Longe was managing partner at Baker Tilly and oversaw the acquisition of RSM Tenon, when the listed firm was rescued from administration.

After qualifying as a chartered accountant with a now Big Four firm, Laurence joined Baker Tilly, now RSM, in October 1987. Since July 1996 Laurence has been a senior member of the management team of RSM, overseeing growth and was managing partner on the management board.

Ranked at number seven in the Accountancy Top 75 Firms league table, RSM reported fee income of £319m [2016: £292m] for the year ending 31 March 2017, up 9.2%, and pre-tax profit of £49m, up 16.7% year on year. The firm has 135 partners and 3,337 staff.

Gwilliam said: ‘I am absolutely delighted to be appointed as CEO. I am very much looking forward to leading the firm in our continued commitment to deliver high quality business services and solutions as the first-choice adviser to middle market leaders, globally.’

Longe will become chairman of RSM UK on 1 April.

Commenting on the appointment, Longe said: ‘I am extremely pleased that David will be the firm’s next CEO. The firm’s entire leadership team has worked closely with David over many years, most recently in his role as chief operating officer since 2014. He is a man of integrity and vision, dedicated to the interests of our people and our clients.’