Mercer & Hole has appointed Jo Bateson as a partner in the private client practice, joining the firm from KPMG where she was a partner and former London head of family office and private client. She returns to Mercer & Hole’s private client practice as a partner having trained at the firm and worked as a tax adviser until 2005. As a leading private client tax adviser, Bateson has a passion for acting for female founders and leaders in family-owned and managed businesses, tax policy and philanthropy. She will remain a committee member of the UK Business Angel Association and a board member of Philanthropy Impact.

Forvis Mazars has appointed Emma Mason as a corporate tax partner in their London office. She will be responsible for building a dedicated mid-market tax advisory team in London, developing Forvis Mazars’ existing offering to meet the evolving needs of privately owned business clients. Mason will also support with training and development of the wider team.

Menzies LLP has expanded its forensic & valuation services department with the appointment of Greg Huitson-Little as a partner. He brings two decades of experience in forensic accounting and is also an expert witness. He has worked across a broad range of industries and clients, and complements his commercial practice with experience in intellectual property and transaction-related disputes. Prior to joining Menzies, he was a director AlixPartners.

Milsted Langdon has promoted Martin Johnson to partner, recognising his dedication and extensive expertise. He originally joined the firm in 2007 as an apprentice and quickly established himself as an integral part of the team. He has risen through the ranks based on the invaluable guidance and support he provides to clients across a broad range of sectors, particularly in the agricultural and rural affairs sector.

Wright Vigar has announced two significant promotions at the firm. Steve Newman has been promoted to the position of board director. With a strong background in leadership, he was previously a board director at Hobsons for five years prior to Wright Vigar’s acquisition of the company in 2021. Ollie Martin has been appointed as office director at Sleaford. He joined the firm as a business services manager in 2015 and has played a crucial role in the Sleaford office’s growth.

Burness Paull has promoted two members of its corporate tax and share incentives team Christine Yuill and Nicola Williams to partner, and appointed Chubbe Anucha as a tax solicitor. Yuill becomes head of tax with responsibility for leading the development of the firm’s corporate tax offering and team of tax lawyers. Yuill, who moved to Burness Paull in 2022, is a leading tax lawyer and acts for clients on the full spectrum of tax issues. Williams initially qualified as a lawyer in New Zealand, where she worked for Inland Revenue NZ and KPMG before relocating to Scotland and requalifying in English and then Scots law. She has spent the last 15 years working in a tax advisory capacity. Anucha joins the firm from CMS Scotland where he was a trainee solicitor.

CT has appointed Karen McBride as director in the accounts and business advisory division based in Glasgow. With a strong focus on technology companies and start-ups, she will support the growth and development of the ABA team. McBride joins from social enterprises and charity financial intermediary organisation Social Investment Scotland, where she was head of finance and operations.

Cooper Parry has expanded its Scottish team with the appointment of Kirsty Paton as director, Ryan Lewis as senior manager, and Amber Young as assistant manager to the equity reward & venture capital schemes team. They have all joined the firm from CT (formerly Chiene + Tait). The trio will be supporting companies and their founders with tax advice around incentivising staff and securing external investment.

RSM UK has appointed Alessandra Lupski Raja as a business transformation partner in the consulting practice, and Eoin Gribben as a business transformation director in the national consulting team. Lupski Raja will focus on the firm’s finance consulting offering and strengthening its public sector presence. Previously she was an associate partner at PA Consulting where she specialised in end-to-end finance consulting for complex public sector programmes. She originally qualified as an accountant with PwC. Gribben will lead the business transformation team’s technology deal services area based in Manchester and brings over 13 years of experience in deal advisory. He joins from KPMG where he was an associate director.

JS has appointed Andrew Pilling as audit and accounts director in the audit services team. Previously he was a senior manager at NRB. Rory Fothergill has joined as a tax advisory and R&D senior manager, and brings over 20 years’ experience in R&D tax relief and property planning expertise, joining from Beever & Struthers where he was a chartered tax adviser and accountant.

Prime Accountants Group has hired Viv Shadbolt and Luke Edwards as directors. Shadbolt has more than 30 years’ experience in audit and accounts, acting for companies, pension schemes, charities and owner-managed businesses. Previously he was an accounts and business advisory partner at RSM. Edwards has more than 20 years’ experience working in audit and accounts, specialising in providing strategic financial guidance and compliance. He joins from LDP Luckmans where he was an associate director.

Begbies Traynor has appointed insolvency specialist Kevin Mapstone as a director based at its Edinburgh office. With over 25 years’ experience in financial services, he is a fully licensed insolvency practitioner and has a broad range of experience covering insolvency and debt solutions, assisting both individuals and businesses. Mapstone joins from AMI Financial Solutions where he was an insolvency practitioner, having previously worked for a number of other firms, including a period with Begbies Traynor.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has elected Jean Bouquot as President. He will serve a two-year term, having served previously as IFAC deputy president since November 2022. Bouquot has over 44 years of experience as an auditor in various positions at EY and currently runs his own firm in Paris. Taryn Rulton has been elected as deputy president. She is currently chief commercial officer at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and has 30 years’ experience across the UK and Australia in Big Four firms, government and private companies.