One of Scotland's oldest independent chartered accountancy practices has appointed seasoned expert John Cairns as its new director of taxation to help support the firm's further expansion.
Mr Cairns joins Glasgow-based Robb Ferguson from French Duncan, which was taken over in April of last year by Aberdeen-headquartered AAB for an undisclosed sum.
A graduate of the University of Strathclyde, Mr Cairns has been a partner in a number of Scottish and international accounting firms and has specialised through the greater part of his career in corporate and personal tax planning and strategy. He is also a long-time member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).
READ MORE: Scottish accountancy firm French Duncan bought by AAB of Aberdeen
Andy Logan, managing partner at Robb Ferguson, said the firm was very pleased to have attracted someone of Mr Cairns' calibre.
“He is regarded by his fellow professionals as a leading expert in all tax matters, personal and corporate, and we believe that our clients will benefit significantly from the added dimension of professional expertise, insight and experience that John brings to our offering," Mr Logan added.
Mr Cairns said he is looking forward to building on the advisory tax services offered to Robb Ferguson's "ever-increasing client base of larger SMEs".
READ MORE: Scottish accountancy giant hires new partner in Glasgow
“Robb Ferguson’s ongoing growth plan, which aims to see the firm expand by up to 50% in the next three to five years, takes account of the widespread ambitions of many of our existing clients to grow their businesses over the period, both organically and by acquisition, so I expect to be quite busy," he said.
“At the same time, there are lots of business owners in Scotland who will be seeking successful exits from their companies over the period and I expect to be assisting many of those individuals, whether or not they are already our clients, all of whom will need to have plans in place which optimise their tax positions.”
Founded in the 1880s, Robb Ferguson offers a range of accounting, audit, tax and advisory services and employs more than 50 people from its base in Glasgow’s city centre.
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