RSM has appointed Pete Adams as office managing partner in its Hull office, replacing Andy Capes who will remain as a senior partner for the Humber region. Adams joined the firm in 2019 as an audit partner and leads the audit team in the Hull and Humber region. With over 20 years’ experience, Adams has expertise in IFRS, UK and US GAAP, working with clients from a range of sectors, and in his new role he will help to drive the firm’s growth strategy and lead the regional team while continuing in his audit partner role.

Johnston Carmichael has appointed Bryan Shepka as head of its financial services sector team. He takes over from Ewen Fleming, who led FS for the last six years and is now consulting partner. Shepka will lead the dedicated FS tax team in response to growing demand from clients in London, and across the UK. He joined the firm in 2023 as audit partner, bringing extensive experience in the wealth and asset management sector, having worked for 14 years at KPMG, as a director, finance transformation in the FS management consulting practice.

TaxAssist Accountants Essex and Hertfordshire based practice has named Richard Jeffery as a partner, joining Ben Dixon in partnership. Long-standing TaxAssist owners and partners David and Anne Dixon will now retire after 23 years. Keeping it in the family, Ben Dixon, who has been with the firm for 15 years, will be driving the growth of his practice alongside experienced existing staff member Jeffery, who has now become a partner in the business. The practice was originally set up by the Dixons in 2002, and it is now one of the group’s largest UK franchises.

Scrutton Bland has promoted Samantha Stent to tax advisory partner and Janice Dixon has joined the firm as a business advisory associate partner in the Colchester office. Stent specialises in property tax planning and global mobility and supports clients with complex tax matters. She originally trained as a chartered tax adviser with KPMG before running her own practice, Tax Simple, then joined Scrutton Bland in 2021. Stent has also been actively involved with TaxAid as a helpline manager and adviser for over 20 years. Dixon brings a wealth of experience advising owner-managed businesses, having trained qualified as a chartered accountant in 1992.

BKL has strengthened the tax team with the promotion of Sam Inkersole to tax consultancy director, and external hire of Stephen Baker, as a tax director to build out a new specialist area of employment tax at the firm. Baker has joined the Wilson Wright part of BKL, based in the City of London office. He has over 20 years’ experience advising employers on how to structure and manage their employment tax affairs, most recently as a senior manager at PwC. Inkersole has been at BKL since 2015 when he joined as an audit and accounts trainee. He has focused solely on tax consultancy since 2019, and is specialised in cryptocurrency, M&A activity and family wealth structuring.

Howdens has announced that Paul Hayes is retiring as chief financial officer (CFO) and executive director on 30 May, and will be succeeded by Jackie Callaway, currently CFO of Coats Group plc. She will be appointed as a director of the Howdens board on 2 June. Callaway has been CFO of Coats Group since April 2021 and was previously CFO of Devro plc. She is a non-executive director of IMI plc, the FTSE 100 specialist engineering company. Callaway is a fellow of ICAEW and of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Chapel Down Group has appointed Louan Mouton as CFO, company secretary and board director, to replace outgoing Rob Smith who is leaving the business at the end of April. Mouton is a chartered accountant with significant experience in consumer goods organisations, including group finance director at Fever-Tree Drinks plc where he was responsible for setting up operations in the US and more recently as CFO and board director at Typhoo Tea. Prior to that, he held roles at Natural Capital Partners, BHP Billiton and originally trained at Baker Tilly in South Africa.

Equipmake has appointed Ian Selby as CFO, director, and company secretary, bringing a strong track record in AIM-listed and private equity backed companies. His expertise includes company turnaround and restructuring, high-growth strategies, cash and debt management, financial reporting and M&A. He is a non-executive director of Cloudified Holdings Ltd, an AIM listed cash shell, where he was CFO when it operated as Falanx Cyber Security Ltd. He originally trained at PwC before leaving practice for business.

4most has appointed Mike Neill to head up its newly launched insurance accounting service line. In his new role, Neill will expand the firm’s insurance expertise by introducing accounting advisory services, complementing existing actuarial and risk offerings. He brings over 13 years of experience in the insurance sector with extensive expertise in external audit, IFRS 17 and Solvency II implementations, process and controls assurance, and complex accounting transactions. Previously he was a senior manager in the insurance audit practice at EY.

ECI Partners, a mid-market private equity firm, has appointed Neal Griffith as CFO designate. His appointment to CFO will follow the retirement of incumbent, Philip Shuttleworth, at the end of the year, after almost 30 years with ECI. Griffith joins from pan-European private equity firm, Equistone Partners Europe, where he was CFO and chief risk officer, having joined as group financial controller in 2017.

Bibby Financial Services has appointed Niels Gooch as head of sales for Bibby Foreign Exchange (BFX) as it looks to further grow its support for UK SMEs. In his new role he will focus on driving support for importers and exporters as they grow internationally. Gooch brings 15 years of experience, most recently as UK and EMEA sales director at Associated Foreign Exchange where he specialised in international payments, FX risk management and cross border banking solutions across the UK and Europe.