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Two former big four partners and a mid-tier managing partner have been named as new appointees to the Tax Practitioners Board.
Big four, mid-tier partners appointed to the TPB
16 October 2020
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2 minute read
Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar has announced the appointment of Peter de Cure, Judy Sullivan and Craig Stephens as part-time members of the Tax Practitioners Board for a three-year period.
Mr de Cure has been with the board since 2017 and has extensive experience in tax developed over a 25-year career as a tax partner at KPMG and as a registered tax agent for 16 years.
He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
New appointee Ms Sullivan recently retired from PwC as its national leader for charities and not-for-profits practice, and for tax litigation and alternative dispute resolution.
A former partner at King & Wood Mallesons, Ms Sullivan currently sits on a number of the Law Council of Australia’s committees, the ATO not-for-profit Stewardship Group and the Advisory Committee for the Board of Taxation.
Mr Stephens, a new addition to the TPB, was most recently BDO’s managing partner in its Hobart office.
He is a registered tax agent and has been working in a business services and taxation role for over 40 years.
“These appointments will ensure a high level of skill and experience is available to the board,” Mr Sukkar said. “The Morrison government congratulates Mr de Cure, Ms Sullivan and Mr Stephens on their appointments.”
The appointments, however, have not sat well with the financial advice sector, with the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) rueing the lack of financial planning representatives on the board.
As it stands, TPB member Julie Berry is the only registered tax (financial) adviser that is currently sitting on the board.
“We question the TPB’s ability to responsibly govern the registration and regulation of tax practitioners because of this lack of experience,” said FPA chief executive Dante De Gori.
“Financial planners comprise around a quarter of all tax practitioners overseen by the TPB. The issues currently facing financial planners are unique, and warrant specific attention by the TPB, particularly as the role of a financial planner has changed, and so too has the role that regulators play in overseeing the profession.
“The FPA continues to call for priority to be given to establishing the single disciplinary body as it has the potential to reform the regulatory framework for financial advice, but only if it assumes key functions of ASIC, FASEA and the TPB, in streamlining and focusing the oversight of financial advice.”
