Accountants and tax advisers play a crucial role for high-net-worth individuals, helping to ensure the smooth running of their finances. As well as providing auditing and documentation preparation services, many of the accountants and tax advisers listed below are experts at ensuring compliance and providing assistance with complex issues faced uniquely by high-net-worth individuals.
Spear’s Tax & Trust Indices 2024
With complex portfolios, cross-border investments, and significant tax liabilities, personalised financial strategies are essential to optimizing wealth and reducing risk. Whether it’s navigating inheritance tax, capital gains, or international tax regulations, these top professionals provide the insight and expertise needed to preserve and grow wealth, Spear’s leading accountants and tax advisers are trusted by high-net-worths for their exceptional guidance.
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Best accountants and tax advisers for high-net-worth clients: names to know
Sarah Farrow – Top Flight
Firm: EY
Sarah Farrow leads EY’s ultra-high-net-worth tax team, which emerged from EY’s acquisition of Frank Hirth in 2021. With over two decades of experience, she specialises in handling complex tax issues for high-net-worth individuals, businesses, family offices, and sophisticated investors.
Read Sarah Farrow’s full profile at Spears500.com
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Michael Lewis – Top Recommended
Firm: EY
Michael Lewis, a Partner at EY’s US/UK Cross Border team, advises clients within the private markets area, including private equity executives, owner managers, entrepreneurs, and clients from the world of investment banking. Lewis is a UK-chartered tax adviser licensed to practice before the Internal Revenue Service in the US as an enrolled agent.
Read Michael Lewis’ full profile at Spears500.com
Katharine Arthur – Top Recommended
Firm: Haysmacintyre
Katherine Arthur is a highly experienced chartered accountant and tax adviser leading the tax team at Haysmacintyre. With more than two decades in the industry, she provides practical assistance on various tax issues, aiming to make complex topics understandable for clients while ensuring their UK and global reporting responsibilities are met.
Read Katharine Arthur’s full profile at Spears500.com
Majid Hussain – Top Recommended
Firm: Haysmacintyre
Majid Hussain is an experienced private client tax advisor, specialising in advising high net worth individuals, including non-UK domiciled individuals and private equity executives. He has been recognised for his achievements in the industry and is also involved in charitable work.
Read Majid Hussain’s full profile at Spears500.com
Kay Aylott – Recommended
Firm: Haysmacintyre
Kay Aylott, director at Haysmacintyre LLP, provides expert and relevant tax advice tailored to each client’s personal circumstances and goals. Her focus is in assisting inbound individuals on UK and cross-border issues, pre-arrival planning, double tax treaty relief, offshore trusts, and UK tax implications for settlers, beneficiaries, and trustees.
Read Kay Aylott’s full profile at Spears500.com
James Walker – Recommended
Firm: Haysmacintyre
Walker started his career in the Channel Islands, where he became qualified as both a chartered accountant and a chartered tax adviser. He describes his approach as being adaptable to the client’s needs, emphasising prudence and efficiency as a tax adviser.
Read James Walker’s full profile at Spears500.com
Robert Mace – Recommended
Firm: Saffery
Supporting clients with crypto assets, Robert Mace has developed a unique niche in tax regulations relating to digital asset holders.
In an effort to clarify the rules regarding these taxes, Mace provides specialist advice on how crypto assets can impact income tax, capital gains tax and employment tax. His clients include HNWs, wealthy families, non-domiciled individuals, family offices and trustees.
Read Robert Mace’s full profile at Spears500.com
Ann-Marie Atkins – Recommended
Firm: Evelyn Partners
Atkins is focused on tax planning across all areas of the financial plan and understanding how this complements other plans in place to achieve superior overall objectives. She provides bespoke and creative services for large families with complex financial needs, coordinating with their Accountants/Tax and Legal advisers to deliver a formal and rounded approach.
Glenn Snow – Recommended
Firm: USTAXFS
Glenn Snow is a dual-qualified tax adviser with expertise in both the UK and US tax systems. In January 2023, he was appointed as Tax Director within USTAXFS’s Private Client Group, marking an important development for the firm. USTAXFS specialises in US tax advice, planning, and compliance for individuals, funds, trusts, and corporations affected by the US tax system.
Read Glenn Snow’s full profile at Spears500.com
Joss Dalrymple – Top Recommended
Firm: Evelyn Partners
Dalrymple’s services cover family finances, school-fees planning, income deferral, and asset allocation. He also handles executorship, prenups, intergenerational disputes, and provides advice on charitable trusts.
Read Joss Dalrymple’s full profile at Spears500.com
William Dowsett – Top Recommended
Firm: PwC
Birmingham-based Dowsett advises HNWs and entrepreneurs in the Midlands on tax-efficient business structuring and succession planning. With two decades of experience, he works with a broad range of clients, including budding entrepreneurs, family offices, and some of the wealthiest families in the UK.
Read William Dowsett’s full profile at Spears500.com
Rebecca Durrant – Top Recommended
Firm: Crowe
With more than 25 years’ experience, Durrant advises individuals and businesses on all aspects of the tax system, including Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax and non-UK resident tax issues.
Read Rebecca Durrant’s full profile at Spears500.com
Helen Jones – Top Recommended
Firm: BDO
BDO tax partner, Jones specialises in inheritance and capital gains tax planning, tax-efficient structuring for businesses, and separation and divorce cases, offering expertise in asset transfer, inheritance tax post-divorce, tax reporting requirements, and restructuring family wealth.
Read Helen Jones’s full profile at Spears500.com
Nicola Roberts – Top Flight
Firm: Deloitte
Nicola Roberts is the head of private client services at Deloitte. Her practice focuses on UHNW family offices and financial services, including advising senior private equity partners and hedge fund owners.
Read Nicola Roberts’ full profile at Spears500.com
Methodology
In selecting and ranking the accountants and tax advisers for HNW individuals, the Spear’s Research Unit conducts extensive research of the market, including interviews with well-informed observers, industry insiders and of course the advisers themselves. These take place both face-to-face, and on video and telephone calls. Candidates for inclusion are asked to fill in a form to provide data and a description of their work and client base. In finalising its selections and rankings, the Spear’s Research Unit employs a proprietary methodology that includes a weighted scoring system. This takes into account factors including an adviser’s standing, reputation, client base, recommendations and testimonials, the firm they represent, their level of engagement with the process and certain industry-specific criteria.
Best accountants and tax advisers for HNW individuals: the complete list
Find out more
To explore all the Spear’s indices, and to use our find-an-adviser tool to identify the private client adviser who is right for your specific requirements, go to the Spear’s 500 website.
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