Sedulo boosts senior team with double hire

Business advisory group Sedulo has appointed Andy Nixon as national director of operations and tax alongside Diccon Thornely as national head of audit. In their new roles, Nixon will work with the R&D team while Thornely will oversee all audit operations. The duo both arrive at Sedulo from Grant Thornton UK. The firm described Nixon as an “experienced” technology and transformation leader, having started his career at ICL and subsequently AstraZeneca and IBM. Specialising in R&D since joining EY In 2014, he has also worked for Deloitte and most recently at Grant Thornton’s Innovation Incentives Team as an associate director. Thornely joins the group having spent the majority of his career working at Grant Thornton UK, his last position being an RI in their London Audit and Assurance division, helping lead their not-for-profit team. He is said to have extensive experience, with a specialism in providing audit services for all sizes of private, public and not-for-profit organisations. He trained and qualified (ACA) with Grant Thornton UK and has worked with clients in a number of sectors – reporting under UK GAAP, IFRS and SORPs. The R&D team within Sedulo, led by Josh Perry, has doubled in size during the past 12 months, from six team members in early 2022 to 14. Sedulo said continued investment in the team last year led to “significant new client wins during the back end of the year, making a further senior appointment essential”. Meanwhile, the audit team within the company is also expected to grow significantly this year, as the firm aims to be a “genuine alternative” for larger organisations requiring audit services. Sedulo Group founder Paul Cheetham-Karcz said: “The significant growth in R&D, as a result of execution of our plan, means we needed to bring someone in to lead the operational side of the division. Getting Andy was a major coup for us and we are delighted to have him on board. He brings a wealth of experience to the team, having worked on some of the largest R&D claims in the country. “Diccon is also an important appointment for us. He adds an immense amount of experience to our Audit team, and by joining us it has cemented the standard of our holistic offering, by joining at a similar time to both Sarah, and Andy, in our Tax and R&D teams. 2023 is a big year for the group as a whole.” Sedulo operates nationwide from offices across Manchester, London, Leeds and Liverpool, currently employing more than 175 staff. Offering services in audit, accountancy, taxation, business consultancy, forensic accounting, financial planning, IT consultancy plus mergers and acquisitions, the group has recently seen annual growth of more than 25%, achieving an annual revenue of £13.2m in the year to October 2022.