RSM UK has appointed three new service line heads from within its ranks to lead and grow three of the firm’s key tax service lines. Helen Relf heads up private client services, advising the firm’s high net worth clients, while Rowena Cliffton leads the indirect tax team which spans advisory, global compliance and digital reporting, and VAT technology. Martin Cooper will head up employer solutions, comprising the employment tax, global employer solutions and share plans & reward teams. Alex Pike has been appointed as office managing partner in Reading, succeeding Mike Sables who will focus on supporting international businesses as they set up their operations in the UK. As a deal services partner in the consulting team, Pike has more than 20 years’ experience in corporate finance and will oversee a 200-strong team. He will focus on strengthening RSM’s presence in the regional market and driving national growth.

Robson Laidler Accountants has announced an innovative leadership move, appointing Amy Park and Nick Wilson as joint managing directors replacing long serving MD Graham Purvis who is retiring after 27 years working at the firm. Park will continue to lead the people and culture accountabilities, while Wilson will lead on business strategy and operations. Park has been at the firm for more than 20 years and Wilson for 15, and they will jointly focus on growing the business through acquisitions and new service lines. Purvis started his career as a tax trainee with Grant Thornton in Nottingham in the 1980s, then moved to KPMG as a tax manager before joining Robson Laidler in 1998.

Azets has appointed partner Chris Butt as UK head of audit, taking over from Lindsey Tyler. Based in Leeds, Butt joined Azets through acquisition in December 2021, and has been promoted from regional head of audit for Yorkshire, the northeast and northwest.He is a highly experienced auditor with a 15-year career at KPMG, where he progressed from trainee to director, before joining Garbutt + Elliot where he became a partner before the sale to Azets. David Houghton has been named national head of forensic and valuations. He is a commercially focused expert and chartered accountant with more than 25 years’ experience in forensic accountancy, and joined the firm as a partner in January 2024. He specialises in the valuation of private company shareholdings, litigation support and forensic accounting. He was previously senior partner at DSW Bridge Houghton Forensic, operating within the Dow Schofield Watts network.

Clayton & Brewill has promoted Adam Rostance to partner following the retirement of long-standing partner Neil South. Rostance has been at the firm since 2012, when he joined as an AAT apprentice. After initially working in the compliance department, the ACA qualified accountant moved to the audit team and worked his way up to director. After an impressive 37 years with the firm, South has retired from his full-time role as partner. He will continue working two days a week in a consultancy role.

Begbies Traynor Group has appointed Nick West as partner to advise businesses across Shropshire and mid-Wales. He brings almost two decades of experience as a licensed insolvency practitioner supporting businesses across the region in retail, agriculture, manufacturing, pubs, hotels and charities. West joins from the consultancy he launched in 2020, West Advisory, delivering  a full range of insolvency services, in addition to advice for directors on strategic decisions.

HaysMac has appointed Per-Olof Ahlstrom as acting head of risk assurance and advisory services. He brings over 25 years of experience across industry and professional services, and will focus on providing clients with advice on the complexities of scaling operations, internal control and governance structures, as well emerging risks such as AI, cloud and digital transformation. He joins after a decade as a director at PwC and previously held senior risk and assurance roles at TT Electronics and EE.

R T Marke & Co, part of Sumer Group, has appointed Terry Bridle as performance and business development manager to enhance its service offerings for SMEs across Devon and Cornwall. He brings nearly 30 years of experience in accountancy, with a strong track record of advising family-owned businesses both locally and nationally, particularly in the construction and medical sectors. Previously he was an associate director at Haines Watts South West.

Bishop Fleming has announced its latest round of promotions with Dan Phillips appointed as audit director, three years after joining the firm from PwC. Phillips has experience working with companies operating regionally, nationally and internationally in complex environments, specialising in the manufacturing and facilities management sectors. Meantime, nearly 30 staff have been promoted to senior manager, manager, and assistant manager roles across the firm’s four service lines, as well as a larger group of junior promotions.

Equiom Guernsey has reinforced its private wealth and family office services with the appointment of Alison Parry as executive director, client services, to lead the private client and family office teams in Guernsey. Emily Trebert joins as an associate director, cient services. Both join from CSC, formerly known as Intertrust Group. Parry brings over 30 years of international experience across the UK, US, Europe, and Asia, and has held global head of private wealth roles at major financial services firms, most recently at CSC.

Moore Global has appointed Nick Ong-Seng as chair of its ethics committee to deliver a new strategy to further embed ethics into the heart of the network and its people. He is the group’s the first non-executive director and is also a member of the network’s global quality and standards board.

Farrer & Co has appointed Alex Ruffel as a partner in its private client team. A specialist in complex cross-border tax, structuring and succession planning, Ruffel has an extensive track record of advising multinational families, trustees and family offices on complex tax issues and the transfer of wealth including establishing and running trusts and other structures. Previously she was a partner at Irwin Mitchell.

Lawrence Stephens has promoted Asim Arshad, Anna Christou, Sarah Gallagher and Ausra Triantafyllidou to director at the law firm. Arshad becomes a director in the disputes resolution team, specialising in commercial litigation. Christou steps up in the real estate finance team, dealing with regulated and unregulated loans on commercial and residential property portfolios, while in the residential real estate team, Gallagher heads up a team of specialists in the new build sector. Triantafyllidou also becomes a director in the real estate finance team. She acts for a number of investors with large commercial, residential and mixed-use portfolios.

AAT names first members’ advisory council (MAC)

AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) has appointed a new trustee board and set up its first members’ advisory council (MAC). The trustee board is chaired by recently appointed Sir Stephen Hillier and has 11 non-executive directors, 20% of whom are AAT members. The new MAC body will be chaired by AAT president Michael Steed, supported by Richard Cartwright, chair of the AAT audit and risk committee, a non-executive director at Places for People and governor at Motability Foundation; Gurpreet Dehal, chair of the AAT finance and performance committee, and a chair of the governing council at The University of Derby, and member of the governing council at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors; and Ann Ewing, chair of the people and nominations committee at AAT and vice chair of Council. MAC member Jas Bhohi, managing director of Kumar & Co Chartered Accountants, has been named as MAC appointee to serve on the AAT board as a trustee for a three-year term, linking governance and representation within the organisation. The full list of MAC members include John Fenwick, chief information officer at Newcleo, Linda Ford, an experienced CEO and NED, Rebekah Glover, a fellow of AAT and ACCA, and finance director and board member at Yutree Insurance; Francesca McClory, MD and founder, Future Cloud Accounting; Anne Moore, COO of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries; Georgina Philippou, board member of The Legal Ombudsman and FRC adviser; and Aidene Walsh, a non-executive member of the Financial Conduct Authority board and chair of the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).

Nikhil Rathi has been reappointed as chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for a second five-year term, confirmed by the chancellor Rachel Reeves. He will lead the FCA as it continues to drive the government’s growth agenda focusing on removing unnecessary, outdated and duplicate regulations while ensuring consumers are protected from detriment and can be confident in markets. 

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has named Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey as the new chair for a three-year term from June, subject to plenary approval. Bailey currently serves as chair of the FSB’s standing committee on supervisory and regulatory cooperation (SRC). He is set to replace Klaas Knot, president of De Nederlandsche Bank and current chair of the FSB.

International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has appointed Ryan W Wolfe as the new chair of the Monitoring Group, and extends its appreciation to Paul Munter, outgoing chair, for his leadership and service as he retires. Wolfe is currently acting chief accountant at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and has over 20 years of experience from his tenure at SEC and as a managing director at Credibility International LLC.