Accountancy and advisory firm Azets has appointed Alain de Braekeleer as a financial services audit partner.
Based in Leeds, Alain is a seasoned FS specialist who brings a wealth of experience from his 20 years in the FS audit practice at KPMG.
His time there included leading numerous Financial Statement and Client Money audits as well as providing a variety of non-audit services to clients.
Alain has experience across a wide array of FS firms and he has supported and worked with companies and groups of all shapes and sizes.
His appointment comes as Azets’ audit business continues to grow in Yorkshire. Leeds has become the UK’s second city for financial services, while the North of England has one of the largest concentrations of financial and business services firms in Europe.
Russell Turner, regional managing director for Yorkshire, said: “We’re very pleased to welcome Alain to Azets. “He brings exceptional experience and expertise in the highly-specialist, sophisticated and exacting FS audit space which will allow us to bring this new service to clients across the north.
“This will complement both our existing audit and assurance offering in the region and our well-established and successful FS audit services in London and the south east.”
Chris Butt, head of audit for Yorkshire, said: “Alain is a strong and strategic hire with an excellent reputation whose appointment represents an investment in the future of the company.
“It is an opportunity to widen our client base and build a new business arm from the ground up across the region.”
Mr de Braekeleer said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Azets at such an exciting time in its growth and look forward to supporting many of the varied companies that make up the thriving Financial Services sector in Yorkshire.”
Alain will support clients in asset management, asset finance and fintech as well as a range of other types of financial services firms.
