Former Andersenites Form New Tax Advisory Services Group

New York (Sept. 10, 2004) -- Professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal, which specializes in turnaround management consulting services, has expanded into tax advisory services, and has hired a team of six former Andersen employees to form its new practice.

A&M co-founder Bryan Marsal said that the move was driven by demand for tax advisory services from companies who don't want to hire their audit firms to offer those services. "In the wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and greater scrutiny on corporate tax strategies, companies need to be able to rely on senior-level, objective advice to effectively manage tax liabilities and risks," said Lowe. "As a result, an increasing number of management teams and boards of directors are looking beyond traditional audit firms, which often encounter conflicts of interest."

The firm has hired Robert N. Lowe Jr., who previously spent more than two decades with Arthur Andersen's tax and business advisory practice, as chief executive officer of the new practice unit. During his career with Andersen, Lowe served as global managing partner for expansions and alliances, as a member of the global, U.S., and U.S. tax leadership teams, and as managing partner of the Florida Caribbean market. Immediately prior to joining A&M, he was a managing director and chief operating officer of a private equity firm.

A&M's Tax Advisory Services include: consulting on federal, international, and state and local tax matters, including tax aspects of mergers, acquisitions and dispositions; identifying and managing tax risks; advising on tax technology and process optimization for the tax function; and providing efficient solutions for tax reporting requirements.

Mike Stokke, who previously led Andersen's Minneapolis tax practice for seven years and held national management roles at both Andersen and Deloitte, joins A&M as managing director and head of the tax advisory services practice in Atlanta. Joining him in Atlanta is Jeff Rubin, a managing director who previously led the international tax and business advisory practice for Andersen's Southeast region. Immediately prior to joining A&M, Rubin co-founded and served as a managing member of a venture capital fund that invested in start-up technology companies in the Southeast.

Ted McElroy, who previously led Andersen's Gulf Coast Region tax practice and served as the global and U.S. oil and gas tax industry leader for Deloitte, joins as a managing director and head of the tax advisory services practice in Houston. Kim Barr, a former partner with Andersen and Deloitte in San Francisco and Seattle, joins as a managing director and head of the San Francisco TAS practice. Kristin Cobb Fonseca, who spent over 10 years with Arthur Andersen advising corporate clients on mergers and acquisitions and accounting methods matters, joins as a managing director based in Miami.

-- WebCPA staff

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