RSM Tenon has expanded its presence in Birmingham with the appointment of two industry experts in audit and pensions.
Christian Holyhead takes up the post of associate director in the audit, tax and advisory team in the firm’s Birmingham office, having joined from his role as director at one of the Big Four firms.
He has 17 years’ experience in providing audit and advisory services to both local and international businesses.
Mr Holyhead is joined by John Pollard, who comes from a specialist benefits consultancy in the West Midlands.
He has around 25 years’ experience of the pensions market.
Both join the accountancy firm as the latest in a series of senior appointments intended to build RSM Tenon’s share of the market in the West Midlands.
Alan Webb, regional head of RSM Tenon in the West Midlands, said: “We have appointed a series of regional heavy weights to further enhance our offering in the Midlands region.
“The arrival of Christian and John has added more expertise to our teams and boosts our offering across the region as well as on a national level.”
Their appointments follow those of Steve Thornhill, James Carnegie and Kerry Lane in the corporate finance team and Bev Marsh who is the new head of the Birmingham corporate recovery team.
Mr Holyhead said: “Having worked with large corporate clients for many years, I am joining the UK’s seventh largest firm at a time when it is developing a strong presence in the mid-tier, and really gathering momentum in terms of strong growth and its range of clients and services.
“It is a very competitive environment for companies, who are challenging the quality and cost effectiveness of their professional services, and I believe there are some real opportunities for RSM Tenon to make its presence felt, particularly in view of the strength of the RSM International network across the world.”
Mr Pollard is an expert in defined benefit pensions, which put a major burden on many public and private sector employers.
He said: “It is a difficult time for the public sector, in particular, in all sorts of ways.
“There are relatively few people working and contributing into these schemes to support the massive number of pensions being paid out, which is the reason most schemes are in deficit.
“The challenge is how we tackle those deficits, and there are no pain-free answers. We have seen the Government’s Hutton Report suggest a number of potential solutions, including increasing member contributions, reducing pensions in payment, or working longer.
“I suspect we may end up with a combination of all three of these solutions.”
