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The return of Ernst & Young to the British Virgin Islands, combined with OECD approval of the territory's tax information agreements, could mean more job opportunities for expats in finance and law in the Caribbean paradise

Ernst & Young has re-established an office in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and a company spokesman says that they believe the territory will go from strength to strength in the financial sector in the coming year.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) announced at the end of last year that the BVI was a jurisdiction that demonstrated "sufficiently strong adherence" to new global regulatory and supervisory standards on international tax cooperation and information exchange. In addition, the BVI has been recognised by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for tax information exchange agreements at "an established standard".

One of the "Big Four" accoutancy firms in the City, Ernst & Young is seen as a global leader in offshore auditing, alongside PwC, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and KPMG.

The firm has 152,000 employees in 140 jurisdictions globally, with many packages and perks for expats. Dan Scott, managing partner for Ernst & Youngs Bermuda, Bahamas, BVI and Cayman Islands region, was attracted by the BVIs international reputation for financial services, particularly the strength of the financial services legislation, the regulatory regime and the Commercial Court: When I look at the BVI, it ticks all of those boxes very nicely, he said.

International offshore law firm Ogier also has a presence in the BVI. "During the week, working in the BVI is not dissimilar to working anywhere else in the world, in that it principally involves sitting in front of a computer screen and speaking to clients based all around the world," said partner Simon Schilder.

"The only real difference is the daily commute rather than forty minutes or more on a packed tube carriage, it is a 15-minute drive in the comfort of your own car, which you can then park outside the office in the office car park. As for weekends, it may sound like a bit of a clich, but every weekend is a bit like a Caribbean holiday."

Phillip Kite, a BVI-based partner and global head of litigation for Harney Westwood and Riegels, says that the option of working offshore was not explored while he was at school or university it was not until he was qualified and working full-time that he began to consider life overseas.

"I really liked litigation and insolvency and qualified during the early 1990s during the recession, so there was a lot of opportunities for insolvency lawyers," Mr Kite said.

"I was about five or six years qualified when I got the inside track on a job in the BVI. At the time there was little information you could get about working offshore.

See more here:
Expat opportunities growing in British Virgin Islands