PwC U.S. Tax Leader Roy Weathers Plans Changes

Roy Weathers recently stepped into the role of tax leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ U.S. firm, where he plans to increase diversity and technology use.

Weathers moved from his role as tax leader of the New York metropolitan area to tax leader for the entire country. Before that, he was chief diversity officer of the U.S. firm. He has also worked as tax partner at PwC, specializing in providing tax services for financial institutions such as banks.

“We’re very fortunate to have a really strong practice,” Weathers told Accounting Today. “A great deal of that goes to the quality of our people and the investments we’ve made in innovation and technology. The first order of business is to continue to serve our clients.”

PwC’s clients are concerned about all the recent changes with international taxation, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative, also known as OECD BEPS.

“Our clients have to comply with the laws, whether it be country by country or BEPS on a global scale,” said Weathers. “I see those challenges facing our clients. Our clients are trying to figure out what the next cycle will bring. We are spending investment and time around innovation to be able to address those challenges. We are investing in technology like data analytics to help clients understand the laws and the like.”

PwC clients are also wondering what is going to happen with tax in the U.S. after the presidential election.

“What we’re hearing from our clients is a great deal of concern relative to uncertainty,” said Weathers. “Many global organizations have people and serve clients all over the world. In that regard they try to manage their financial matters as well as possible, and a big piece of that is tax. The uncertainty of any election is pervasive among our clients. They are trying to look to the future as they grow their businesses. Whether they want to produce new products or bring on new clients, they are taking on uncertainty. Every other day there is some new insight on that matter.”

He plans to use his experience in the tax area, and also in fostering diversity.

“I think the role I had in diversity really was a great experience for me,” he said. “It helped inform my sense of diversity of the practice and the diversity of our client base. In the tax practice and firm-wide, we are very dedicated to diversity, not only at PwC, but in the accounting and consulting industry. Spending time in that role has been very helpful to me as we continue to deliver diversity in our practice and our industry and throughout the community.”

Weathers is pleased with his new role. “I feel very fortunate to be connected with the firm and leading the tax practice because of the tremendous opportunity we have to serve our clients and the talent we recruit and work to retain every day,” he said. “For us at PwC we’ll continue to do what we’ve done well, investing in people and training the best people. We will increase our investment in technology and innovation to help our clients.”

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