Rawlinson & Hunter has appointed Sandeep Dhillon as a partner in its corporate services department. She brings almost 30 years of experience in corporate services, providing advice to UK listed businesses and groups on complex financial, operational, and regulatory matters. Dhillon is a proponent of technology and its application in transforming business processes, championing technology driven solutions such as AI and data analytics to enhance audit practices. Previously she was a partner at PwC.

HW Fisher, part of Sumer Group, has appointed Chris Wheeler as partner in its forensic services team, strengthening the firm’s investigative and litigation support capabilities. Wheeler brings over 25 years of experience in financial investigations arising from fraud, error and mismanagement, and is an ICAEW chartered accountant and accredited counter fraud specialist. He was previously partner and head of forensic accounting at law firm DWF, where he provided in-house support to litigators, insurance lawyers, and regulatory investigators. He originally trained at PwC.

Azets has appointed Alper Dervish as corporate finance partner working across the Midlands offices, where he will help lead the regional corporate finance team. He brings over 20 years’ experience in merger and acquisition advisory, and has led projects spanning due diligence, strategic assessments, fundraising and full sales processes across sectors such as technology, media, and renewables. He is also a member of the Intuit Small Business Growth Council. He joins from BDO where he was a director corporate finance and started his career at KPMG training as a chartered accountant. Pictured above: Alper Dervish and Gary Hyem, partners

Menzies LLP has promoted four new partners, Mike Ayres, financial services sector lead at the Farnborough office, Saumyanil Deb, transfer pricing service line lead in London, Martin Hamilton, retail sector lead who heads up the accounts team in London, the Australia desk and also plays an important role in the international team more broadly, and Matthew Watkins, tax disputes service line lead at the London office. All four partners have been promoted from within the business, reflecting their contribution to the firm and Menzies’ strong commitment to developing talent from within.

S&W, formerly Evelyn Partners, has appointed Chris Vaulks as a partner in the audit practice specialising in the technology, construction and manufacturing industries. He has over 18 years’ audit experience with a proven track record of building strong client relationships, winning work, and delivering high-quality audits, and is based in the Newcastle office covering the North East region. He was previously an audit director at KPMG.

Cowgills has appointed Keeley Lord as a director in the business recovery team covering the North West. Lord is an insolvency practitioner and brings over 16 years of  experience in corporate insolvency, restructuring, and turnaround strategies. She is also a fellow of the ACCA, having qualified as a chartered certified accountant in 2014. She joins from Begbies Traynor where she was a director in the Lancashire office.

Bishop Fleming has hired 73 apprentices this month, marking its sixth consecutive year of growth in apprentice recruitment. The new joiners, a mix of graduates, school leavers, and placement students, will begin their career journeys across the firm’s nine South West and West Midlands offices. Each apprentice benefits from a tailored 100-day induction, structured training with ICAEW, where Bishop Fleming is a partner in learning, and clear long-term development pathways.

Business & Accountancy Daily has appointed Jacob Grattage as a reporter, responsible for news reporting and court reporting for the daily news service. He has a first class honours degree in journalist and previously worked as a freelance journalist. 

The CFO Centre has appointed Barry Leach as a fractional CFO, strengthening its national network of senior finance leaders who give SMEs access to the depth of experience and strategic insight they need without the cost of a full-time hire. Leach brings more than 30 years of senior leadership experience across retail, including JD Sports, American Golf and Rangers Football Club. Previously he was commercial finance director at JD Outdoor Group, where he led finance, buying and merchandising functions.

iplicit has appointed Ben Crow as vice president of partnerships at the cloud accounting provider, to head up the partner strategy with an immediate focus on enabling existing partners through enhanced training and support. He brings 27 years of experience including senior leadership roles at SAP and Asana. Most recently Crow was global head of channel partnerships at spend management specialist Yokoy. Lizzy Hillary joins as senior product manager and will focus on strengthening the product experience, onboarding and usability. Hillary joins from Access Group, where she was a product manager.

Karbon has appointed Vivek Srivastava as senior director of product at the accounting practice management software provider. In this newly created role, Srivastava will lead AI product strategy with a focus on embedding AI across the platform, from automating complex accounting workflows to providing predictive insights. Srivastava brings more than 15 years of experience building SaaS products, with nearly a decade focused on AI, and joins from Workday where he was director of AI product management.

The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) has confirmed that Paul Lee has taken over as chair after inaugural chair Pauline Wallace steps down after five years in the role. Lee has been a member of the UKEB board for four years and has extensive corporate reporting experience from his roles as head of stewardship and sustainable investment strategy at Redington and member of the committee of reference for the Premier Miton Ethical Fund. Wallace has led the board at the national standard setter for international accounting standards since it was set up in 2020 and during that time enhanced investment market confidence and growth through high quality reporting, helping to underpin the UKEB’s influence on the development of standards.

ICAEW has appointed Helen Poole as the chair of the Audit Registration Committee (ARC), overseeing decisions related to audit registration and ensuring that firms meet the high standards expected of ICAEW registered auditors. Poole brings extensive experience in professional regulation and has served as a lay member of the ARC since 2022. She takes over from Rama Krishnan, who has come to the end of her six-year term. Poole is currently managing director of South Fulham Primary Care Network, and has held roles with the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the General Dental Council, as well as a number of senior NHS roles.

The IFRS Foundation has appointed Hans-Ulrich Engel, former vice chairman and chief financial officer of BASF, as a trustee for a three-year term. He brings extensive international business, finance and leadership expertise to the Foundation, and is currently non-executive director at DHL Group and Harbour Energy. During his 35-year career at German multinational BASF, he was vice chairman of the board, CFO and chief digital officer, working in both Germany and the US.