Among the famous names on the King’s Birthday Honours List were chartered accountants, an ATT policy director, bankers, and some of the England Lionesses as well as plenty of HMRC officials
Actor and favourite Dame Helen Mirren and renowned war photographer Sir Don McCullin were made Companions of Honour. Six members of the Lionesses, England’s winning women’s football team, were given MBEs. Michelle Agyemang, at 20 years old was the youngest recipient, most well known for her super sub wonder goal at the women’s Euros last year and a player for Brighton is now an MBE, joined by teammates Jess Carter, Hannah Hampton, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo. Meantime, golfer Luke Donald was given an OBE for services to golf to add to his MBE.
A much deserved OBE went to Emma Rawson, director of public policy at the Association of Taxation Technician’s (ATT), who was nominated for her ‘service and vision’ in supporting HMRC, tax agents and taxpayers during the introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. Rawson said she was ‘ridiculously delighted and very humbled to have been awarded an OBE in the Birthday Honours, something which I could never have envisaged when I started out in my career’.
‘My thanks go to all of those who I have worked with at the ATT and HMRC over the past years for their support,’ added Rawson, who started her career at Deloitte as a corporate tax manager before branching into technical tax consulting and writing.
There was a knighthood for David Gauke, former Treasury minister and chief secretary responsible for HMRC when he was an MP during the 2010s, who was knighted for services to the justice system. Lawyer Gauke is well known to the tax community and is currently chair of the Independent Sentencing Review, as well as head of public policy at Macfarlanes, his old firm, and chair of Negotient LLP. Just a fortnight ago Gauke was the guest speaker at the annual Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) Address tackling the contentious issue of tax simplification, with some amusing recollections about the omnishambles Budget, the troublesome pasty tax and the badly managed high income child benefit charge.
Diana Brightmore-Armour, CEO of private bank C Hoare & Co, is awarded a CBE for services to women and diversity in financial services. The ACCA chartered accountant and member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers is passionate about developing talent. She has taken leading roles in the 30% Club, International Women’s Forum, C200 and the City Women’s Network, and looks to support diversity in its broadest sense. Brightmore-Armour has over 30 years’ international experience in banking, corporate finance, financial management, treasury, and audit, and started her corporate career at Coca-Cola Company.
One of the founding members of the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP), Gordon Cresswell, has been awarded an MBE for services to payroll. He played a leading role in securing crucial chartered status for the CIPP in 2011, and in advancing the profession internationally, helping found the Irish Payroll and the South African Payroll Associations. Cresswell said: ‘I am deeply honoured and humbled to receive this recognition. While the award bears my name, it truly reflects the collective efforts of thousands of payroll professionals… this honour belongs as much to the sector as it does to me.’
Bernard Mensah, president of international for Bank of America, is awarded an OBE for services to finance and the economy with more than 20 years’ global trading and investing experience. The ICAEW chartered accountant joined Bank of America in 2010 from Goldman Sachs, where he was a partner and global head of bank loan and distressed trading. London based Mensah is a member of the Africa advisory board of the King’s Trust International, the Kofi Annan Foundation, a not-for-profit that promotes better global governance and the board of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Javid Canteenwala is awarded an OBE for services to philanthropy and charity, and has several decades of financial services experience. He is trustee and honorary treasurer of The Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe, and a trustee of the Coutts Foundation, which is focused on supporting UK registered charities that support women and girls, and charities that empower young people through the performing arts, with a particular focus on addressing the causes and consequences of poverty.
As usual, there are a host of awards for HMRC officials. At the top of the tree is customer service head Angela MacDonald, responsible for customer service and enforcement at HMRC, who is given a Companion of the Order of the Bath for public service to add to her earlier CBE.
Yorkshire based MacDonald has a big brief at HMRC as deputy chief executive officer and second permanent secretary, making her effectively number two at the tax authority where customer service continues to be major headache. No comment yet on her accolade but she now has two honours after her name.
There’s an OBE for Justin Holliday, chief finance officer and tax assurance commissioner at HMRC, although he has not commented on the award as yet. Holliday has been with HMRC for over a decade, having joined from the Home Office in August 2013 in the role of director of corporate finance. He was appointed CFO in June 2015, and then tax assurance commissioner in 2020, in addition to his financial responsibilities for the tax office, and is a frequent witness at Treasury Committee hearings. Holliday is an Oxford graduate and a CIPFA-qualified accountant.
Plenty of OBEs went to HMRC staff, with the most notable awardees being Andrew Page, deputy director for transfer pricing, who announced his decision to retire recently. Also on the OBE list were Jonathan Sherman, business assets and international, and Geraint Jowers, security consultancy services, both for public service while a standout award went to Jameson Mashakada, head of the VAT deductions policy team, who was given an OBE for services to race equality, diversity and inclusion.
The former chief executive of Revenue Scotland, Elaine Lorimer, gets an OBE for public service, after being instrumental in the setting up of the organisation from the early days. Before heading up the Scottish devolved tax office, the CIPFA accountant and lawyer was chief executive of the Law Commission of England and Wales, then spent nearly a decade at the helm of Revenue Scotland. When she stepped down, Lorimer was described as a ‘role model for public service’ and said herself it had been ‘a privilege to lead this wonderful organisation, full of talent and potential’.
Also recognised with an MBE was Judge Jules, British dance music DJ, record producer and entertainment lawyer, for services to music, entertainment law and young people. In a post on Facebook, Judge Jules said ‘being awarded an MBE by the King is one of the greatest honours of my life… this recognition isn’t just about me. It’s about every person who has been there along the way.’
David Chapman, senior official receiver at the Insolvency Service is awarded an OBE for services to the insolvency sector and to the economy.
Awards also went to David Fishwick, entrepreneur and founder, Burnley Savings and Loans with an OBE for services to finance, to business and to charity, a CBE for entrepreneur and co-chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce, Deborah Jane Wookow, already an OBE, for services to female entrepreneurship and to access to finance for women and Joanne Irving, commercial director, UK Export Finance an OBE for services to government procurement.