Independent Business Reviews HMRC panel members

Background

The Chancellor announced in his Budget speech on 24 March 2010, that with effect from April 2010, where a business applies for time to pay a debt of £1 million or higher, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) may, unless the facts are straightforward, require the business to engage, at its own expense, a suitably qualified professional adviser such as an insolvency practitioner, to carry out an Independent Business Review (IBR) in support of its request.

Informal consultation

An informal consultation was conducted by HMRC in January 2010 and the results of that consultation were published on HMRC's website on 16 February 2010. This consultation helped HMRC decide how best to introduce the IBR process and among other things it was decided that if this process was to operate effectively it would be necessary to form an IBR panel.

Expressions of interest

In a document published on the HMRC's website on 8 March 2010, HMRC invited expressions of interest from industry experts who wanted to be included on the IBR panel.

Criteria

Successful panelists would:

  • have a true national coverage with a presence in England, Scotland, and Wales, with an ability to easily cover Northern Ireland
  • be regulated by a recognised professional body within the UK
  • have a good compliance record with HMRC in their current tax affairs with all taxes being settled and returns submitted
  • have a proven track record of delivery over a number of years across a wide cross section of businesses
  • be able to demonstrate flexibility and resource availability to deliver the product to tight timescales
  • be able to show an ability to deal with complex structures and large, financially stressed, businesses
  • be able to evidence an ability to obtain specialist advice on issues that arise during the review
  • be able to provide a dedicated contact responsible for this work

HMRC has now completed a review of the evidence submitted and is pleased to confirm that the following firms met the required criteria:

  • Baker Tilly
  • BDO
  • Begbies Traynor
  • Deloitte
  • Ernst & Young
  • Grant Thornton
  • KPMG
  • Mazars
  • Moore Stephens
  • PKF
  • PwC
  • Smith & Williamson

HMRC would like to re-iterate that inclusion on the panel is not permanent and non-selection on this occasion will not rule out selection in the future. The process will be subject to regular six month reviews going forward.

HMRC will work with the panel members to ensure the delivery of a professional, thorough and consistent service.