Utility Tax Accounting

Andrew Miller (Andy) retired from Ernst & Young LLP (EY) as a partner in the Firm’s National Tax Department June 30, 2016.  When he retired Andy was EY’s America’s Area Industry Tax Services leader with a specific focus on the Energy sectors (Oil & Gas, Power & Utilities and Mining & Metals). Andy worked for Ernst & Young over 30 years serving a wide range of corporate clients.  He focused on corporate tax services acting as a tax engagement partner for several large multinational energy and natural resource companies.  He has extensive experience serving as a tax specialist in the natural resource industries on due diligence teams for Ernst & Young’s merger and acquisition practice. As a result of Andy’s extensive mining and natural resources experience, he was appointed the Americas Area Leader of Mining & Metals Industry services. In that role, he coordinated all service lines (audit, tax and transactions) supporting the mining, metals and natural resource clients. In light of his extensive natural resource experience in tax, Andy was also Ernst & Young’s Global Mining & Metals Industry Tax leader.

During his career at Ernst & Young Andy was also the firm’s Global Co-Leader and America’s Area Leader for Power & Utility Industry Tax Services.  In that role, he provided services to electric, natural gas and water utilities including expert witness testimony in rate cases for rate regulated gas and electric utilities. Andy was a featured speaker at the Ernst & Young's annual conference on mining taxation as well as at its annual financial reporting conference for the mining industry. He also spoke at a wide range of other industry events at such as the Edison Electric Institute bi-annual tax committee meetings and the Energy Tax Council bi-annual meetings. 

Andy has also served as an instructor for Ernst & Young’s National Tax education program teaching such topics as Subchapter C, consolidated returns, and mergers and acquisitions. For many years Andy assisted Peter Maxfield in updating his treatise, Taxation of Mining Operations by preparing and editing revisions to the book and is a co-author of the treatise. He is currently the primary author of that treatise after Peter Maxfield’s retirement in 2017.  Andy is currently serving as adjunct professor of accounting at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Andy is a 1978 graduate of the University of Missouri – Columbia receiving a BSBA in Accounting. He is a licensed certified public accountant (CPA) licensed in the state of Missouri, and he is a member of the Missouri Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs.

Sean Nelson is the Founding Partner of Emc2 Partners, a utility consulting firm. Prior to the launch of Emc2 Partners, Sean led the Tax Practice of Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP (DHG) as a partner at the firm’s headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sean also served as the industry lead and subject matter expert for the firm’s Energy Practice and was responsible for the coordination and supervision of all energy related engagements. Sean also served as a tax account leader at Ernst & Young Global Limited (EY) and spent four years in their National Tax Practice for Energy. In his roles, Sean served the entire tax cycle including planning, accounting, compliance, and controversy and led many of the largest US Power & Utility capitalization repair engagements and assisted in the development of new automation processes for these engagements. Sean has 18+ years of experience in public accounting, providing tax compliance, planning and consulting services to a variety of corporations, including complex public companies, partnerships and S-corporations. Sean is a recognized leader in the energy industry with experience in federal, international, state and local tax. A seasoned tax professional, he has significant experience in highly technical federal income tax issues, including federal and state research and development tax credits, fixed asset capitalization studies, domestic manufacturing deductions, and accounting method changes as well as the tangible property regulations.