Eagland has been at BDO, which is ranked number six in the UK with annual fee income of £400m in the Accountancy Top 75 Firms Survey, for 29 years and has been a member of the leadership team since 2008. He takes over from Simon Michaels who has been in the role for eight years.

Eagland’s previous roles at the firm have included: head of national tax, head of national audit and head of national professional services.

He aims to continue BDO’s focus on an inclusive culture where people’s background has no relevance to success. He joined BDO aged 22 when he qualified as a chartered accountant, after training with a small firm in London.

Eagland said: ‘Supporting social mobility and ensuring everyone has an equal chance of accessing the profession, based on merit not background, is high on my agenda. I’m proud of my background and some of the personal decisions I have made, including choosing not to go to university, resulted in unexpected boosts to my career.’

With market developments in technology, regulation and the UK’s relationship with the EU, he will focus his leadership on ensuring BDO helps its clients understand and seize the opportunities that come with change.

Eagland said: ‘The pace of regulatory, technological and political change has never been faster.  With our investments in digital, in our culture and in our extensive international network, we’re perfectly placed to help businesses grow and succeed in a changing world.

‘We’re big enough to be able to assemble the best group of subject matter experts, from our national and international networks, to find the right solution for each and every client. And we’re small enough to be agile, creative and innovative in the way we tackle client challenges. No one else in the market can combine our scale with our agility.’