A professional services’ practice in Hampshire has promoted an accountant who started out at the firm as a trainee 13 years ago.
Jamie Lane is now a director at the South Coast office of Smith & Williamson, the accountancy, investment management and tax group.
Working in assurance and business services, Southampton-based Jamie was previously an associate director for 18 months.
Andrew Edmonds, who leads the assurance and business services team at the South Coast office of Smith & Williamson, said: “Jamie’s promotion to director is thoroughly deserved. He is among a talented team and has demonstrated excellence in client service, technical ability and been innovative in transactional work.
“Jamie started out with us in 2003, he qualified in 2006 with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the global body for professional accountants, and benefitted from two international secondments to Boston and Sydney.
“Jamie, entrepreneurial in nature, enjoys working with privately-owned businesses, where the full suite of Smith & Williamson services can be provided.”
Jamie has a varied audit client base, ranging from recruitment businesses to boat builders.
In 2011 Jamie worked for an audit client for a year, which gave vital insight into the day-to-day life of a financial controller in a growing SME.
After helping prepare the company for sale, Jamie returned to Smith & Williamson as a senior manager, working on secondment in corporate finance for 18 months, before becoming an associate director in the audit team.
Jamie said: “One of my key objectives as a director will be to continue to develop, as part of our national team, our transaction services offering locally, I will work hard to provide audit and advisory services to our ambitious client base alongside our talented and multi-disciplinary team.”
The promotion comes hot on the heels of the firm triumphing at the recent Hampshire Incorporated Law Society (HILS) annual awards ceremony.
Beating competition from a strong shortlist, the 50-strong practice, which covers Hampshire and Dorset, was named Solicitor’s Accountancy Firm of the Year in the black-tie event at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
