People moves: Mazars, BDO contribute to mid-market activity surge

Each month, Accountancy Age delivers a comprehensive update on the key people moves and promotions that have taken place among the UK accountancy market’s top-100 firms.

In July, we unpack the wave of activity in the industry’s mid-market, as Evelyn Partners, Mazars, and UHY Hacker Young all unveil major updates. Moves were also recorded for Big Four firm PwC as well as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Mid-market  

(June 1) PM+M has appointed Judith Dugdale as a partner, joining the accounts and advisory team. She joins the firm from her corporate services director role at MHA Moore & Smalley, where she worked for over 22 years.

(June 1) Goodman Jones has announced the promotion of Charlotte Tong and Giuseppe Scozzaro to partner. Tong has been with the firm since 2007 where she joined as a trainee while Scozzaro began his journey at the firm in 2014 as an audit senior.

(June 1) Simmons Gainsford has recruited Rhys Pippard as a VAT partner. He has over 15 years of experience in the industry and spent two years at HMRC as a VAT assurance officer in 2003. Most recently, he was head of indirect tax at Hazlewoods.

(June 2) Mazars has appointed Kamilla Racinska to the role of asset management audit partner. Racinska joins the firm after spending 10 years at KPMG where her most recent position was as a director in asset management.

(June 5) Moore Kingston Smith has appointed Jonathan Roberts as a partner in its general practice team. Roberts Joins from BDO where he was a director in its business assurance department, joining the firm in 2005.

(June 6) Dave Allum has been promoted to the position of Partner at UHY Hacker Young after dedicating over 20 years of service to the company. Allum has honed his expertise in providing comprehensive support to owner-managed businesses, navigating their intricate requirements, including the intricacies involved in working with charitable organisations.

(June 7) Sedulo has hired Rocco Volpe from Secure Technologies as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Volpe was previously the CTO of Kings Secure Technologies, where he spent almost nine years before his move to Sedulo.

(June 8) Michael McCormick will start working as a managing consultant at RSM’s London office after serving as a senior associate in the retail banking and payments supervision division of the Financial Conduct Authority. McCormick will have the responsibility of guiding a diverse clientele in the financial services sector regarding the necessary measures to achieve adherence to the recently implemented regulations.

(June 9) Azets has appointed 33 permanent audit seniors from across Africa under a new international recruitment scheme, in partnership with GAP Talent, with plans to hire 66 additional auditors this coming autumn.

(June 9) Begbies Traynor has revealed the promotion of Chris Lawton to partner at its office in Preston. Lawton joined the firm in 2016 and holds a license as an insolvency practitioner, which was obtained in 2019.

(June 9) Evelyn Partners has announced the appointment of Paul Geddes as its new Chief Executive Officer. He joins Evelyn Partners from QA Group, a leading provider of higher education and workforce learning programmes and services where he has been CEO since 2019.

(June 13) After 15 years as a partner at PwC in New Zealand and Europe, Mark Bramley has recently joined Azets as an audit and assurance partner. Bramley has a wealth of experience and has worked with clients in Europe, the US, Asia, and across Australasia.

(June 13) UHY Hacker Young has appointed Daniel Cooksley as director in its turnaround and recovery team in London. Cooksley has 30 years of experience in assisting and advising financial institutions and SMEs, most recently as a client director in Sydney.

(June 13) Bishop Fleming has recruited Jenifer Morris as an audit manager for its Bristol office. Morris brings a wealth of experience to the role having spent seven years at the Wales audit office as a senior auditor.

(June 19) Albert Goodman has announced the promotion of Mike House to partner who first joined the firm in 2005. House primarily advises owner-managed businesses and has a mixed portfolio of clients across various business sectors and regions.

(June 19) Evelyn Partners has appointed Craig Dowsett as a director in financial planning for the firm’s London office. He joins after working for over seven years as an Independent Financial Adviser at Vintage Wealth Management Limited. Before that, he had a successful career as a professional rugby player at Rotherham Titans RUFC.

(June 20) Mazars has revealed the hiring of Connie Crawford as an IT audit partner. Crawford has over 20 year’s experience in the industry, having previously worked at KPMG and most recently for TSB.

(June 21) Cowgills has expanded its tax team with three new recruits. Paul Cresswell has been appointed as a Corporate Tax Manager, joining from Azets. Antony Seddon, who previously worked as a Trust Assistant Tax Manager at Blick Rothenberg, has also joined the team. Additionally, Graham Bevan has taken on the role of Tax Manager, transitioning from his previous position at investment company Rathbones.

(June 21) Armstrong Watson has announced the promotion of Martin Johnston to audit and assurance partner. Johnston joined the firms Glasgow team in 2020 as a director and previously has worked as a senior manager at KPMG.

(June 28) Kreston Reeves has revealed the promotion of five partners. Tracey Becker, audit and assurance; James Hopkirk, restructuring; Sam Jones, corporate tax; James Reed-Sperrin, corporate finance; and Jo White, Tax, will all enjoy their well-earned promotion.

(June 29) BDO has announced Angela Cross as the new regional managing partner for the North West. Cross succeeds Ed Dewan who will continue in his role as a tax partner before his retirement in early 2024.

Big Four

(June 5) PwC has expanded its Deals practice by welcoming Charlotte Nutter as the deals learning and development specialist consultant. Nutter brings over 21 years of experience, having served as a chief inspector in the people department of the Police Force, working in Thames Valley, Greater Manchester, and most recently, Cumbria.

(June 21) PwC has hired Elisabeth Hunt as its energy and resources sector leader. She brings over twenty years of experience in the sector to her new role, with the last seven years dedicated to serving as the firm’s energy & infrastructure deals tax leader.

(June 21) PwC has announced the appointment of Simon Kirby to continue the growth of its capital projects and infrastructure business. Kirby has over 30 years of experience in the sector and joins the firm from the infrastructure advisory consultancy The Nicols Group, where he was the managing partner.

(June 29) PwC has appointed Trusha Kachhela as the UK firm’s new head of legal business solutions from July 1, 2023. Kachhela, who has been with PwC for nearly three decades, is currently a corporate tax partner and has held the role of Central Region tax leader since 2018.

Trade bodies and regulators   

(June 21) Graham Rigby has been appointed as the Chair of ICAEW Manchester, which represents members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in the region. Rigby has over 30 years of experience in the industry and currently works for Azets.

If your firm has made any acquisitions or appointments that you think should feature in one of our updates, email [email protected].