Accountancy people moves: December2023

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 January 2024, we unveil the final wave of activity among some of the largest firms in the UK across 2023. The ICAEW named a new vice president, while members of the big four swapped department heads to bolster expertise. Across the rest of the market, end-of-year partner appointments with numerous appointments being made by Azets, Mazars and Westcotts.

Mid-tier

(December 4) Westcotts promoted Matt Melksham to partner. Melksham joined the Westcotts family as a Director earlier this year to head up the Crediton office and support a growing number of clients in Mid Devon. In his new role, he will be in charge of leading Westcott’s digital change team and aid clients transition to digital accounting systems.

(December 4) Mazars appointed Eric Cloutier to the role of partner and head of banking regulations. Cloutier will be responsible for expanding the firm’s offering in this area and driving business growth. He joins the firm from KPMG where he was a partner in the European Central Ban office; he brings over 22 years of experience working in both the public and banking sector.

(December 4) RSM UK appointed David Shambrook to the role of partner in its London office. He will join the firm’s restructuring team within consulting. Shambrook has 18 years experience in restructuring and has led on various advisory, turnaround, rescue and formal restructuring projects. He is the 7th partner to be hired within the team in the last 6 months.

(December 5) Beevers and Struthers appointed Ann Bibby as a tax partner to its Birmingham and Manchester offices. She brings more than 20 years experiences as a chartered tax adviser and qualified accountant. Beever and Struthers has welcomed more than 70 new starters to the firm in the past 12 months.

(December 6) Bindesh Sajvani was appointed chief risk officer and group head of compliance at Evelyn Partners. He is the former global chief risk officer at Pendal Group, the parent company of JO Hambro Capital Management.

(December 6) Azets announced six senior promotions across the Yorkshire region. Becky Maguire and Claire Needham have been appointed office managing partners of Leeds and York, respectively, whilst Nick Barker, Stephen Garbett, Jessica Lawrence and Chris Blackburn, are promoted from director to partner.

(December 7) Veronique Walkey, head of professional services at Westcotts’ Plymouth office, was named a partner. She initially joined Westcotts following the merger with Riley in Plymouth two years ago.

(December 7) Johnson Carmichael expanded its leadership team with seven promotions. Business advisory specialist Raemond Jappy becomes a partner, and there were six director promotions:  Lisa Thomson (Audit), Louise Mair (Audit), Allyson Banford (Audit), Jordan Haldane (Financial Reporting Advisory Services) and Greg Sutherland (Tax), and Glen Small (VAT and Duty).

(December 12) Justin Cooper joins Grant Thornton to head up the firms forensics arm. As a partner, Cooper takes leadership of the firm’s forensics data analytics team. His primary area of focus will be in fraud and compliance analytics including transaction screening, know your customer (KYC) analysis, compliance and investigations. He will also be expanding the firm’s offering around corporate data analytics including working capital reduction, customer analytics, cost reduction and profitability analysis.

(December 18) Mazars has appointed Huseyin Sahin to the role of Risk and Consulting partner. He returns to Mazars after having spent nearly a decade with the firm as a senior manager at the start of his career. He rejoins from Promontory, a business unit of IBM, where he was an associate partner.

(December 19) Azets made two senior appointments in its London restructuring advisory team, with Robert Young and Nicola Banham promoted to partner. The appointments enhance Azets restructuring and insolvency (R&I) capabilities. The team specialises in helping companies experiencing financial distress or facing closure with restructuring and rescue options.

(December 20) BDO further invested in audit quality with two new partner hires. Jo Jones and Chris Cole, with almost 40 years experiences between them, join the team. Jones – joining from PwC – will focus on audit quality, culture and people, while Cole – joining from KPMG – has experience in auditing US-listed businesses.

Big Four

(December 12) KPMG appointed Huw Evans as incoming head of insurance, replacing Trevor Jones from April 2024. Jones is retiring from the firm. Prior to joining KPMG in January 2022 as a partner in its insurance practice, Evans held the position of director general at the Association of British Insurers (ABI). Earlier in his career, Evans served as a special adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair and Home Secretary David Blunkett and spent time in the banking sector.

(December 14) EY appointed two new partners to its UK private credit tax team. Elliot Morely and Gabriel Iliuta will focus on international financial services tax and transaction services. Morely brings more than 22 years experience in the banking and funds industry; he joins from PwC. Iliuta joins EY from Deloitte where he worked across Central Europe, Middle East and North Africa.

Trade bodies

(December 22) The ICAEW named Caroline Smale as vice president for the period 2024-2025/ She has been a member of the ICAEW’s Council since 2017 and is currently the chair of the ICAEW Members and Commercial Board. Smale leads the risk and compliance department at Bishop FLeming which she joined in 1988 as a graduate.