Azets, the UK’s largest regional accountancy firm and business advisor to SMEs, has demonstrated its commitment to growing its network with seven appointments joining the Swansea and Cardiff offices.

Rebecca Read joins as Partner, whilst Hayley Jones and Thomas Williams are appointed as Senior Accountants. Ben Gates, Sahil Kanda, Tom Howes-Ward and Charlotte John join as Associates across the accounts and business advisory services, audit and tax teams.

As Partner specialising in medical accountancy, Rebecca provides expert tax and accountancy advice to a client base of over 70 GP practices and 200 hospital consultants. Dual-qualified as a chartered accountant and chartered tax adviser, and with 18 years practice experience she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the medical sector.   Rebecca’s appointment comes after Azets announced the acquisition of leading specialist medical accounting services provider, Sandisons.

With 15 years of experience, Hayley recently qualified as a chartered accountant and works with clients in several different sectors. Thomas is currently working through the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification and supports clients in the accounts and business advisory services department.

Previously working in business development within the lifting equipment industry, Ben has a wealth of experience liaising with clients at all organisational levels and joins the audit and assurance team. Sahil joins Azets as an associate in tax, working on both personal and corporate tax returns and queries. Having spent several years working in investment management, Tom joins the audit team. Charlotte joined Azets while completing a master’s degree in International Accounting and Finance – she is now working to complete her Association of Chartered Accountants (ACA) qualification with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

As well as the wealth of new talent joining Azets, Director Andrew Issacs is celebrating 15 years with the firm (previously known as KTS Owens Thomas), since joining straight from university in 2007. A familiar face for many, Andrew provides accountancy and business advisory services to a diverse client base operating within the SME market, ranging from larger companies to smaller, owner-managed businesses. He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

On Andrew’s service and the new appointments, David Owens, Regional CEO at Azets UK, said:

“With our service lines continuing to grow, it’s an exciting time for us as we develop our teams to match our business demand. These appointments bring a range of experience and are matched with long-standing members of the team, such as Andrew, we look forward to maintaining and growing our team, in line with our strategic plan.

I want to extend my well wishes to Andrew, who joined the firm from university and has shown that determination and hard work pay off, being Director fifteen years later. He’s a brilliant asset to the team and I look forward to continuing to work alongside him!”

The business-wide recruitment drive covers roles across all levels, from associate through to partner, and service lines including audit and assurance, accounting and advisory business services, corporate finance, tax, and restructuring. The firm expects to hire up to 400 graduates and school leavers to join in September 2023. This recruitment drive marks the latest milestone on Azets’ ambitious journey to increase revenue by 50% in the next five years through organic and acquisitive growth.

Azets, which recently ranked 38th in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2022, is also providing opportunities to T-Level students, the new intense technical vocational qualifications introduced by the government in 2020.

All vacancies can be found at www.azets.co.uk/careers where applications from those who are looking to work flexibly or part-time, reduced hours or term-time are encouraged.