Company: EY, New York, NY, USA
Entry Submitted By:River Communications
Company Description:EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. EY provides audit, tax, business risk, technology and security risk services, and human capital services worldwide. The company, one of the Big Four accounting firms, dates back to the early twentieth century.
Nomination Category:Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category:Woman of the Year - Business Services

Nomination Title: Kate Barton, Vice Chair – Tax Services for the Americas Tax practice

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated woman since the beginning of July last year (up to 525 words):

Kate Barton oversees 13,000 people and $4 billion dollars in business as Americas Vice Chair for Tax Services with Ernst & Young LLP (EY). Under Kate’s leadership this past year, EY Tax has seen nearly 12% Global Total Engagement Revenue (GTER) growth in Tax in the Americas, driven collectively by the strong performance of six sub-service lines, National Tax and the regions. EY’s Mexico and Central America region was one of the top three tax practices globally with 22.5% growth. Throughout the Americas, her teams were able to achieve this growth while closing acquisitions, hiring top talent and developing technology enabled services. All of which impacts the larger firm results –the tax practice’s contribution has been tremendous, helping EY achieve double-digit growth for the last five years, which makes it unique in the professional services space.

Under Kate, this has been a time of innovation at EY. Several new initiatives have taken shape, including EY’s Affordable Care Act Compliance & Analytics Support System (ACA COMPASS?). This technology platform assists employers with a true technical analysis and application of the ACA (Affordable Care Act) regulations as well as future IRS reporting. As employers move through the decision making process of how to implement, critical decisions along the way can have far reaching and expensive consequences if the law is not accurately applied. Kate’s team at EY was recently recognized and presented with the Gold Level Stevie® Award for the 2015 Stevie® Awards Innovation of the Year – Business Service Industries category for the Affordable Care Act Compliance & Analytics Support System at the 13th Annual American Business Awards. This technology platform is also a finalist in the category for Technical Innovation of the Year.

This past year Kate was honored at the New York City & State Reports Corporate Social Responsibility awards ceremony for Lifetime Achievement in Corporate Volunteerism, Philanthropy & Organizational Development. She also was selected as one of New York Business Journal's Women of Influence. The program honors women business leaders in the New York City area who innovate, succeed and "pay it forward" and who stand out both for their achievements in the marketplace as well as their commitment to community and mentoring. Kate serves on the board of the All Stars Project.

Kate is a big believer in paying it forward. Her mission is to continue a legacy of the EY apprenticeship model to develop the next generation of professionals and leaders. Whether a person stays with EY 3 years or 30, she creates policies and an infrastructure to make sure EY provides an exceptional experience that lasts a lifetime. Kate’s promotion of mentoring is summarized in her directive to everyone in the EY Tax practice: “You should always be reaching up the career ladder. But your other hand should be reaching back to lift others up.” She describes it as helping young people to take responsibility for their own career and advancement, providing guidance, advice and support. Separately, Kate also believes in sponsorship – pushing executives to advocate for young talent, using their political capital to make things happen.

Kate is an outspoken advocate of women’s equality and leadership in tax.

Provide a brief biography of the nominated woman (up to 125 words):

Kate Barton is the Americas Vice Chair – Tax Services for the Americas Tax practice at EY and is a member of the Americas Executive Board, Global Management Group, Global Tax Executive Committee, and a partner. She served as the Northeast Sub-Area Tax Managing Partner and as the NY Office Managing Partner. Kate joined EY in 1985 as an intern. She received a B.S. from Boston University, a J.D. Magna Cum Laude from Boston College Law School, a LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University School of Law. Kate is a CPA licensed in the states of New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. She’s a member of the Massachusetts Society of CPA’s, the American Institute of CPA’s, the American Bar Association, and the Massachusetts Bar Association.