See a list of contact details for all our overseas offices CONTACT US Tax

Whilst audits are a statutory requirement in many of the jurisdictions in which we operate, in others they are not. We find many clients still request audits in those locations for a variety of reasons, such as to ensure that their affairs are correctly managed. AUDIT & ASSURANCE Whilst audits are a statutory requirement in many of the jurisdictions in which we operate, in others they are not. We find many clients still request audits in those locations for a variety of reasons, such as to ensure that their affairs are correctly managed. Those clients often find that the local management’s knowledge of, and involvement in, the audit process often engenders stronger corporate governance and re-emphasises the importance of the entity’s controls. Where the expense of a full financial statement or systems audit cannot be readily justified, we also regularly undertake limited scope procedures focused on those areas of higher risk which we and our clients identify as benefiting from enhanced external scrutiny. Rawlinson & Hunter has extensive experience of providing audit and assurance services to a wide range of companies and groups from many industries. Our clients range from start-up businesses to large listed international groups operating in sectors as diverse as entertainment, media, the arts, fund management, fashion and property investment. Many would argue that an audit has its limitations and provides little real value prospectively. At Rawlinson & Hunter, we adopt a different approach and do not treat the audit merely as a statutory obligation. We strive to understand the way in which the business works and to help identify ways to improve it, with the aim of delivering some added value to the shareholders. We try to involve our client in the audit process and, like all of our services, our audits are Partner-led, ensuring that our clients benefit from our extensive business advisory experience. The audit and assurance services which we provide can therefore deliver demonstrable insights and real cash savings to our clients. The recommendations which we make enable decision makers to take confident, informed decisions about their business, reduce risk and take advantage of any opportunities. Audit work in most jurisdictions is a regulated activity and can only be carried out by certain firms within the Rawlinson & Hunter International grouping of firms. Refer to Legal for further information regarding the Rawlinson & Hunter International Firms. Tax Please contact the relevant office below to find out more about this service in this jurisdiction

The best finance departments demand a wide variety of skills and experience, from accounting and payroll professionals to tax specialists. Finding and keeping the right mix of professionals to ensure that your finance department runs smoothly is an expensive business. OUTSOURCING Modern companies are learning that running their own finance function is not always the right option. The best finance departments demand a wide variety of skills and experience, from accounting and payroll professionals to tax specialists. Finding and keeping the right mix of professionals to ensure that your finance department runs smoothly is an expensive business. Companies that outsource their finance function to Rawlinson & Hunter are able to concentrate on the key areas of their business, safe in the knowledge that key financial tasks are in the hands of trained professional staff, leaving them to concentrate on their core business. We have many years of experience working with companies of all sizes, from sophisticated multi-national groups to embryonic owner managed businesses. We are able to receive, process and distribute information in electronic or paper form, allowing us to provide an efficient cost-effective service. We are often required to produce management accounts and group reporting packs to very tight timetables and have an enviable track-record for doing so. We also provide accounting services to investment clients. Our software can receive data and transactions directly from custodians and also allows us to monitor investment managers in terms of guidelines, benchmarks and performance. We do not have a standard reporting package which we expect our clients to adopt. Instead, we tailor our financial reporting to the particular needs of each client so that the directors and frontline management team receive the information they need and are in the position to make very informed decisions about tactical and strategic matters. As well as accounting services, we provide payroll, IT and many of the other finance functions and other administration services which companies and businesses require. Our expert knowledge and experience in this field allows us to offer a flexible, fast and reliable outsourcing service to our clients. Please contact the relevant office below to find out more about this service in this jurisdiction

Many leading investment houses outsource their back office fund administration in order to be able to focus on their core competencies, and this is an area in which we have built up significant expertise, particularly in our Cayman, Jersey and Singapore offices. FUNDS Many leading investment houses outsource their back office fund administration in order to be able to focus on their core competencies, and this is an area in which we have built up significant expertise, particularly in our Cayman, Jersey and Singapore offices. Directors have ultimate responsibility for overseeing all aspects of a fund’s operation – including those functions delegated to the investment manager and other service providers. Directors must have extensive industry experience and appropriate professional qualifications. In addition to providing individuals as directors, we can also provide corporate directors to serve as trustees, thereby ensuring that we can service the full complement of investment fund structures, including corporations, partnerships and unit trusts. We can provide related services throughout the lifecycle of a fund, including fund formation and launch services, AML Officer services, trustee services (where a fund is constituted as a unit trust), registered office services, company secretarial services, fund administration services, bookkeeping and financial and investor reporting. We have the skills and experience to offer a full range of fund administration and share registrar services across a wide spectrum of fund structures and asset classes. TAX Please contact the relevant office below to find out more about this service in this jurisdiction

