The final wave of Accountancy Age’s 35 Under 35 ranking for 2026 is here! Celebrating eight dynamic professionals redefining UK accounting. From becoming sole female Responsible Individuals driving 17% of audit portfolio fees to building 15-person national transaction teams and launching firmwide apprenticeship schemes, these leaders combine deep technical rigor with modern commercial vision.
The final group of rising stars in our 2026 35 Under 35 cohort exemplifies how the UK accounting profession is actively redefining itself. From non-linear “squiggly” career paths to embedded AI practices and grassroots talent development, these eight leaders demonstrate that commercial growth and high professional standards go hand in hand.
Regional Managing Partner (North & Midlands), Streets
Non-Linear Career & Public Leadership: Sam entered accountancy via a school-leaver apprenticeship, balancing his professional training with eight years as an elected local councillor in Northamptonshire from age 21. This background in public communication, stakeholder management, and decision-making under pressure has proven pivotal to his change-management approach within practice leadership.
Rapid Firm Expansion: Joining Streets in July 2024 as Banbury Office Director, Sam was appointed Regional Managing Partner for the North and Midlands at age 30, driving integration and operational consistency across newly acquired practices.
Tech Transformation & Partnerships: Designed and spearheaded Streets’ strategic commercial partnership with Xero, using the platform as a core driver for cloud migration and client workflow modernization across thousands of accounts.
Director, Gerald Edelman
Commercial & Portfolio Growth: As an Audit Director and the firm’s sole female Responsible Individual (RI), Saskia delivers 17% of Gerald Edelman’s total audit portfolio fees and achieved a 23% year-on-year expansion in her international client base through strategic business development.
Talent Development & Apprenticeships: Mentors 30 ACA trainees, oversees a training framework for over 100 qualified professionals, and founded Gerald Edelman’s inaugural audit apprenticeship recruitment program.
DEI Leadership: Spearheaded the firm’s rebranded female networking initiative, Women Who Lead, connecting internal talent and external business leaders across London and the wider commercial community.
Partner, Saffery
Accelerated Partnership Track: Joined Saffery as a graduate trainee 13 years ago and achieved partnership at age 30. Just nine and a half years after beginning his ACA studies.
Team & Network Scale: Expanded Saffery’s Transaction Services footprint from a 3-person London outfit into a 15-person national team, while serving as Staff Partner for over 100 corporate finance professionals and Chairing Nexia’s International Valuations and Transaction Services groups.
Practical AI Integration: As Chair of Saffery’s Innovation Group, Seb collaborates directly with IT leadership to develop and embed agentic AI workflow solutions across transaction due diligence and valuation services.
Partner, Xeinadin
Technical Governance & Quality Control: Progressed from graduate trainee to one of Xeinadin’s youngest Audit Partners, serving as an ICAEW Responsible Individual, ATOL Reporting Accountant, and key member of the group’s ISQM 1 Root Cause Analysis Group.
Regional Integration: Currently leading the consolidation of audit operations across Chester, Liverpool, Birkenhead, and Wrexham into a unified regional Audit Centre of Excellence to standardize quality monitoring and resource allocation.
Industry Representation: Active role model for working mothers in senior practice management, regularly representing female leadership on Xeinadin’s national panels and international conferences.
Head of Accountancy & Professional Standards, Mazuma
Subscription Model & Operational QA: As Mazuma’s longest-serving team member (17 years), Stephanie helped establish the firm’s subscription-based cloud delivery model and designed its firm-wide digital Quality Assurance platform to standardize compliance across growing client volumes.
Structured Coaching & Mentoring: Overhauling traditional, shortcut-driven tax training, she developed a hands-on coaching framework across AAT, ACCA, and ACA tracks that bridges technical knowledge gaps and accelerates junior career progression.
Industry Standing: Recognized as Highly Commended Accountant of the Year at the Finance Awards Wales for her long-term contribution to widening access and developing female finance leadership.
Bursar, Berkhampstead School & Day Nurseries
Direct Transition to C-Suite Operations: ACA-qualified at age 28, Tom moved directly from practice audit into senior operational leadership as Bursar, overseeing financial strategy and management for a 480-pupil education group.
Commercial Growth & In-Housing: Delivered a 20% group revenue increase by leading the acquisition and financial integration of an additional day nursery, while saving overhead costs by bringing catering and cleaning operations in-house across a more than 35-person operational team.
Sector Navigation & Community Impact: Guided the organization through complex fiscal shifts, including the introduction of VAT on private school fees and co-founded the Cheltenham Wheelchair Rugby Club (granted charitable status in 2025), supporting players through to the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Partner, Glazers
Targeted Growth & Client Retention: One of the youngest partners in Glazers’ history, Ben grew firm fee income and client volume by over 15% through a selective “quality over quantity” acquisition strategy that emphasizes high retention over short-term churn.
Automated Compliance Workflows: Introduced AI tools directly into tax and compliance workflows to eliminate repetitive manual administration, protecting operating margins while increasing capacity for advisory services.
Thought Leadership & Niche Practice: Shortlisted for the ACE Awards 2026 for Service Charge Accountancy Firm of the Year, while reaching over 200,000 readers through regular digital commentary on tax demystification and SME growth.
Director, HaysMac LLP
Dual Leadership Focus: Manages a £1m audit client portfolio while sitting on the Audit Executive Team and acting as firmwide Head of Learning & Development, overseeing the development pipeline for 65 annual trainees across five audit teams.
Structured L&D Infrastructure: Designed and rolled out over 50 formal training modules firmwide, shifting the L&D function into a central driver of audit quality, staff retention, and professional progression.
Responsible AI Adoption: Serves on HaysMac’s AI Committee, designing frameworks to embed automated technology safely into audit testing while preserving professional skepticism and core audit standards.
What stands out across this final group is that top-line growth is no longer driven by sheer headcount expansion, but by a fundamental restructuring of how firms handle client relationships and internal capacity.
With these eight leaders averaging 12 years in the profession, their achievements highlight a practical pivot toward operational precision: Ben Allen’s 15% revenue gain at Glazers was achieved by deliberately tightening client selection criteria rather than taking on mass volume, while Saskia Harrison expanded her international audit portfolio at Gerald Edelman by 23% alongside launching dedicated apprenticeship schemes.
From Tom Denmead navigating independent schools through new VAT burdens to Will Winstone and Seb Cartwright embedding AI safety frameworks directly into audit and transaction workflows, Wave 4 proves that the UK’s most resilient firms are built by leaders who actively replace legacy admin friction with modern, high-value advisory.
