KPMG named Asia Tax Firm of the Year at the ITR Awards

SINGAPORE 26 August 2020 - KPMG was the biggest winner at the prestigious ITR Asia Tax Awards 2020, garnering widespread national and regional recognition.

The firm’s prowess in tax earned it a total of 15 awards, including team wins in the coveted Asia Firm of the Year category as well as in key tax, innovation, compliance and reporting, and mobility categories.

At a national level, the KPMG team in Hong Kong scooped wins across both the transfer pricing and tax disputes categories for the third year running. KPMG in Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam also completed a hat-trick of tax prize victories, winning as ‘Tax Firm of the Year” for the third consecutive year (2018, 2019, and now 2020).  KPMG firms in China and Singapore have been recognized as Firm of the Year 2020 in their respective countries.

David Linke, incoming Global Head of Tax & Legal for KPMG, and currently its Head in Asia Pacific, said of the win: “That KPMG has been recognised as the Asia Tax Firm of the Year by ITR speaks volumes of the confidence our clients have in us, and of the quality of advice we provide. Our support of and investment in innovative solutions and technology have benefited our clients and equipped our employees with even more opportunities to help organisations to contribute back to society in the form of responsible tax. I’m very proud of our people for their achievements.”

KPMG also scooped two inaugural awards, one for Asia Diversity & Inclusion Firm of the Year, and the other in the individual category for Asia Indirect Tax Practice Leader of the Year, awarded to Lachlan Wolfers, a KPMG partner in China.

Wolfers, who is KPMG’s Global and Asia Pacific Head of Indirect Tax Services, said of the award: “When I began my career, indirect taxes only applied sporadically across the Asia Pacific region, and in some respects was a mere afterthought. However, it is clear that indirect taxes are now becoming an increasingly important component in the strategy and operations of a business. Digitalization, Customs and supply chain planning, and the likely introduction of new environmental taxes and turnover-based taxes will only enhance that trend in years to come.”

• China Tax Firm of the Year
• China Tax Disputes and Litigation Firm of the Year
• Hong Kong SAR Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year
• Hong Kong SAR Tax Disputes and Litigation Firm of the Year
• Pakistan Tax Firm of the Year
• Singapore Tax Firm of the Year
• Thailand Tax Firm of the Year
• Thailand Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year
• Vietnam Tax Firm of the Year

• Asia Tax Firm of the Year
• Asia Tax Compliance and Reporting Firm of Year
• Asia Tax Innovator of the Year
• Asia Global Executive Mobility Tax Firm of the Year
• Asia Diversity & Inclusion Firm of the Year 

• Asia Indirect Tax Practice Leader of the Year – Lachlan Wolfers

The ITR Asia Tax Awards 2020 cover law firms, tax advisors, accountants and other tax service providers and professionals from across the Asia Pacific region. Over several months, ITR’s team of researchers and journalists assessed tax work completed between January and December 2019 to pick the nominees and winners.

ITR Commercial Editor Prin Shasiharan said of KPMG: “The firm has displayed its capability and excellence across the board in winning the largest tax mandates in the Asia Pacific region. By providing integrated tax and legal advice, the firm has shown the strength-in-depth of its team and resources. KPMG’s recognition as Tax Firm of the Year, coupled with the sheer number of top prizes it has taken, highlights a successful 2019 for the firm.”

KPMG is a global network of professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 147 countries and territories and have more than 219,000 people working in member firms around the world. In Asia Pacific, KPMG operates in 20 countries and territories with more than 46,000 people in members firms in the region.

The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.

KPMG in Thailand, with more than 1,900 professionals offering Audit and Assurance, Legal, Tax, Legal and Advisory services, is a member firm of the KPMG network of independent firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity.