BDO partner Tim Sandow named incoming president of The Tax Institute
The Tax Institute has elected Adelaide-based BDO partner Tim Sandow as its new president for 2025. He has been a member of the professional industry body’ s national council since 2018.
A three-decade industry veteran, Sandow steps up after serving for the past year as vice president, during what has obviously been a difficult period for the local professionals following PwC’s government tax breach scandal.
He takes over from William Buck’s Todd Want, with former Pitcher Partners partner Scott Treatt appointed as CEO toward the end of last year. The institute is yet to announce who will step into Sandow’s vacated vice president seat.
‘I’m excited to kick off my term in 2025 and further represent our members,” Sandow said. “From education programs to CPD events, resources and professional recognition, when tax practitioners think tax, they think of The Tax Institute. Our role as the voice of tax is not about how smart we are. It’s about how effectively we can represent our members’ concerns, ideas and opinions.”
Sandow brings more than 30 years worth of industry experience to his new role, during which time he has served a variety of private and public companies across industries on tax-related matters, especially in the areas of mergers & acquisitions, international tax, governance, consolidations, and in liaising with the ATO, for which he is said to have built a strong relationship with.
Sandow presently leads BDO’s tax offering for South Australia, having been recruited to the role in 2020 after a twelve-month stint as a specialist advisor with PwC. Prior to that, he spent a decade and a half with KPMG in Adelaide, including time as a partner and national energy & natural resources national leader, previous to which he also spent the best part of a decade at PwC.
Speaking on his new role, Sandow said; ‘One of the key things we do which I’m passionate about is advocating for the profession. It has been made clear over the last four years that real advocacy requires and results in real action. From the Covid-19 JobKeeper measures to the more recent TASA changes, the activity of our advocates has made a genuine impact on the shape of our system.”
The Tax Institute
The Tax Institute has around 10,000 members, with the majority of those working at boutique, mid-tier and Big Four accountancies. In addition to advocacy and resources for practitioners, the organisation also provides structured training and other professional development opportunities, including a packed schedule of more than two dozen events across its 2025 calendar.
The professional body is yet to announce who will fill Sandow’s vacated vice president seat, typically an indication of its next president. Among current national council members are veteran Grant Thornton partner Paul Banister and management consultant Clare Mazzetti as independent chair, while former president Marg Marshall has now finished up with the council.
