FRANCESCA LAGERBERG JOINS GRANT THORNTON UK TO HEAD NEW NATIONAL TAX OFFICE
Business and financial adviser Grant Thornton has announced that Francesca Lagerberg will join as a partner to head up the firm’s new National Tax Office, which is being created from both existing and new resources with the strategic objective of delivering technical excellence to the tax practice internally.
With 15 years’ experience of Tax, Francesca joins from Smith & Williamson where she was National Tax Director for four and a half years, having developed its National Tax function. A qualified barrister, chartered accountant (Fellow) and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), she is also the Chairman of the Tax Faculty of the ICAEW. She is on the editorial board of Taxation magazine, the Council of the ICAEW and the Personal Tax Committee of the CIOT, and chairs the Tax Faculty Committee. She is also involved in two HMRC committees – The Administrative Burden Advisory Board and the Consultative Committee on HMRC Powers.
In addition, Francesca writes about tax matters regularly for the professional and national press. She has been involved in writing books and has lectured around the UK on a wide range of subjects. She is a well known broadcast commentator and has appeared on such programmes as Moneybox Live, Today, Working Lunch and Breakfast News.
Francesca Lagerberg says: “I am delighted to be joining Grant Thornton at an exciting time. The firm’s ambitions for the tax practice match my own and I’m looking forward to working with my new colleagues to create the firm’s new National Tax Office.”
Rob Withecombe, Head of Entrepreneur and Private Client at Grant Thornton, comments: “Our priorities for Tax are in recruiting and retaining the best talent in the market, developing our people into exceptional advisers and providing the highest level of client service to our clients. Francesca’s recruitment is a key investment in the future of the tax business. Our ambition is unlimited. We know that to create a winning environment we need to achieve technical excellence and create a leading national support team. We can expect further growth in the future and key appointments to strengthen the practice further.”
Michael Cleary, national managing partner at Grant Thornton, comments: “We are fully committed to being a market leader in the area of Tax based on high levels of service, technical expertise and employing the very best people. The addition of Francesca to our Tax practice means that we are in the position of being a real and credible alternative to the Big 4.”