The Ipswich office of financial and business advisers Grant Thornton has expanded its tax team with a double appointment, and the return of a familiar face.

Dominic Carter is welcomed back to the firm as a senior tax manager following a two year break during which he worked for another national accountancy firm, also in Ipswich.

Dominic first joined Grant Thornton in 2007 as a tax executive, initially based at the firm’s Manchester office before transferring to the Ipswich team where he worked at manager level until 2014.

In his new role back with the firm, he will work with a wide portfolio of tax clients, drawing on his extensive expertise which includes specialising in corporate and property transactions, share schemes and valuations, typically for larger, owner managed businesses.

Dominic said: “I always enjoyed my time working with Grant Thornton and when the opportunity to return came up, it was too good to miss. I was particularly attracted by the new structure and developments at the Ipswich office alongside the firm’s clear purpose to get businesses, communities and people working together to create a more vibrant and productive economy at a local and national level.

“I’m looking forward to being part of this wider ambition and helping to take Grant Thornton’s expanded tax offering forward.”

Also joining the Ipswich team is tax associate Andy McAlister who comes to Grant Thornton from a smaller East Anglian firm to complete a three year training programme to become qualified chartered accountant.

Rob Thomson, tax director at the Ipswich office, said: “Dominic and Andy’s appointments are part of an ongoing strategy to expand and strengthen our tax offering from the Ipswich office.

“Dominic’s specialist skills set focusing on equity reward will be a real asset to the services we provide, whilst recruiting Andy is part of our continued commitment to investing in new, young talent to take the firm forward.”

::Essex and London-based solicitors Fisher Jones Greenwood has added planning consultancy to its property services after appointing highly respected chartered town planner Sharon Smith.

Sharon joins the firm with over two decades of experience gained through private practice and local authority positions. She also holds an RTPI Chartered town planner accreditation and will enable the firm to offer planning services to commercial and residential clients alike.

Sharon said: “To be joining an award-winning firm with the reputation of FJG, which has such substantial plans for the future is a move I am very excited about. It’s fantastic that property clients can now look forward to being able to deal with any legal and planning issues all under one roof.”

Managing partner Paula Fowler said: “Bringing on board a chartered town planner such as Sharon will really push the firm forward and allow us to operate a full suite of property services. Having someone so highly respected in their field as Sharon join FJG is also an indication of the ambition and quality of the firm.”

::Ipswich Building Society has appointed financial services veteran Steve Reid as non-executive director.

Steve, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland, has a strong leadership background with more than 30 years in retail banking, bringing a wealth of expertise to the society.

He was previously managing director at Allied Irish Bank where he led the company to a period of stability and drove a return to profitability after many years. He also spent a decade at the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank as Retail Banking Director and 17 years with Woolwich Building Society, which was then acquired by Barclays Bank.

Chairman Sarah Evans said: “We are pleased to welcome Steve Reid to the Society. His skills and experience from the last three decades will make a valuable contribution to our Board’s risk management strategy, as we continue to adapt to changing regulation and market conditions while providing members excellent service and returns.”

::Vicki Mitman, an associate in Ipswich-based law firm Birketts’ franchise team, has been elected chair of the British Franchise Association’s (BFA) Affiliate Forum, a regulatory body for franchising in the UK.

The forum seeks to promote ethical franchising, not only to its members but also to the franchise industry as a whole. The BFA has several categories of membership including ‘affiliate’ members which are the professional advisers to the franchise industry. This includes solicitors, banks, accountants, consultants, marketing specialists and other related advisors, newspapers and publications.

Birketts is an affiliate member of the BFA and its franchise specialists have been actively involved with the organisation for many years.

Ed Savory, legal director and head of franchising at Birketts, said: “We are delighted that Vicki has been elected as BFA affiliate forum chair. We agree strongly with what the BFA seeks to achieve and believe the affiliates add a great deal of value to the bfa and its members. Vicki’s appointment is a clear sign of the firm’s ever-growing reputation in the franchising sector.”

Vicki said she was “thrilled” to have been elected and looking forward to promoting the “excellent” engagement of the affiliate members and to providing a bridge between the affiliate members and the BFA.