BDO appoints Steven Sorbello and Shaun McKinnon in Brisbane
The Brisbane office of accounting and consulting firm BDO has made two senior appointments. Steven Sorbello has ascended to the role of Office Managing Partner, while Shaun McKinnon has been hired from rival Grant Thornton to bolster the Advisory division.
Company veteran Sorbello has been with BDO for over two decades, and said that is “proud to lead” the Brisbane office and “very much looking forward” to working with the team on expanding the firm’s footprint in the region.
Having joined the mid-tier professional services firm in 1997 as an accountant, he transitioned into Advisory in 2004. Currently, Sorbello is a partner in the Corporate Finance arm, and has experience in domestic and international transactions, from smaller projects of $5 million to larger transactions in excess of $1 billion. He specialises in business cases and information memorandum documents, valuations, financial modelling, due diligence, restructuring, capital raising and independent expert reports.
He succeeds Tony Schiffmann, who has held the position of Office Managing Partner in Brisbane for the past 20 years. Schiffmann has now moved into a new created role at BDO, Chief Executive Partner. Upon completion of the merger of BDO’s four East Coast offices (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Sunshine Coast), the Chief Executive Partner will be responsible for the newly merged entity.
Alongside overseeing the integration process, Schiffmann will work with other BDO firms around the country, with the view to creating a fully integrated firm in Australia. “I am looking forward to working with our leaders to realise the many benefits that will come from operating as an integrated practice,” said Schiffmann.
Meanwhile, the hiring of Shaun McKinnon as a new Advisory partner strengthens BDO’s Corporate Finance and Restructuring team. McKinnon previously worked twenty years for EY and Grant Thornton in Brisbane, latterly in the role of partner.
McKinnon specialises in financial due diligence (buy-side and sell-side), capital raising and debt advisory, expert witness reports, restructuring and turnaround, and liquidation and voluntary administration. His focus is on clients in the food and agribusinesses sectors.
“We are pleased Shaun is joining our Advisory team,” stated Andrew Fielding, a leader in the firm’s Corporate Finance and Restructuring practice.
