Sophie is Compliance Director at Azets UK. Sophie is the newly appointed Chair of ICAEW Practice Committee (June 2023). She was re-elected to sit on the ICAEW Practice Committee in 2021 having been initially elected in 2018. In 2021 Sophie was also appointed to the ICAEW Financial Reporting Board. Sophie was ICAEW South West President in the year to May 2020 and has now replaced this role with the Chairing of the ICAEW South West Technical Advisory Committee. Sophie has a passion for technical accounting and practice management matters, narrative reporting and sustainability and ensures that the voice of those in the South West is very much heard.
Howard is the newly appointed Co-Chair of ICAEW Practice Committee (June 2023). Howard has been an Audit and Accounts Partner at Shorts Chartered Accountants for almost 20 years, based in Sheffield and Chesterfield. He is both a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Tax Adviser, and his clients include family companies, SMEs and charities, alongside partnerships and individuals.
Rachel is the MD of Just Audit, working alongside accountancy firms providing a pure audit service to mutual clients. She has served on the ICAEW Practice Committee since 2011 and is a committee member of the West Yorkshire Society of Chartered Accountants. Before Just Audit (launched 2006), Rachel worked in a small practice, a top 50 practice and KPMG – so has experience of all sizes of firms and clients.
Maria is an Executive Partner at Beever and Struthers. As the head of the firm’s Social Housing sector, she provides technical support to clients and acts as a sounding board on sector issues. Her client work is predominantly statutory audit in the social housing and charity sectors and her clients include Public Interest Entities (PIEs).
Ross has worked in external audit at EY since graduating St. Andrews university in 2016. Having reached Senior Manager, his focus is on delivering the largest audit engagements across the North West.
Nicole is Head of Technical at BDO LLP, spending most of her time dealing with regulatory reviews on behalf of the firm. She has been a member of the IPC for 11 years and brings a unique perspective to the committee at this time of potential change for the profession.
Leoni has been working at PwC Cyprus for over a decade, effectively managing large, diverse, and multicultural teams and clients. In addition to her role, she is an active member of the PwC Foundation, the PwC Inclusion and Diversity Committee and the SPEAKUP team. Leoni is also responsible for the learning and development curriculum for her department. Notably, she is the first international member to join the IPC.
Conor is a business services manager working for Duncan & Toplis, situated in the East Midlands. He works primarily with owner-managed businesses, assisting with compliance and planning requirements. Conor's main focus is providing prompt reporting to allow his clients to make more efficient and timely business decisions. Prior to joining Duncan & Toplis in January 2024, Conor spent six years at a small independent accountancy firm where he completed his studies via the apprenticeship route, followed by one year working within the finance function of a global packaging manufacturer. Alongside being a member of the ICAEW, Conor is also a member of AAT and CIOT.
David is a sole-practitioner corporate tax specialist and in his second term as a member of the ICAEW Practice Committee, having been first elected in June 2018. He is also a member of the London Society of Chartered Accountants’ tax committee and the Small Practitioner Community advisory group.
Nikhil graduated from the London School of Economics and Politics with a 1st Class Honours in BSc Economics in 2010. He joined Goldman Sachs Fixed Income Currencies and Commodities Division within Investment Banking leaving as an Executive Director in 2016. Nikhil spent 3 years at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in the Audit and Assurance of FTSE 100 companies where he qualified as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant. In 2019, Nikhil joined his father’s accountancy practice Sage & Co based in Northwood as a Senior Manager. Nikhil is a board member of the ICAEW Editorial Advisory Committee, the youngest member of the ICAEW Practice Committee and an Advisory Member of the ICAEW Small Practitioners Community
Claire has 27 years’ experience in external audit and assurance. Based on the South Coast, she has a particular focus on retail, consumer products and media businesses, from privately-owned companies through to global listed groups.
Jeffrey trained with Robson Rhodes (now part of Grant Thornton) in Leeds and Moorgate. He joined Eacotts in 1976 and has been a partner since 1979. He is now the Managing Partner. Jeffrey is a member of the Thames Valley Branch of CIOT having chaired the committee in 1999/2001. During 2013/2014 and 2015/2016 he was President of ICAEW Chartered Accountants Thames Valley and is currently Treasurer.
After working within a medium-sized accountancy practice for 10 years, Suzanne started her own practice in 2001. She now heads a practice with ten other team members and more than 600 clients. Spicer and Co is an award winning practice of Chartered Accountants which has firmly established itself and is proactive in the local community. A key focus for Suzanne is technology and its impact on the profession. The practice is the only Gold partner with Xero in Dunstable. Suzanne is passionate about helping small businesses and also representing small accountancy practices at the ICAEW Practice Committee.