Deloitte in Scotland has promoted three partners, Hayley Strachan in Aberdeen, Ben Hacking in Glasgow and Joe Scott in Edinburgh. Strachan is a specialist in mobility and UK lead for mobility in the energy industry and ESG for global employer services. Chartered accountant Hacking specialises in M&A tax and is in the financial investors team, specialising in buy and sell side transactions with private equity investors, advising on all tax matters from due diligence to transaction structuring. Scott is an audit and assurance specialist focusing on financial services and the investment management sector. The trio all joined the firm as graduate trainees.

PwC has appointed two directors, Julian Osborne and Craig Monks, to the debt & capital advisory team, strengthening its capabilities across asset-based lending (ABL), leveraged finance and restructuring. Osborne brings over 15 years of experience in the ABL market across advisory and lending roles. A qualified chartered accountant, Osborne previously spent four years in PwC’s deals team, focusing on mid-market restructuring. He rejoins following a decade at Wells Fargo, most recently as originations director. Monks joins the debt & capital advisory team and will be based in the Manchester office. He brings significant experience in the leveraged finance market and was previously a director at Fellwood Advisory.

Hurst has appointed Sam Parry as audit senior manager and Harvey Hubbard as manager in the business services team, Kate Oakes as corporation tax compliance manager and Aamilah Mohammed as associate, accounts and business advisory. Parry, a former semi-professional rugby union player with Macclesfield and Harrogate, has relocated to the northwest from Mercer & Hole where he was an audit manager, having initially trained at KPMG. Hubbard, who trained and qualified at BDO, was previously an audit client manager at Kirk Rice. Chartered tax adviser Oakes brings more than 20 years’ experience and joins from KPMG where she was a corporate tax manager. Mohammed was previously a junior accountant at Pickard & Co in Sale.

Wolters Kluwer has appointed Marie Costers as vice president & general manager for tax & accounting across the UK, Netherlands and Belgium. In this role, Costers will lead regional growth, with a strong focus on customer experience, product innovation, and the opportunities created by AI. She brings more than 25 years of experience in fintech, data exchange and digital solutions for accounting professionals and SMEs. She joined Wolters Kluwer in 2024 following the acquisition of Isabel Group’s European accountancy portfolio and has since played a key role in scaling the business and advancing its financial workflow offerings across Europe. Pictured: Marie Closters

Barratt Redrow has appointed Rebecca Napier as chief financial officer and executive director of the group with effect from 3 August. Chartered accountant Napier is an experienced business leader with a strong track record across finance, strategy, investor relations, transformation and performance. Most recently CFO of Britvic until its acquisition by Carlsberg Group in 2025, she previously spent 17 years at IAG, including as CFO of British Airways. Napier originally trained at Deloitte.

B&M European Value Retail has appointed Atheeq Akbar as CFO with effect from February 2027. Akbar brings a wealth of UK retail experience and is currently vice president of commercial finance at Asda. Prior he led the retail and manufacturing finance functions at Morrisons before being appointed as a finance director in 2021. He has also held senior finance roles at Tesco and has international experience from his time at Etihad Airways. Chartered accountant Akbar also started his career at Deloitte.

Braemar, the shipping and energy investment and risk management firm, has appointed Richard Heading as group chief financial officer and board director with immediate effect. He is a highly experienced senior finance executive and chartered accountant with more than 25 years’ experience. Most recently, he was CFO and chief risk officer at Record plc, the LSE listed specialist currency and asset manager, where he had board responsibility for financial reporting, treasury, investor relations and risk management. He originally trained at PwC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has appointed Kathleen M Hutchinson as director of the agency’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), which advises the SEC on international policy matters, coordinates with foreign authorities to facilitate cross-border enforcement and supervisory cooperation, and provides technical assistance. Hutchinson has been OIA’s acting director since January 2025, and started at the SEC in 2003 as an attorney-advisor. She began her legal career in private practice in Washington DC and New York.