Alvarez & Marsal Tax (A&M Tax), an affiliate of global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), is expanding across the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) with the appointment of James Badenach as a managing director and head of A&M Tax, APAC (ex-Australia). With the latest expansion of talent and capabilities at A&M Tax in Australia, Badenach is set to build a full-scale tax practice, extending A&M’s global tax advisory offerings across the APAC region to deliver an alternative solution free from audit conflicts.
Badenach brings over three decades of international corporate tax experience, including transfer pricing, controversy resolution and Hong Kong profits tax to his role at A&M. He specializes in international and Asia Pacific tax matters related to double tax treaties, the tax implications of regulatory and hybrid capital, cross border financial transactions and operational tax. Badenach helps clients navigate issues stemming from Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS 2.0) as well as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) two-pillar initiative to ensure multinational enterprises pay an equitable share of taxes in their operating jurisdictions. His international expertise spans Australia, the UK and Latin America for global banking and capital markets, financial institutions, along with asset management, insurance, private equity firms and diversified conglomerates.
“James’ appointment reinforces A&M Tax’s commitment to global expansion and keen interest in growth markets,” Ernesto “Ernie” Perez, global practice leader of A&M Tax, said. “We have already seen explosive growth in Australia and James will build upon that momentum with scope and scale in both new and existing jurisdictions across the region. APAC is very broad and culturally diverse. Thus, a significant portion of capital and investments flow cross-border between interconnected nations. We can satisfy market demand offering clients a premium global tax practice operating seamlessly across borders, unencumbered by audit conflicts.”
“Clients in APAC are demanding a global alternative to the audit firms with regional, local and cross-border tax expertise,” Badenach said. “Clients across the region understand the value as well as the costs and pain that can be mitigated by bringing in the right tax expertise at the right time — particularly in a rapidly changing international tax environment.”
Prior to joining A&M, Badenach served as Asia-Pacific international corporate tax advisory leader and financial services international tax leader for EY. There, he advised on Hong Kong and international tax matters, including the tax implications of transactions, optimal cross-border arrangements, access structures, tax policy developments and the impact of OECD-driven changes on the international tax framework. Additionally, he originated the TaxGrid project, an industry and government program to address legal and regulatory issues involving global withholding tax challenges.
Badenach is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) and was the former chair of the Capital Markets Tax Committee of Asia.
