Accountancy announces new leadership team managing partner retires

Accounting company, PKF Francis Clark has announced a leadership transition in preparation for the retirement of managing partner Andrew Richards next year.

Paul Crocker has been elected as the new chief executive officer, and Scott Bentley assumes the role of chief operations officer.

Both have been integral parts of the firm’s management structure, serving on the executive committee and management board.

Andrew Richards, the managing partner since 2016, will retire at the end of March 2024 after 37 years with the firm.

Under his leadership, PKF Francis Clark has experienced significant growth, expanding from around 400 people to over 900 today, with turnover more than doubling to over £60m in seven years.

Cocker said: “Andrew has been instrumental in the growth of the firm as a partner, office head and managing partner while preserving our friendly and supportive culture. A symbiotic relationship with our clients has always been key to PKF Francis Clark’s success. As our client base has grown, our breadth of services has expanded to meet their increasingly complex advice needs. The firm has now reached a scale where we believe our new management structure will enable us to play to our strengths as we aim to capitalise on the exciting opportunities we see in the marketplace.”

Richards said: “On the day I became managing partner, we rejoined the PKF international network and completed our merger with Dorset-based Princecroft Willis. One of my highlights of the past seven years has been seeing our Poole office flourish as an integral part of PKF Francis Clark. We have also steadily grown our presence in the Bristol market since opening our office in the city in 2019. What has remained constant is the friendly, approachable service and our team culture. The sort of people who are attracted to the firm are hard-working team players who care about their colleagues.

 “The thing I’m most proud of is leading the firm through the pandemic. That was undoubtedly the toughest time of my career, and the loyalty we showed our people during the pandemic has been repaid tenfold. The firm has an amazing future. Over the next five to 10 years, our industry will go through a revolution with digitalisation and automation, and PKF Francis Clark is ideally placed to take advantage of these changes thanks to our breadth of specialist skills, our support teams and the strength of our advisory offering.”