Estate planning demands a detailed appreciation of the circumstances of each client and the flexibility to respond to their wishes. The close relationship which we build up with our clients means that we can deal effectively with any sensitive family issues that arise. ESTATES Estate planning demands a detailed appreciation of the circumstances of each client and the flexibility to respond to their wishes. The close relationship which we build up with our clients means that we can deal effectively with any sensitive family issues that arise. With our expertise in tax planning, we offer a compelling choice for clients seeking advice on having their wills drafted in a tax efficient manner. Our Partners are also experienced in acting as executors, alone or with family members or lawyers. We have all the necessary experience to deal with the administration of the estate, from the initial application for probate (the UK Firm is authorised by the ICAEW to conduct non-contentious probate work) to the final distribution. Regular reviews of the estate and detailed illustrative calculations of potential liabilities keep our clients aware of opportunities available to them, while our international focus allows us to advise clients with assets in multiple jurisdictions. Frequent discussions with the client and the client’s family ensure that we are aware of their wishes as they develop and can act in their best interests. For UK connected clients, the Inheritance Tax regime provides excellent opportunities to plan estates and protect family wealth through the use of lifetime gifts, trusts, family limited partnerships and careful consideration of wills. For international clients, there are many complex aspects which need consideration, including the scope of forced heirship and succession provisions which some countries adopt. For clients who are UK resident but foreign domiciled, there are opportunities to hold foreign assets through family trusts in a tax-efficient manner which puts them beyond the scope of Inheritance Tax. Our International Firms are experienced both in advising on such issues and administering wealth holding structures which are effective estate planning vehicles. Please contact the relevant office below to find out more about this service in this jurisdiction

We believe that the best way to provide our clients, both private clients and companies, with effective support is to act for them in relation to their tax reporting. This gives us an insight into what they are doing from year to year and a detailed understanding of their business and financial affairs. TAX ADVICE Our clients frequently need advice on tax matters. It is crucial that when there are events in clients’ lives, whether it is a corporate transaction, a change in family circumstances, a move from one country to another or some other situation, whether planned or unexpected, they have the right people with the right expertise to support them. We believe that the best way to provide our clients, both private clients and companies, with effective support is to act for them in relation to their tax reporting. This gives us an insight into what they are doing from year to year and a detailed understanding of their business and financial affairs. Most of our clients at some point need to call upon our expertise and our familiarity with their affairs to provide effective and timely tax advice. The knowledge gleaned from a relationship with our clients built over many years enables us to advise with authority when the need arises. Often, clients come to us in the first place because they are involved in a situation or a set of circumstances where specialist guidance is needed. Having concluded this initial project, clients then often remain with us for many years, taking advantage of both the tax reporting and advisory services which we can offer. Our approach to the giving of both personal and corporate tax advice is measured. We recognise that the tax legislation was enacted for a specific purpose, and in giving advice we consider carefully the reasoning behind the tax law which we seek to rely on. We avoid overly aggressive planning which, in our experience, is invariably challenged by the relevant tax authority and defeated in the Courts. We do not promote or advocate artificial tax schemes or marketed general planning solutions. Instead we seek to help plan our clients’ affairs for the long term, and minimise tax burdens as part of overall estate planning advice, to meet both current and future needs. Our international network of offices probably has a greater concentration of international private client expertise than any other firm. We provide expert taxation advice and support and work closely with tax specialists across many countries to ensure that cross-jurisdictional tax planning is carefully coordinated. We can help to plan your financial affairs efficiently, and to minimise liabilities to tax whilst ensuring full compliance with ever more complex tax obligations. Please contact the relevant office below to find out more about this service in this jurisdiction

We work with corporate and entrepreneurial clients of all sizes and complexity. We consider that our approach is different in starting from the premise that our advice needs to address stakeholder concerns which are much wider than those which are obvious from the confinements of the corporate box. CORPORATE Although Rawlinson & Hunter is probably best known in the profession for its award-winning services to private clients, it provides a complete range of accountancy, administration and advisory services to companies and businesses in all stages of development, from the smaller entrepreneurial business to asset holding companies to the large international corporation. As with all our services, the Partners lead the work supported by our highly qualified staff. We work with corporate and entrepreneurial clients of all sizes and complexity. We consider that our approach is different in starting from the premise that our advice needs to address stakeholder concerns which are much wider than those which are obvious from the confinements of the corporate box. This holistic thinking along with the expertise and experience which we have to offer is what we believe our clients value. The range of corporate services which we offer is broad. In addition to the standard services such as audit and assurance, company secretarial support, management accounting, tax and payroll, we also provide a suite of advisory services. Our corporate Partners have wide experience of operating in other environments, whether in Big 4 Firms or in industry, and bring a wealth of expertise to the table. We often advise on corporate finance and other corporate transactions such as sales and acquisitions, and can advise comprehensively on the tax issues affecting entrepreneurial clients and their businesses. We can provide outsourced financial support and, where the project requires it, litigation support and forensic accounting services. Our range of services to entrepreneurial clients is very wide and our role in each case is driven by our clients’ needs. Our International Firms are highly experienced in the formation and administration of offshore corporate structures, ranging from sophisticated captive insurance and fund management companies to simple asset-owning vehicles. Full administration services are provided in the offshore centres by our Partners and staff. Please contact the relevant office below to find out more about this service in this jurisdiction

