Professional services firm Deloitte has promoted two new directors and welcomed a new partner into the South West practice.

The newly promoted directors are Gina Miles in audit, and Marcus Chapman in tax. Audit partner, Andrew Holland, has joined the Bristol practice from Deloitte’s office in Toronto, having moved back to the UK from Canada after a two-year secondment.

Gina Miles joined Deloitte in 2008 as a graduate and spent her first three years in Bristol before transferring to London. She moved back to Bristol two years ago and re-joined the South West audit practice. Gina is a FTSE-100 audit specialist and as a director, will lead and build our local FTSE audit team.

Marcus Chapman joined the corporate tax team in Bristol in 2009 as a graduate. A particular area of focus for him is the taxation of debt and derivatives and he also assists with the full range of corporation tax matters affecting foreign owned groups. He helps companies successfully navigate the considerable flux within the UK and global tax landscape, assisting them with the more complex tax issues that may arise. In his new role as a director, Marcus will be responsible for building on the firm’s already strong position within the foreign owned market across the South West region and in Wales.

Andrew Holland, a partner specialising in auditing insurance companies, has now joined the South West practice having spent the last two years at Deloitte in Toronto. He was on secondment to the Canadian firm as an audit partner on the global audit of Great West Life, one of the global firm’s largest insurance audits. He has returned to the UK to head up the insurance regional audit practice and will be based in the South West. Andrew will also lead the IFRS 17 campaign, the new insurance contract accounting standards for insurance firms, from a technical perspective for Deloitte in the UK.

“I’m looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as it’s an exciting time in insurance. The industry is going through continued change and with the new accounting standard, there is increased demand for the services that our insurance audit team can deliver,”

“I’m delighted to bring to the UK all the experiences and insights I gained from working on such a large insurance audit in Canada. The UK insurance market is diverse and with all the audit tendering that’s happening at the moment, I’m in a great position to work with new clients.”

Martyn Gregory, senior partner for Deloitte in the South West, said:

“I’m really pleased that Gina and Marcus have become directors – it reflects their stand out contribution over the last few years. Having an experienced partner like Andrew join the practice will boost our capability in the insurance audit marketplace, not just locally but across the whole of the UK.

“Our regional business is growing and already achieving great things, and our people are our greatest asset. Our success in the South West allows us to provide more opportunities and invest in the talent we have. Strengthening our leadership team will enable us to make a greater impact in the region, harness innovative thinking and meet our clients’ biggest challenges.”

These promotions follow on from Pauline Biddle’s appointment in May as the new managing partner for the Deloitte regional markets, comprising 6,000 people across 7 regional practices and 18 local offices offices around the UK. She is a member of the Deloitte North West Europe board and also acts as senior partner for Deloitte in the Midlands.

Of Biddle’s appointment, Gregory commented:

“Having Pauline on the UK executive will continue to ensure we place the right amount or focus on our regional business. Pauline has unique insight and experience to further emphasise and demonstrate the commitment we show to our regional operations. The dynamic opportunities that we have here in the South West allows us to invest in our people and be bold in our commitment to innovate, disrupt and offer new services and solutions for our clients.”