STEP Birmingham
The Birmingham Branch was formed to assist West Midlands professionals maintain the highest standards in serving their clients and also to allow for networking opportunities, in what for many practitioners is a non-adversarial area, so links with others are particularly valuable.The programmes of events are aimed at the broad UK-based and international activities of our members and are designed to be of a high technical and practical content. We also encourage student members to attend meetings and have put on training aimed specifically at the students.
The inaugural meeting took place at the offices of Touche Ross in Newhall Street Birmingham on 31 July 1991. The Society had been launched in London earlier in that month. 14 practitioners, mainly lawyers & accountants, attended the meeting. A committee was formed with Bob Haynes of BDO Binder Hamlyn elected as the first Chairman of the Branch. A programme of monthly talks was arranged with Nick Grazebrook of Shakespeare & Vernon giving the initial talk on “Testamentary Tax Planning” on 25 September 1991.
As well as providing a forum for like-minded private client practitioners to attend talks and network, one of the main tasks of the committee was to peruse member application forms in order to assess the suitability of applicants to become members and to recommend this accordingly to the Society. This “grandfathering” process was required as there was then no examination system in place and wouldn’t be for several years.
The Branch has continued to flourish in the intervening years with a consistently active and enthusiastic Committee and technical Committee. The Branch has also supplied Council and Regional committee members.
We currently have just over 400 branch members which includes just over 100 students although this obviously fluctuates as students attain full TEP qualification. We arrange bi-monthly meetings at one of the Birmingham City Centre firms, on Wednesdays 4.30-6.30pm. Our speakers are leading experts in the many areas of interest to trust and estate professionals. The meetings are free to members and £20 for non-members. We also host the National STEP conferences on a regular basis.
We are a member of PINWM, an association of professional bodies based in the West Midlands which promotes networking between professionals, and our members can access details of all the CPD seminars and events put on by fellow institute members of PINWM.
- Ms Elisabeth Whybrow TEP, Branch Chair
- Mrs Sarah Wood TEP, Branch Vice Chair
- Ms Emma Sommerville TEP, Branch Secretary
- Mrs Shona Cutler TEP BSc Hons FCA, Branch Treasurer
- Ms Alison Chaloner TEP, Branch Student Liaison Officer
- Mr Eamonn Daly TEP CTA ATT, Branch Membership Officer
- Mrs Joanna Grewer TEP LLB(Hons), Branch Programme Officer
- Mrs Louise Igoe TEP LLB LPC, Branch Programme Officer
- Mr Stephen Atkinson TEP, Branch Committee Member
- Ms Laura Banks TEP LLB(Hons), Branch Committee Member
- Mr Gavin Faber Branch Committee Member
- Mr Peter Gosling TEP, Branch Committee Member
- Miss Verity Kirby TEP, Branch Committee Member
- Miss Lorna Payne TEP, Branch Committee Member
- Christina Polychronakis TEP, Branch Committee Member
- Miss Lynda Richards TEP, Branch Committee Member
- Miss Lisa Whitehouse TEP, Branch Committee Member
Members in Birmingham
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