We here at GC HQ love a good poaching, especially when it involves two of the top six firms in the U.S. So we were happy to see this press release from KPMG come across our virtual desk this morning:
Mark Rems has joined KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, as a principal in its State and Local Tax (SALT) practice.
Based in Philadelphia, Rems will play an integral role in serving clients in the firm’s Indirect Tax practice, with a focus on Transaction Tax Systems.
Prior to joining KPMG, Rems was a principal and practice leader for the Indirect Tax Automation practice at Grant Thornton LLP, specializing in implementing third-party and custom tax-related technology solutions to help clients manage the indirect tax lifecycle.
According to Rems’ LinkedIn profile, he joined GT in 2011.
The press release goes on to say that Rems has more than 18 years of experience in the tax technology space, with expertise in ERP systems, third-party tax engines, application architecture, and custom software development across a variety of industries.
So you might be wondering why I put “Parts I and II” in the article title. Well, it just so happens that this is the second Grant Thornton executive who has traded in his purple rose for a goofy KPMG golf hat since the start of 2019.
Jonathan Walls joined KPMG in early January as a Business Tax Services partner based in Pittsburgh.
In this role, Walls serves as the business tax lead partner on certain key and strategic clients, according to KPMG.
A press release stated:
Walls brings to KPMG more than 25 years of private industry and public accounting, tax and leadership experience. He joins from Grant Thornton, LLP, where he most recently served as the office managing partner of the Baltimore office. Previously, he was the chief financial officer at a management consulting firm.
And, believe it or not, Walls actually wanted to come back to work at KPMG for a second time:
Earlier in his career, Walls spent 13 years in KPMG’s Baltimore office, most recently as a Tax partner, working with clients in the manufacturing, healthcare and professional services industries.
Walls is either a glutton for punishment or has a high pain tolerance.
