Sydney, Australia: Chartered accountancy and business advisory firm, PKF, has appointed two new Principals to its East Coast Practice: Phil Toole as Audit & Assurance Principal in the firm’s Canberra office and David Penpraze as a Tax Principal in Sydney.

Mr Toole’s appointment reflects a new focus from PKF to increase its presence in the market for Federal Government contracts by providing consulting, internal audit and risk management services. With over 14 years’ experience at KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers, Phil is a specialist in risk consulting, internal audit and project management, having directed a number of high-level assurance engagements for the Federal Government.

Mr Penpraze joins PKF from Deloitte and has expertise in indirect tax consulting and compliance work particularly specialising in GST, stamp duty, land tax, payroll tax and fringe benefits tax.

Commenting on the appointments, Michael Grant, CEO of PKF’s East Coast Practice, said: “We’re thrilled to appoint both Phil and David.  The firm is rapidly expanding its capacity to deliver Federal Government projects, and Phil’s appointment in Canberra will benefit the firm significantly.

“David’s appointment expands our East Coast Practice tax team to 13 Tax Partners and four Tax Directors/Principals.   Our tax team is recognised as one of the strongest in Australia and is continuing to attract clients from high-profile sectors such as investment banks and the mining industry,” he said.

On joining PKF, Mr Toole commented: “There is an exciting opportunity for business growth in the public sector for PKF’s audit and assurance business. Federal Government agencies will no doubt embrace PKF into the market as an attractive alternative to the existing service providers.”

David Penpraze commented: “PKF’s tax consulting team has an enviable reputation and a high-profile client portfolio.  This is an excellent opportunity to further enhance the firm’s indirect tax service line as there is already a very strong foundation on which to build.”