions, concerns, family dynamics and long-term goals. This entails ‘understanding what the client needs and not just giving them a set solution that may or may not be suitable for them’, he explains.

Read David Crabtree’s full profile on Spears500.com

Michael Lewis

Focus: Cross-border tax
Position: Partner
Firm: EY

Michael Lewis co-heads EY’s US-UK cross-border tax services team, which comprises around 125 people in London and a further 45 in India.

As the ‘face of the practice’, Lewis works closely with colleagues across EY’s wider private client business and sees collaboration as central to the team’s approach. He is also, he tells Spear’s, ‘not afraid to be creative’ when it comes to finding solutions for clients.

His client base is broad, although he works extensively with private equity and fund executives, as well as C-suite leaders. He often comes into the picture following significant life or business events – an IPO or business sale, for example – when existing advisers may no longer have the expertise to navigate an individual’s increasingly complex tax affairs.

Read Michael Lewis’ full profile on Spears500.com

Iain Younger

Focus: American clients
Position: Partner
Firm: KPMG

Iain Younger, partner and co-lead of KPMG’s US-UK private client tax service, focuses on tax, trust, compliance and succession planning for US-connected individuals and family offices.

Noting that he enjoys the technical nature of his work – which involves helping clients plan for the future and structure their wealth – Younger often encounters internationally mobile HNWs who are moving from European countries to New York, California, Texas or Florida. But relocation to the US is ‘not always driven by tax’, he explains; clients are also thinking about their environment and lifestyle.

Younger emphasises taking a collaborative approach, explaining that he and his team aim to ‘influence decision making with clear, accurate and challenging advice for clients’. The key is ensuring that ‘everyone’s focus is client-centric, and everyone’s working with the same set of facts’.

Read Iain Younger’s full profile on Spears500.com

Ann-Marie Atkins

Focus: Founders and business owners
Position: Head of entrepreneurs
Firm: Evelyn Partners

Ann-Marie Atkins is head of entrepreneurs at Evelyn Partners, where she advises wealthy families, founders and business owners.

Formerly a managing partner in financial planning, Atkins is now helping to shape an important part of the business, focusing on providing tailored advice to founders and business owners at every stage. It also reflects her own approach to advice: ensuring it is practical, clear and designed to make complex decisions less daunting. ‘We can really make it more succinct and more practical for business owners – maybe make it a bit less frightening,’ she tells Spear’s.

Direct and unafraid to ask difficult questions, Atkins says: ‘One of my strengths is no jargon.’

Read Ann-Marie Atkins’ full profile on Spears500.com

Adrian Smale

Focus: Bespoke solutions
Position: Partner, head of entrepreneurs and UHNW tax team
Firm: EY

EY partner Adrian Smale heads up the firm’s entrepreneurs and UHNW tax team, advising owner-managed businesses and tech entrepreneurs on their tax planning and structuring.

With more than two decades of experience – he held roles at PwC and Grant Thornton before joining EY – Smale aims to provide solid solutions, drawing on his technical ability to advise UHNWs on their personal and corporate wealth. One career highlight, the London-based adviser tells Spear’s, was when he worked on a 10-figure transaction in the music/entertainment space.

The Cambridge graduate says that the HNWs he works with are now asking questions about changes to inheritance tax and capital gains tax, and are consequently starting to think about whether now is the time to sell their business.

Read Adrian Smale’s full profile on Spears500.com

The best accountants and tax advisers: the complete list

Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles of each adviser on The Spear’s 500 website. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.

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With additional reporting by Caitlin Kilpatrick.