Many of our clients are engaged in supporting charitable causes both in the UK and overseas. This activity nearly always involves generous financial support, where guidance on tax-effective giving is required. CHARITIES Many of our clients are engaged in supporting charitable causes both in the UK and overseas. This activity nearly always involves generous financial support, where guidance on tax-effective giving is required. Some clients seek greater involvement, establishing their own charity or donor-advised fund and playing an active role in determining the causes and charities which derive benefit from the fund. Charitable giving always requires careful planning, wherever the donor lives. Many jurisdictions offer tax reliefs for donations to charities, and it is important that the reliefs available are utilised. Giving money to charity can be a complicated and expensive process requiring great care as to timing, amount and method of donation. For those wishing to establish their own charity, we have teams experienced in providing accounting and reporting services which are used to liaising with the charity regulatory authorities in their jurisdiction. On the practical front, the teams get involved in all aspects of administration of a charity. For instance, in addition to getting involved in budget and cash flow forecasting and ongoing monitoring of cash positions, we often operate bank accounts, raise cheques, deal with payment requests and provide a correspondence address so that we can deal with unsolicited applications for funding. We maintain accounting records, produce management accounts and undertake performance reviews. We also diarise and coordinate grant commitments, ensuring that they are approved and paid on a timely basis. We get involved with trustee meetings, preparing agendas, putting together meeting packs, attending meetings and preparing minutes. In the UK, we also have extensive experience in advising on all aspects of regulatory audit and independent examination requirements of charities and can deliver a wide range of related services to those involved in charitable giving both in the UK and around the world. Our expertise derived from servicing this wide range of clients has enabled us to build multi-skilled teams, the members of which understand the issues that matter to you. Please contact the relevant office below to find out more about this service in this jurisdiction

PRIVACY The only personal data that this website can collect is: If you choose to send us an email using one of the email addresses listed on the site. This email address will only be used to correspond with you If you have any concerns or questions about the data that we collect and use for the client services we are providing then please contact the partner or director in the local office that provides the service to you. Below are links to data protection privacy notices relating to the certain R&H offices: - R&H UK - R&H Cayman - R&H Switzerland

The Chartered Accountancy firm of Rawlinson & Hunter was established in London in 1933 during The Great Depression by Alfred Rawlinson and Robert Hunter. OUR HISTORY The Chartered Accountancy firm of Rawlinson & Hunter was established in London in 1933 during The Great Depression by Alfred Rawlinson and Robert Hunter. The Firm has flourished by continually updating and refreshing its services to meet the challenges of evolving tax, financial and regulatory laws, by focusing on niche markets, and by putting client service first and foremost in everything it does. After successfully navigating the challenges faced by the UK during the Second World War, including temporarily moving the Firm to rural Oxfordshire to escape The Blitz, Hunter journeyed to the US in 1945, and again in 1946 with Rawlinson, where they visited an old client living in Bermuda. This coincided with the first direct flights between the US and Bermuda and the introduction of a favourable tax system and tourist economy on the island. The visit ultimately led to the establishment of Rawlinson & Hunter’s first overseas office in Bermuda in the early 1960s by future UK senior partner Bob Spooner, as the Firm sought to support its UK clients with extensive tourism and hotel interests there. A chance encounter on an aeroplane between future UK senior partner Peter Hetherington and a Jersey accountant resulted in the foundation of the Firm’s Jersey office in 1972. This was at a time when many individuals were emigrating from the UK to Jersey to escape the all-time high UK income tax rate of 136% in the late 1960s, and 98% in the early 1970s. The Firm’s Jersey practice was established at a time when the island was growing rapidly as an international financial centre. The Guernsey office was established in 1980 to meet the needs of specific international clients of the Firm, taking advantage of Guernsey’s similarly thriving financial services industry. More than 40 years on, the Guernsey firm continues to grow. The Cayman Islands office was established in 1973, originally to complement the services offered to clients through the Bermuda office. This British Overseas Territory steadily developed to become a leading international financial centre in the region. Switzerland has always been the leading international financial centre in continental Europe, and during its early years Rawlinson & Hunter had served many Swiss-based corporate clients due to Robert Hunter’s frequent trips to the country. To support its Swiss-based clients, the Firm therefore opened an office in Geneva in 1982, and this was eventually followed by a Zürich office in 2011. The old Geneva office left the grouping in 2019 but the Firm is now once again operating in Geneva, having opened a new office there in 2021. By the 1980s, the British Virgin Islands had also developed into a leading international financial and tourism centre to fund its public services, and this led to Peter Hetherington and future Jersey senior partner, David Goar, establishing the Firm’s office on the islands in 1988 to supports clients engaged in business there. A year earlier, in 1987, the Firm opened a representative office in Sydney, Australia to support clients with business interests Down Under. This was carried out under the umbrella of a respected Australian firm, Boroughs, a similarly private client focused firm of Chartered Accountants established in 1945. A decade and a half later, in 2003, the Firm extended this model by opening a representative office on the other side of the Ditch in Whanganui, New Zealand. By now Singapore had established itself as the leading international financial centre in Asia, and the Firm found itself with increasing numbers of clients with business interests in the country. To support these clients, the Firm opened its first Asian office in Singapore in 2013.

