UHY Hacker Young has promoted Michelle Hughes to partner in its Kent offices. She has more than 10 years of audit experience and is a key member of the audit and accounts team, with significant experience in sizeable and complex groups, including with overseas subsidiaries of corporate groups. She is also known for her work with charities and other non-profit entities including academy schools. Hughes originally joined the firm in 2017, completing her chartered accountancy training and was promoted to audit manager in 2021. Pictured: Michelle Hughes

Bishop Fleming has appointed three partners in its Birmingham office as Mark Taylor joins the partnership, while external hires include James Taylor as audit partner and Tim Thackaberry as valuations partner. This brings total partners to eight at the Colmore Row office. Mark Taylor, who originally joined the firm on a consultant last year and Birmingham office lead, is a former regional managing partner at RSM and has been instrumental in establishing and growing the office from scratch. James Taylor will work closely with Bishop Fleming’s regional hubs, focusing on growing the NFP audit offer. He brings over 15 years of experience in auditing charity, social housing and education organisations. Previously he was an audit director at BDO. Thackaberry joins the advisory team in a newly created role, providing non-contentious valuation services to audit and tax clients. He brings over two decades of experience in forensic accounting and valuations, most recently as a director, valuations at Azets. 

360 Chartered Accountants has appointed Sophie Holmes as managing director, taking over from founder Andy Steele, who will now take become chair of the board. A long-term member of the board of the Hull based accountancy firm. Holmes started her career at 360 as an apprentice, then qualified as a chartered accountant in 2017. She joined the board of directors in 2021 after a string of promotions and became a shareholder in 2023. Holmes is also chair of the Humber Network Board of ICAEW.

Crowe has promoted Ben Carter and Charlie Copp to partner in the professional practices and corporate finance teams respectively. Carter has more than 14 years’ experience, and specialises in professional practices and individual partners’ taxation, advising on matters including salaried members legislation, LLPs, tax reserves, and the tax implications of international expansion and growth. He also advises individuals who are members of multi‑jurisdictional firms, with particular expertise supporting partners in US law firms. Copp has more than 14 years of experience in M&A advisory services, advising entrepreneurs, shareholders and management teams with a focus on the SME market. He is also the firm’s life sciences and healthcare industry lead.

MHA has promoted Laura Farrow to partner in its Cardiff office, strengthening the firm’s leadership team as it continues its growth across Wales. Chartered accountant Farrow brings nearly 25 years of audit experience, including 18 years with former MHA member firm Broomfield & Alexander. She specialises in advising SMEs across southern Wales in a range of sectors with significant experience advising UK subsidiaries of international groups.

S&W has appointed senior maritime valuation specialist Ben Hanslip as a partner in the forensic services practice. Hanslip brings extensive experience in maritime valuation and expert witness services, having acted in both the High Court and London Maritime Arbitration Association proceedings. His broader experience spans investigations and disputes, transaction and fairness opinions, purchase price allocations, and alternative asset advisory across sectors, including oil and gas, petrochemicals and renewables. Hanslip joins from Kroll, where he was a director, alternative asset advisory, and led the firm’s maritime valuation work.

Quantuma has appointed restructuring specialist Alex Jarvis as a managing director in its restructuring and insolvency team. Jarvis is a qualified chartered accountant and insolvency practitioner who specialises in restructuring and insolvency matters and has an extensive background in all aspects of restructuring and formal insolvency work. He will be based in the Southampton office supporting businesses across the South Coast and beyond. He brings significant experience in large, complex restructuring and formal insolvency matters, as well as overseas experience in the US, Europe and Eastern Caribbean. Previously he was a senior director at Alvarez & Marsal.

Hurst has appointed five graduate trainees, including a medal-winning swimmer and a graduate who worked at a wildlife sanctuary in Namibia. Mia Aspinall, Charlie Kay, Callum Livingston and James Pennington are in the business services team, which provides audit, compliance and business advisory, and Toby Parker has joined the tax team. The five were selected from more than 200 applicants for the trainee programme at the firm, which recently joined Dains Group.

Penfold has appointed Sam Horner as head of accounting partnerships at the workplace pension provider. He will be responsible for building and supporting partnerships with accounting firms with a focus on making workplace pensions easier to understand, implement, and manage. He brings over 20 years of experience in the accounting industry, with the last 10 years focused on SaaS solutions for accountants and SMEs, previously as global head of strategic partnerships at Swoop, a business funding service.

ICAS has made two senior appointments to help drive growth of the organisation. Cat Devaney CA has been promoted from director of professional qualifications to executive director of learning while Geoff Day is hired as executive director of engagement. Devaney has more than 20 years of experience and led the development and delivery of the new CA qualification and student experience as part of a major overhaul of the institute’s learning programme. Day brings more than 25 years of experience across brand marketing and communications, including at Mercedes-Benz US and Jackanory Public Relations, and was previously director of marketing and external relations at Edinburgh Napier University. 

Consello has appointed Olivia Pirovano as global chief strategy officer. In this role, she will help shape global strategy and advise clients at the advisory and investment platform. Pirovano brings more than two decades of experience advising on global mergers and acquisitions, communications, consulting, operations and asset management. Previously she was global head of strategic initiatives at Teneo, working closely with senior leadership on global integration and business development.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Johan Sekora as chief operating officer, relocating from Stockholm to take up the role at the start of June. Sekora brings over 25 years’ experience in financial services and will play a central role in supporting the FCA’s strategy to be a smarter, more effective regulator. He is an expert on financial crime and has worked extensively on accelerating the use of data and artificial intelligence to address emerging risks. Previously he was global head of financial crime prevention at Swedish bank SEB. He has also served as chair of SAMLIT, the Swedish banking sector’s financial crime collaboration with the Swedish Police. Prior to joining SEB, he spent 20 years with HSBC in the UK and internationally, most recently as global chief operating officer, regulatory compliance.