Mukesh Butani, Ernst & Young's national tax director in India since June 2002, is leaving the position on August 15 2004 amid talk of turmoil at the firm. A number of partners, including Jairaj Purandare, Ernst & Young India's chairman, and Rajiv Dimri, the head of indirect tax, have resigned from the firm in the last two-and-a-half months. Purandare became chairman on April 1 this year.
"My task for the last two-and-a-half years was achieving integration between EY and Andersen's tax practice", Butani said, in an interview with International Tax Review. "I think I've done a pretty good job and now is the time to move on." He said he is leaving the firm for "reasons that are driving me".
India's Financial Express newspaper has linked Butani's departure to a protest against the treatment of an ex-chief executive of Ernst & Young in India.
The newspaper said in July that Butani and two other, non-tax, colleagues were rumoured to be leaving Ernst & Young to join a firm to be set up by Bobby Parikh, Andersen's former chief executive in India, who joined Ernst & Young India in the same role when Andersen collapsed. Parikh left Ernst & Young at the end of 2003 after a rival was elected as the firm's new chief executive and chairman in a secret meeting.
"When the combination [merger] happened, the joint leadership of Andersen and E&Y mandated me to lead the tax practice," said Butani, in the Financial Express on August 3 2004. "I led that practice successfully and that is evident in the branding that E&Y India tax practice enjoys and from independent surveys. But when things were not working out for me, I decided to leave."
An Ernst & Young press release on August 3 2004 stated that the recent resignations were due to "unresolved differences" which "relate to the implementation of certain commitments made by them in connection with their joining Ernst & Young and their departure from Andersen Worldwide".
Butani, Purandare, a former national head of tax for Arthur Andersen in India, and Dimri were among the 11 Andersen Worldwide partners that joined Ernst & Young in 2002 after the collapse of their previous firm. After the resignations this summer, only one former Andersen Worldwide partner is left.
Gaurav Taneja will succeed Butani as Ernst & Young's national tax director in India.
International Tax Review welcomes your feedback on this or any other story. Please email the author with your comments. Letters may be published online.
