TaxAssist Accountants unveils new group promotions

TaxAssist Accountants has announced a number of promotions at its support centre to franchisees. Jo Nockels has been promoted to a new position as head of Group Practice Capabilities. Working alongside existing Support Centre teams, Nockels will be spearheading the TaxAssist Practice Engine which sits at the core of the franchise operational support provided to the TaxAssist network. She will be focused on supporting the utilisation of the software estate, best practice KPI’s, practice efficiencies, profitability and team recruitment and retention to enhance support to the network. She joined TaxAssist in 2010 following post qualification experience with a Top 50 accountancy firm and was “instrumental” in building the TaxAssist Training Academy, providing training for new franchisees and developing the curriculum to meet the training needs of the network and staff alongside regulatory changes and market developments. In 2020, she was promoted to financial controller, and again in 2022 to head of Group Finance. Simon Hutchinson has been appointed to a new position of head of Group Business Intelligence. Hutchinson joined TaxAssist in 2016 as a Software Training manager progressing to his most recent role as head of Group Software and Systems role in 2022. The firm said he has been instrumental in the design, deployment and training of the TaxAssist software suite and has played an integral role in a gap analysis project, software, contract design and negotiations. It added his new role reflects the importance of “utilising, standardising and structuring the data we have as a network, for the benefit of servicing clients and the network of TaxAssist Accountants”. Hutchinson will be working alongside his Support Centre colleagues, reporting on new sources of data internally within TaxAssist Accountants and other Group Companies. Finally, Harry Brown, who joined TaxAssist in 2021, with responsibility for providing support to the UK Franchise Recruitment team and international operations in Ireland, Australia, the US and Canada, has been promoted to UK Franchise Recruitment manager. Mike Melling, Group COO, said: “I’d like to congratulate Jo, Simon and Harry on their well-deserved promotions. All three are highly effective communicators and have a breadth of knowledge in their respective areas of expertise alongside our systems and processes and importantly, our network of accountants. I wish them all well in their new roles.” Founded in Norwich in 1995, TaxAssist Accountants is a training, marketing, support and services business and has operations trading under the TaxAssist brand in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, Canada and the USA. Based on the Broadland Business Park in Norwich, The Support Centre employs 74 members of staff.