Trusts frequently feature as an important part of a family’s inter-generational wealth and succession planning, for many diverse reasons. Fundamentally, they can be used to preserve capital and provide an income stream for current and future generations of a family. TRUSTS Trusts frequently feature as an important part of a family’s inter-generational wealth and succession planning, for many diverse reasons. Fundamentally, they can be used to preserve capital and provide an income stream for current and future generations of a family. Administering a trust has considerable responsibilities associated with it. Some of these are compliance and reporting responsibilities such as the bookkeeping of transactions, the preparation of accounts for the trust, the preparation of trust tax returns, ensuring that entries on the trust register are properly updated and that any regulatory disclosures are made accurately and on a timely basis. Other requirements are less routine. Trustees need careful guidance in making decisions about trust assets and the trust fund itself, especially where they are required to exercise their discretion in making distributions of income and capital to beneficiaries, making loans etc. A professional understanding of trust law and trustee responsibilities is crucial. This is why we often act as trustee, either alone or alongside our clients, where trusts form part of their family succession planning. We prefer to do this through our trust corporations operated by our International Firms, since this offers flexibility and continuity (the problems and costs encountered when replacing or appointing a trustee on the retirement or death of an individual are avoided). Our Partners are experienced in dealing sensitively with the demands of a trustee’s role. They are used to dealing with the demands of multiple jurisdictions and the complex regulatory, tax and reporting requirements involved. They actively seek solutions tailored to ensure that, while the trust assets are preserved and can grow, the beneficiaries’ interests are maintained. They understand that full accountability and efficient administration are essential, coupled with an ability to deal sensitively with beneficiaries at every stage in life. Through collaboration between the London and overseas offices, we provide a joined up suite of services in relation to international trusts and companies where the client has a UK connection. This includes advising on the potential benefits of trust arrangements in the client’s specific circumstances, calculating and monitoring trust tax pools in order to ascertain the tax treatment of benefits received by beneficiaries, constructing investment guidelines and account structures for tax efficiency, liaising with tax professionals in other countries and advising on all UK tax reporting for the trustees, the settlor and the beneficiaries. Trusts are not appropriate for all international clients and we would only recommend them where they offer a solution. All trusts are different and great care is required to ensure that their terms meet the requirements of the clients and their families, and that the tax and succession consequences are fully considered. Please contact the relevant office below to find out more about this service in this jurisdiction

All of the International Firms in Rawlinson & Hunter specialise in looking after the affairs of high net worth individuals and their families. Our offices probably contain a greater concentration of international private client expertise than any other firm, anywhere in the world. PRIVATE CLIENTS All of the International Firms in Rawlinson & Hunter specialise in looking after the affairs of high net worth individuals and their families. Our offices probably contain a greater concentration of international private client expertise than any other firm, anywhere in the world. Our reputation as experts in this field has brought us family and corporate clients in every continent, almost entirely by personal recommendation. Many of our offices provide tax compliance services in their local jurisdictions, as well as providing sensible and bespoke tax advice on a range of issues. A lot of our clients have complex tax and regulatory reporting requirements and we support them at every stage. We have developed and expanded our suite of services to support our private clients and their families throughout their lives, as well as administering their wealth holding structures. In so doing, we pride ourselves on delivering a genuine partner-led service. Our partners are all specialists who lead the advice to our clients, supported by staff who are amongst the best in the profession. We aim to give clear and direct advice without ‘fence-sitting’. We are used to operating as part of a team of professionals and regularly collaborate with lawyers (in a range of disciplines and jurisdictions), investment managers, bankers and other advisers in a collegiate way in supporting our clients. Through this process, we have over time built up an extensive informal network of contacts, and where our clients require specialist support beyond our areas of operation, we usually have just the right person to refer them to. We all understand here that we are never any better than our last piece of advice, and maintaining our standards is vital in maintaining our reputation. Please contact the relevant office below to find out more about this service in this jurisdiction