Top Recommended Tax Accountants

A veteran of KPMG for 26 years (20 of them as an equity partner), Dermot Callinan has been recruited by Saffery Champness as a partner in its Harrogate office, and is enjoying his summer before starting in his new role in the autumn. ‘I’ve just returned from a very nice trip to the Swiss Alps,’ he says. ‘We’ve got a lovely place in the Lake District, which

I have never had enough time to use. I’m enjoying it now.’ Highlights from his quarter of a century at the global tax firm have been recruiting, working alongside and promoting the group of partners that now form the bulk of KPMG’s private client team. Does he feel any regret at leaving it behind? ‘The practice is very mature now and it’s ready,’ he says. ‘Now is the optimum time for me to hand over the reins.’

Of the move, Callinan says: ‘I was delighted to have such influence over the private client practice, but that’s less than 1 per cent of the firm at KPMG. At Saffery’s, private client work is a much more significant part of the organisation. I will be one of 30 equity partners, not one of 600, which will make for a very different working environment. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at KPMG, but I am excited for the change and look forward to a new chapter.’

The Saffery move will also free him from the pressures of leadership and management. ‘I will be able to take a more personalised, “hands-on” approach,’ he says.