French Duncan announces new partner and senior appointments

Scottish accountancy firm French Duncan has announced a series of promotions, including the appointment of a new partner – taking its total number of partners up to 17.

French Duncan, which employs more than 200 staff and has five offices in Glasgow, Stirling, Edinburgh, Dumbarton and Hamilton – has promoted Stephen Thom from the position of head of corporate tax to tax partner, with the promotion taking effect immediately.

Mr Thom joined French Duncan in 2015 as head of corporate tax for the business’s Glasgow office and was quickly promoted to take on the position for the whole firm.

He previously worked for Grant Thornton following a period in London with BDO and Lloyds Banking Group where he specialised in providing tax advisory services.

Graeme Finnie, managing partner at French Duncan, said: “Stephen has gone from strength to strength since joining the business 18 months ago. He has shown first class skills not only in business development but also in communications with clients and his fellow colleagues. These are the key reasons why we have promoted him to Partner as of May 2017 - it is great to have Stephen on board as a new Partner.”

The announcement coincides with two further promotions within the business. Former head of managed client services, Drew Pankhurst, has been appointed to the position of Director for the company’s Stirling office. Having joined French Duncan in 2009, Drew worked his way up to audit manager and managed a portfolio of audit clients across a range of sectors including commercial business, healthcare, property, construction, insurance and manufacturing before taking on the role of Head of Managed Client Services in 2016.

Meanwhile, senior manager of French Duncan’s Corporate advisory team, Iain Walker has been promoted to Corporate Advisory Director after joining the firm only eight months ago. Iain returned from Bermuda in 2016 to take up the new role. In Bermuda he worked in the corporate finance and valuations department of KPMG before taking on a role as corporate finance and strategy manager at London listed insurance company Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd. As well as being a chartered accountant, Iain is also a chartered business valuator.

Mr Finnie added: “We view our staff as our biggest asset at French Duncan which is why we always strive to recruit the best and most dynamic individuals. These three promotions recognise the hard work and dedication that our team members have put into the business and we will continue to take a bold approach to recruitment moving forward. I am confident that these announcements will add further strength to our team and we are looking forward to further progress over the year ahead.”