Baker Tilly International welcomes leading tourism data and analytics specialists in the Turks and Caicos Islands

#TurksandCaicosIslands – November 5, 2020 — Baker Tilly International has announced that Baker Tilly Turks and Caicos Islands joined the network on 1 November 2020. The Turks and Caicos firm was trading as KPMG Turks and Caicos Islands until exiting the KPMG network on 31 October 2020.

Baker Tilly Turks and Caicos Islands will continue to provide audit, advisory and tax services to a wide variety of public and private sector entities and is a market leader in tourism data and analytics. Led by Gary Brough who has over 30 years’ experience working within the tourism, leisure and travel industry (TLT), the firm has extensive relationships in the sector throughout the Caribbean, the world’s most tourism dependent region. Gary was the lead partner advising the Turks and Caicos Islands Government on its current National Tourism Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan. Data and analytics is emerging as the most underutilised and powerful tool in providing actionable insights to governments and businesses in the travel and tourism space.

Used correctly, data and analytics can identify previously unseen competitive advantages through the enhanced application of data driven decisions. Forecasting the future is no easy task, especially in the TLT sector which has proven particularly vulnerable to the Coronavirus pandemic and where factors such as consumer confidence, the economy and geopolitics heavily impact the direction and ultimate profitability of the sector.

The Turks and Caicos Islands firm has extensive experience of delivering strategic, clear and actionable insights for its clients. Gary Brough, Managing Director in the Turks and Caicos Islands said: “The global leadership of Baker Tilly International engaged with us from the very outset of our discussions which created a great first impression. Neil French, our Head of Audit, and I both found our conversations with the senior executives of Baker Tilly International to be very refreshing. They share our belief and optimism in the future of the Turks and Caicos Islands, which is of critical importance to us, and they have introduced us to resources within their network that led us to conclude they represent our best opportunity to fully realize the potential of some of the initiatives we are working on most notably our tourism data and analytics initiative.”

“We’re proud of the deep data analytics and digital expertise we bring to our clients through our global network,” Ollie East, Advanced Analytics and Data Engineering Director for Baker Tilly US, said.

“We have a variety of experience using multiple technologies and analytical techniques across many industry sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, aerospace, and finance and insurance. The Turks and Caicos Islands team’s specialization in the tourism sector is a strong complement to those offerings.”

Speaking on the development, Ted Verkade, Baker Tilly network CEO, shared Gary’s optimism for the region: “The Turks and Caicos Islands are a vibrant part of the Caribbean region and I am delighted to welcome Gary, Neil and their team to our network. Following the devastating impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, now – more than ever – businesses operating in this sector need to feel confident that they have data and analytics they can trust to be able to understand and manage risks, and to make the right decision now, to rebuild and shape their tomorrows.

What separates the Turks and Caicos Islands team from others is their deep knowledge of travel and tourism, which converts data and analytics to information that matters. I am excited to bring the team’s industry knowledge and leading analytics expertise into our global network as we help clients with scenario planning and predictive modelling as we build a bolder tomorrow.”

Baker Tilly International is a rapidly growing global accountancy and business advisory network represented by independent member firms in 146 countries with combined fee income of US$3.9 billion and more than 36,000 people worldwide.

KPMG TCI Press Release