Senior Tax Counsel,

The Tax Institute

Bob is Senior Tax Counsel at The Tax Institute. Bob was until very recently the Deputy President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), and for over 20 years was a Professor in Taxation Law with the University of New South Wales. Bob specialises in taxation matters, with a special emphasis on international tax. His time with the AAT required extensive involvement in corporate law, social security and immigration matters. He also has experience as a solicitor with a major national law firm, as an independent barrister and as a director with a major accounting firm. He has written widely in his fields of specialisation as well as in the area of financial statements, and is an ongoing contributor to the highly successful Thomson Reuters Australian Tax Handbook.

Head of Global Indirect Tax Services

KPMG International

Lachlan leads several projects on the VAT reforms, and related business tax issues, for a large number of multinational clients. He is a member of KPMG’s global leadership team for indirect taxes, and is the Asia Pacific regional leader for indirect taxes for KPMG. In 2017, Lachlan also took on the role of Head of Tax Technology, with a focus on assisting clients in establishing the ‘Tax Function of the Future’. From 2011 to 2015, Lachlan was a seconded partner to KPMG China, from KPMG Australia, before becoming a local partner in the HK/China firm. Prior to joining KPMG China, Lachlan was the leader of KPMG Australia’s Indirect Tax practice and the Leader of KPMG Australia’s Tax Controversy practice. Lachlan has led KPMG’s efforts in relation to the VAT reform pilot program in China and has been asked to provide advice to the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation and other government agencies in relation to aspects of the VAT reforms. In 2018, Lachlan also advised a number of government agencies in the Asia Pacific region on the application of VAT/GST to the digital economy. Lachlan has led regional projects, especially in the digital economy sector, where he applies his skills and experiences in advising on VAT/GST issues in multiple jurisdictions in the Asia Pacific region.

Partner: Tax Transformation & Technology

KPMG Australia

Emily is a Partner in Tax Transformation with over 20 years experience managing and leading change, including development of and executing against growth strategies across a broad range of industries. Her experience includes designing and implementing operating models to drive operational efficiency and effectiveness, leveraging industry best practice and ensuring alignment to regulator expectations in relation to appropriate governance and controls.

Together with a team of solution architects, data scientists, technology and tax specialists, Emily develops tailored Tax function target operating models and transformation roadmaps for clients including outsourced and co-sourced resource models, data and technology roadmaps and governance and control frameworks. These roadmaps are developed utilising Lean Six Sigma workshops to ensure they are tailored to meet the needs and objectives of the client and are adaptable as an organisation develops on its transformation journey.

Vice President Corporates

Thomson Reuters

David Fox is the Vice President and Managing Director, Corporates business at Thomson Reuters – a global leader in enterprise compliance technology spanning Risk, Tax, Legal and Global trade. In his current role, Fox provides leadership and strategic direction for Asia and emerging Markets- one of the fastest-growing regions for the business. He is spearheading local innovation and partnerships to help corporations achieve compliant growth and business continuity in an environment of constant regulatory disruption.

In addition, Fox held various leadership positions at Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, BT Financial Group, Bankers Trust and the Reserve Bank of Australia. Fox has undertaken post graduate studies with Adelaide University and Harvard and holds an Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business Management.