PKF Francis Clark has appointed former Grant Thornton head of tax Jonathan Riley as a partner in the growing corporate tax team, based in Bristol. Riley was a partner at Grant Thornton UK for 27 years and retired from the firm this month. In his new position he will focus on advising owner-managed and private equity-backed businesses as well as larger, complex corporate clients. He is a trustee of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), a member of HM Treasury’s Forum of Tax Professionals and a former chair of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG).

RSM has appointed Joanne Webber as office managing partner in Bristol. She is a tax partner and leads the national global employer services team at the firm. She has over 21 years’ experience working with organisations on global mobility and global people issues, and joined RSM in 2016 from EY. In her new role, Webber will focus on further strengthening the RSM brand in the local market, while driving forward the team culture for the 240 employees in Bristol. She will succeed Kate Reid who held the role for 10 years and has retired from the firm. Stephen Fuller has been appointed as a tax partner, based in London. He will lead a multi-disciplinary team, delivering tax advisory and assurance to a broad spectrum of financial services clients. Prior to joining, he led the financial services tax team and was a partner at Mazars.   

Mazars has promoted Yuvan Deena to assurance partner in London, and hired Michael Davidson as a banking audit partner in the Leeds office and Helen Knowles as a public sector audit partner in Manchester. Deena has over a decade of experience in audit services primarily for privately owned and private equity backed clients across a variety of sectors. He began his career in KPMG and joined Mazars in 2020. Davidson takes on a newly created role and will be responsible for growing the audit team in the Yorkshire region, focusing on the banking sector. Previously he was an audit director at KPMG, where he spent 20 years. Knowles will be responsible for growing the audit team in the northwest, focusing on the social sector. She joins from Beever & Struthers where she was an audit director.

Price Bailey has expanded the partnership with six appointments, including the promotion of Lee Sharman, Mark Roach, Richard Newman and Suzanne Goldsmith to partner, and two external appointments, Holly Gibson in the business team and Sean McCann in the corporate team. Sharman joined the firm in 2006 and heads up its outsourcing services. Three of the new partners are members of the corporate team - Roach, who joined in 2012, Newman, in 1999 and Goldsmith, who joined the firm in 2014 and specialises in the charities and higher education sectors.

Evelyn Partners has hired John Howarth as audit partner in the Bristol office. His main focus during his career has been working with dynamic mid-market businesses across a range sectors. He has extensive Big Four experience having been a partner at EY and before that at PwC. During that time he spent six years based in New Zealand. Most recently he was director of group finance at Future in Bath.

Hurst has promoted dealmaker Max Perry to associate director and he joins the board of the Stockport headquartered firm. He has completed a range of transactions involving UK and overseas trade buyers and private equity buyers since joining the corporate finance team in 2021 after roles at Deloitte and corporate finance boutique Camlee Group. He is among a group of rising stars at the firm who are taking part in a bespoke two-year leadership development programme.

Alvarez & Marsal continues to expand its EMEA corporate finance practice with the appointment of Duncan Morpeth as a senior director. He will lead the firm’s corporate finance team in Yorkshire and the north east, based in Leeds. Morpeth specialises in advising founder-owners, executive teams, private equity sponsors and corporates on a range of domestic and cross-border transactions. Prior to joining A&M, he was an M&A director at Grant Thornton in the Leeds office.

HWB Chartered Accountants has strengthened its team of registered auditors with the appointment of associate director Matt Cooper as a responsible individual (RI) joining a current team of five RIs. Cooper joined the firm in 2014 as a business adviser and is an ACA. The strength and depth of knowledge in the team has been pivotal in attracting more audit work, particularly among owner-managed businesses, charities and regulated businesses.

Dow Schofield Watts has hired Shenal Wijetunge to head up a new tax practice at the firm focused on advisory services for R&D tax relief and other innovation tax incentives. He joins from Signature Group where he was an R&D tax manager and has 10 years’ experience in R&D and patent box tax advice.

SBP Accountants & Business Advisers has promoted two members of its team, Mark Rhynas and Jamie Smith, to directors, joining the management team. The promotions were part of 11 firm-wide promotions. The decision to promote from within highlights SBP’s dedication to recognising and nurturing the potential of team members. Meantime, managing partner John Hannah is celebrating 25 years at the firm.

Sedulo Group has appointed Amit Rungta as transaction services director in the deal advisory division. He has over 12 years of global transactions experience across the UK, Singapore, and India, and joins from PwC UK where he was a senior manager, transaction services. He has significant sector experience in healthcare, technology and media, manufacturing, renewable energy and airport infrastructure.

Sedulo Funding Solutions, the commercial finance brokerage arm of Sedulo Group, has promoted Laurence Mills to senior strategic partnership manager and hired Josh Mendez as senior commercial finance manager in the London property team. Mendez joins from Newable Finance, where he was a senior finance broker.

The International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) has appointed Jen Sisson as CEO. The move follows outgoing CEO Kerrie Waring’s decision to step down from the role, after 10 years leading the organisation. Sisson joins ICGN from Goldman Sachs Asset Management where she was EMEA Head of Stewardship, overseeing voting, engagement, and industry collaboration activities in the region. Previously she led policy outreach on audit, reporting and ESG at the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) after a 13-year career at PwC.