Bishop Fleming eyes ambitious growth with Public Sector Scheme Appointment and recruitment drive

Bishop Fleming is focussing on significantly expanding its audit practice following its appointment by Public Sector Audit Appointments Limited (PSAA) to deliver a range of public sector audits for local councils, police authorities and fire authorities and national parks.

[Photo (from left to right): Charlie Martin, Audit Director; Craig Sullivan, Audit Partner; Mark Bartlett, Audit Director; Nathan Coughlin, Audit Partner; Pam Tuckett, Partner and Head of Education.]

Commenting on the appointment, Craig Sullivan, Audit Partner said:

“Our public sector team is led by ICAEW-registered key audit partners, who have previous experience of providing external audit services to NHS organisations and local authorities, and extensive experience working with public sector organisations within the charity, education, health, and housing sectors.

We are delighted we’ve been appointed by PSAA for audits from 2023/24 to 2027/28 and with this exciting and challenging work to look forward to, we are keen to build our team capability further with several exciting new roles in the team.”

Bishop Fleming has recently welcomed Mark Bartlett as Audit Director, an experienced local auditor, to strengthen its Plymouth-based team as it looks to further expand its capacity and capability around the PSAA appointment.

Mark, who has brought a wealth of experience from several former audit roles, said: “I joined Bishop Fleming having been excited by the vision that the business has for the future. I am already working with clients and prospects across the South West in an exciting and growing market.”

His appointment immediately follows the recruitment of Gary Woodhall, as Audit Partner based in the West Midlands, taking the firm’s overall partnership to 40 for the first time.

Bishop Fleming’s audit team posted record fee growth of 23% in 2021-2022. And with the addition of a new Cheltenham office in 2022, the firm is now focussing on ambitious growth targets across the South West and West Midlands.

Andrew Sandiford, Managing Partner added:

“Mark’s appointment has already delivered a significant enhancement to our public sector capability as we look towards an exciting period of growth around the PSAA appointment. I encourage any audit experts with local government experience to contact us to find out more about the exciting opportunities we have on offer, as well as our flexible and remote working approach.”

Bishop Fleming has offices in Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham, Exeter, Plymouth, Torquay, Truro and Worcester and works with clients across the UK.

The firm posted impressive financial results in 2021-2022, which saw fees grow by nearly 20% and was ranked fifth in the inaugural UK Accountancy Age Mid-Tier Power Index.