Berris Mangan Chartered Accountants becomes Vancouver member of Russell Bedford International

Online, March 3, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Berris Mangan Chartered Accountants has joined Russell Bedford International as the global accounting network's member firm in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Berris Mangan was founded as a partnership of chartered accountants in 1989 with offices located in North Vancouver, B.C. The firm moved to downtown Vancouver in 1993, and in 2002 it merged with Shikaze Ralston, an established Vancouver practice. Early 2006 saw the purchase of the firm's own building located in Vancouver's trendy Kitsilano neighbourhood. Today, Berris Mangan is widely recognised as a progressive and leading mid-market accounting and consulting firm, its team being made up of seven equity partners, two principals and 44 professional and support personnel.

Patrick Mangan, one of the firm's founders, is the managing partner. He obtained his Chartered Accountant (CA) designation in 1985 and has worked in public practice since then. He has also completed the CICA in-depth tax course. His areas of practice include providing auditing, accounting, taxation and consulting services to both businesses and not-for-profit organisations.

Michael Berris, also a founding partner, graduated in 1981 and received his CA designation in 1984. Michael specialises in providing accounting and consulting services to property and casualty insurance companies and intermediaries.

Kent Elliott obtained his CA designation in 1988 and has worked in public practice ever since. He joined the firm as a partner in 1993 and provides accounting, auditing and tax services to owner managed businesses. His specialist areas include succession planning, asset protection and business restructuring.

John Galbraith has been a CA since 1985. He became a partner in the firm in 2002 on the merger with Shikaze Ralston. John has completed the CICA in-depth tax course. His preferred practice areas are taxation, valuation, corporate reorganisations and shareholder disputes.

Brent Axworthy also became a partner at the time of the merger. He received his CA in 1988 and has more than 20 years of public practice experience. His preferred areas of practice are helping organisations with complex taxation and other challenges, including cross-border taxation matters. Brent also leads the firm's work for Canadian publicly listed entities.

Dino Infanti leads Berris Mangan's tax group. He obtained his CA qualification in 1998 and was admitted as a partner in 2005. He has also completed the CICA in-depth tax course. Dino specialises in income tax mitigation strategies and Canada/U.S. cross border taxation matters, in particular with inbound and outbound structuring, primarily for owner-managed enterprises. Dino's clients are typically service based, professional athletes and entertainers, and real estate developers and construction companies.

Mark Waslen has been a CA since 1990 and also holds a CFA designation. He joined Berris Mangan in 2001 and became a principal of the firm in 2005. He was promoted to partner in 2008. Mark specialises in providing accounting and tax services to medical professionals.

Commenting on the firm's appointment as Russell Bedford's Vancouver member, Patrick Mangan said, "We are very pleased to be accepted into Russell Bedford International, a global network of accounting professionals. We believe this will provide tremendous value to our clients as they expand their operations globally. We also look forward to providing assistance to member firms as their clients expand into Western Canada."

For more information, contact Patrick Mangan on +1 604 682 8492. Alternatively, visit the websites www.berrismangan.com and www.russellbedford.com .

++END++

Note to Editors

Established in 1983, Russell Bedford International is a global network of independent firms of accountants, auditors, tax advisers and business consultants.

Ranked as one of the world's top 15 accounting and audit networks, Russell Bedford is represented by some 460 partners, 5000 staff and 200 offices in more than 70 countries in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

All Russell Bedford affiliates are well-established firms offering international business advice and services to local and multinational clients. Most provide a full range of services comprising accounting, auditing, tax advice, general business guidance and financial consulting. In addition, many have special expertise in particular fields, such as international taxation or information technology.

In January 2008 Russell Bedford International was named one of the first 17 full members of the IFAC Forum of Firms after reporting it had implemented a globally coordinated quality assurance programme, committed to the use of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), and met other specific ethics requirements.