Chartered accountants appoint new chair

Top 40 accountants Bishop Fleming have announced the appointment of Ian Smith as Chair with effect from 1 January 2017. He succeeds Jerry O'Sullivan who, after six years, has finished his term as Chair within the firm.

Ian Smith is a Corporate and Business Services Partner who until accepting this role was Partner in Charge of the Worcester office of Bishop Fleming. In his new role as Chair, he will be working with Matthew Lee, the firm's Managing Partner, on the development of the partners and senior management team within the firm.

Matthew Lee commented: "I am delighted that Ian has taken on the role as Chair. He has a very strong record in the accountancy profession and in managing the firm's Worcester office, as well as having a deep understanding of the firm's culture and operations and a commitment to serving our clients.

Commenting on his appointment, Ian Smith said: "This is an exciting new role for me; the firm's success has attracted and retained some great talent. It is my job to ensure our talent management and succession planning is as good as it can be. I strongly endorse the ethos of the firm and its consistent focus on putting clients first. I also look forward to continuing to deliver on the firm's strategy for growth."

Out-going Chair Jerry O'Sullivan commented: "It has been a privilege to have been Chair of Bishop Fleming over the past six years. The firm has fantastic potential and I'm sure that Ian will make a huge contribution to the management team through the firm's next phase of development."

Bishop Fleming, which has seven offices based across the South West and West Midlands, experienced 13% organic growth in fees in 2016 and recruited a record number of new trainees. It also recently announced a number of internal promotions to meet the needs of the firm as it puts into action various initiatives for further growth.

The firm is ranked 49th in the Sunday Times Top 100 places to work, accredited as an "outstanding" employer. It was also recently shortlisted in two categories of the British Accountancy Awards: "Mid-tier firm of the year" for the second year running and "Top 50 Audit Team of the year".

Bishop Fleming has leapt up the Accountancy Age list of top 50 accountancy firms in the country to number 33, a rise of three places in just the last twelve months.