BDO has appointed Adam Frais as head of tax, effective from 1 October 2024, taking over from Andy Butterworth. He will also chair the firm’s tax executive committee and will join the new leadership team which was confirmed following the election of Mark Shaw as managing partner. Frais first joined BDO as a trainee in 1991, working his way up to partner in 2001. To date, his client work has primarily focused on transactions and private equity. Butterworth will continue as a member of the leadership team as chief operating officer.

Carpenter Box has appointed Sam Fisher as a partner, promoted from his current position of client service director in the business services group, after joining the firm in May 2022. He started his working life as professional musician, after a degree in music technology, sailing the world entertaining on board cruise ships before changing careers to accountancy. Before joining the firm, he was a senior manager at fund administration group Crestbridge, where he built his expertise in management information reporting, real estate business and investment funds.

UHY Hacker Young has appointed Skevi Iacovou, Irfan Topia, Julie Parry and Salima Visram as directors. Iacovou is promoted in the turnaround & recovery team, where she has over 10 years’ experience in the London office, specialising in corporate insolvencies. Topia is promoted to director in the corporate finance department in London and advises businesses on transactional requirements such as valuations and private equity deals. He has 11 years’ experience and originally trained at PwC. Parry is promoted to audit director in the Nottingham office and has worked for the firm since 2005 across various sectors including charity, leisure, construction and IT. Visram is promoted to director in the business accounting services department. She originally joined UHY Hacker Young in 2012 as a BAS graduate.

Grant Thornton UK LLP has promoted David Smith to accounting services director to lead the accounting services team in the south, based in Reading. He will focus on enabling continued growth in the service line and will be instrumental in leading proposals, acquiring new business opportunities, and ensuring high-quality service delivery to clients. He has been with Grant Thornton for five years, having joined as a manager and was subsequently promoted to senior manager. Previously he spent four years at BDO in financial reporting roles.

PKF Smith Cooper has hired Richard Haydon as an audit director, based in the Birmingham office. He has over 20 years’ audit experience and will provide advice on compliance aspects along with general business advice. He is an ICAEW Fellow and joins from BK Plus where he was an audit partner, and originally trained at Deloitte.

Markel Tax has promoted Gio Goggioli to head up new business sales and John Hull will lead the strategic accounts and renewals team. Goggioli will focus on expanding the fee protection insurance and tax consultancy offerings. He has been with Markel for three years and has more than a decade of experience in the accountancy industry, including at ForrestBrown and ActiveOps. Hull will be responsible for strengthening existing accounts and client relationships. He brings over 20 years of insurance industry experience to his new role, and has been a senior business development manager at Markel for the past three years.

Hurst has hired Luc Couyava as a corporate finance executive to provide advice and support to clients across a range of sectors and transactions. He has moved back to the north west from HMT, an independent corporate advisory practice based in Henley and London. His appointment comes as Hurst Corporate Finance unveils a dedicated website to highlight its position as a boutique offering with the strapline ‘Your Future. Our Focus’.

Langtons has appointed Ben Lewtas as corporate finance executive as the Liverpool firm continues to grow. He originally joined the audit team as a graduate in 2019 and became ACA qualified in 2022. He will play a key role in supporting the corporate finance team on acquisitions, disposals, fundraises, valuations, and strategic planning.

PKF Littlejohn Advisory has appointed Jonathan Burke as a senior insolvency administrator to strengthen the firm’s restructuring and insolvency capabilities, based in Leeds. He has four years of experience in corporate insolvencies and restructuring, and was previously at Leonard Curtis. He will support the team in the restructuring, sale or liquidation of businesses in need of turnaround or financial support.

Bridgemere UK has appointed Nicole Burstow as chief financial officer at the Cheshire based investment firm. Burstow joins from Dow Schofield Watts, where she was deputy CEO and CFO, and previously spent nearly 16 years at Deloitte. She succeeds Ashley Lewis, who is retiring in September after 20 years at the company. Bridgemere said Burstow ‘was an exceptional candidate in a very strong field’.