HSBC’s Wealth and Tax Advisory Services expands

HSBC’s Wealth and Tax Advisory Services business (‘WTAS’) has announced that it has expanded its corporate tax, state and local tax services and national entity tax practices. This expansion will further assist WTAS, an independent (unaffiliated with an auditing institution) provider of tax, valuation, financial advisory and related consulting services, in becoming one of the leading independent tax advisory firms in the country.

“These key hires will help drive our business further as we continue to add depth and new dimensions to our practice in Northern California,” said Mark Vorsatz, chief executive officer of WTAS. “The calibre of this team also underscores the quality of our work and ability to attract industry specialists across disciplines where we see the greatest client need.”

Joining WTAS in San Francisco are Thomas Broderick as a managing director, Eric Anderson and Yichen Shepard as directors and Jacquie Orea as a manager. Broderick will be responsible for tax services to corporate and international clientele in the San Francisco Bay Area. Anderson will lead the state and local tax practice (SALT). Both Anderson and Orea will service the needs of Bay Area clients focusing on strategic consulting and compliance in the areas of state income and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes, credits and incentives, mergers and acquisitions, and controversy resolution. As part of the national entity tax practice, Shepard will focus on public and large privately-held entities, consulting in matters involving international corporate transactions, tax provisions, tax attribute preservation and related matters.

Broderick has more than 33 years of experience providing international, hospitality and real estate services to clients. Anderson and Orea have 25 years of combined state tax experience in government, industry and with the “Big Four” accounting firms.

WTAS has also hired seven associates based in San Francisco. They are Megan Dunham, Corinne Keating, Warren Lanier, Connie Liu, Sara McKenzie, Daniel Roberts and Connie Yu.

In East Palo Alto, Lisa Cheng has joined as a director and a member of the corporate tax consulting group and Catherine Elchinoff as an administrative director. Prior to joining WTAS, Cheng worked with two international accounting firms and an investment bank. Elchinoff worked for a large law firm and an international accounting practice. Michelle Evanson, Christopher Leary and Natalya Strigelskaya have also joined as associates in the East Palo Alto office.

WTAS is a member of the HSBC Group, one of the largest financial services groups in the world. This expansion complements HSBC’s expansion efforts in California as well as WTAS’s national expansion initiatives which began four years ago.