08 Jul 2014

MGI UK & Mauritius member Gary Killmister appointed to Panel of Experts for STEP awards

MGI UK & Mauritius member firm CI Accountancy & Imara Trust Company’s own Gary Killmister has been chosen to be one of the panel of experts to assist the judges for this year’s international STEP Private Client Awards.

STEP - the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners - is an international professional body based in the UK and the prestigious awards highlight excellence among private client solicitors/attorneys, accountants, barristers, bankers, trust managers and financial advisors.

Gary, one of the very first members of the organisation, will be casting his expert eye over the shortlisted nominees for the Philanthropy Team Award. The awards are open for both STEP members and non-members from around the globe and are a real chance to showcase excellence in a field.

For Gary, being a recognised expert in Trusts is a major plus point, and his involvement in the STEP Private Client Awards reinforces this. 

But it’s also proving fruitful for a number of other MGI firms. 

He is currently working with three firms from the MGI family on a range of Trust issues, sharing his knowledge on everything from disputes among beneficiaries to revenue cases. The fact is that there are not many accountants with these sorts of skills, which means many will farm out work to lawyers - and miss out on lucrative fees in the process.

Collaboration within the MGI group is a win-win, as Gary explains: “Where it can be a benefit for other MGI firms, is that if they have clients who are involved with trusts and they give that away to a law firm, they’re losing fee income. Whereas in a lot of instances I can white label and share fees.

“They can be certain they’re retaining their full influence over the client in relation to that particular case and they don’t risk losing it to a law firm.”

In the case of the current collaborations, Gary says the firms are generating “lucrative fees” out of situations they would normally have had to “give away”. The Mauritius based firm Imara Trust Company also acts as corporate trustee for a number of trusts for other MGI member firms.

To speak to Gary or anyone else at CI Accountancy check out the firm’s website. Or head to the MGI member profile pages: CI AccountancyImara Beresford International Limited