Three new partners named at Big Four accountancy practice in Scotland

Three new partners have been named by Deloitte as part of a raft of Scottish promotions which has also boosted female representation in its leadership team.

Lesley Smillie, who leads the firm’s public sector business operations division, and Stephen Pratt, who works in the audit & assurance practice, have been made up to partner in the Edinburgh office. Michael Caullay, who also works in audit and assurance, has also been promoted to partner in Glasgow.

The appointment of Smillie, who joined Deloitte in 2005, means almost a quarter (23 per cent) of Deloitte partners in Scotland are women. Pratt, who joined in 2006, focuses on major corporates and listed firms and Caullay, who joined in 2004, has built a team specialising in providing audit services to the investment fund market.

Elsewhere Nikola Doig and Alan McClements have been promoted to director in Edinburgh; Alison Sheridan and Thuy Vo have been promoted to director in Glasgow; while Kat Innes and Bradley Watts have been promoted to director in Aberdeen. The moves means female representation at director level now stands at 35 per cent.

The accountancy and business advisory practice has announced a raft of appointments across its Scottish offices.

Steve Williams, senior partner for Deloitte in Scotland and Northern Ireland, said the promotions highlight the strong position of the practice in Scotland despite the challenges posed over the past year.

“Lesley, Michael, and Stephen have each played an integral role in growing and nurturing their teams and respective business areas and should feel incredibly proud of this achievement. Congratulations also to our six new directors who have shown their ability to navigate these uncertain times, while continuing to support our clients and colleagues within the business.”

Following last October’s acquisition of technology consultancy Keytree, Deloitte recruited an additional three new external hires at partner and director level in Scotland including Keytree’s chief operating officer Derek Lithgow who joined as a partner based in the firm’s Glasgow office. In December, Angela Mitchell was also appointed as senior partner in Glasgow.

Overall, Deloitte has promoted 79 people to partner across the UK this month to take the total number of partners to 1,115. It also recruited an additional 68 new external hires at partner level in the UK during the last financial year.

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