ICAS Charities Panel

Chris Hession

Chris is an audit partner at BK Plus Limited, based at the firm’s Aldridge office in the West Midlands. He oversees the firm’s audit activity throughout the West Midlands. Chris qualified with a big 4 firm and has worked in audit for the past 10 years or so.

Chris has taken particular enjoyment over his career in working closely with many charitable and not-for-profit entities.

David Dewhurst

David is a Director and Principal of Baberton Accounting Ltd, a firm of Chartered Accountants providing freelance finance director and consulting services to commercial and not-for-profit businesses.

After training with Deloitte, Haskins + Sells (now PWC), David worked for more than 20 years in the private sector with Noble Grossart, the Edinburgh-based private merchant bank, followed by more than 10 years in the not-for-profit sector in senior executive roles, including as Director of Finance with EMMS International, an international healthcare charity, and with Edinburgh based Capital Credit Union as Director of Finance and Compliance.

David has a keen interest in the environment and recreational use of Scotland’s natural and created heritage assets and was a non-executive director of the Scottish Waterways Trust from 2013-2018. He currently serves as a Trustee of the Green Action Trust, Scotland’s leading environmental regeneration charity, the trusted delivery partner for the Scottish Government and a wide range of stakeholders. He has served as Independent Examiner, Adviser or Trustee, to a number of smaller charities, including from 2009-2014 as a Trustee of Fischy Music, a child-centred and creative charity that nurtures the emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing of children through song.

Jenny Law

Jenny Law is a Finance Manager at The Church of Scotland, with specific responsibilities for the support and services and trading departments, as well as the pension schemes.

Prior to joining The Church of Scotland, Jenny worked in practice for 16 years and qualified with ICAS in 2009.  During this time she specialised in charity audit and accounting, working with a wide range of Scottish charities.  She also provided charity administration services to a number of small grant-giving charities; managing the day-to-day activities, and supporting the trustees.

Keith Macpherson

Keith is an Audit Partner at Henderson Loggie LLP.  Prior to joining Henderson Loggie, Keith was an Audit Director and Head of not-for-profit at Johnston Carmichael LLP. He’s had previous roles with EY LLP and KPMG LLP where his focus was also the not-for-profit and public sectors.

Keith has 20 years’ experience of delivering audit services to Scotland’s not-for-profit sector and public sector.  He has expertise in the external scrutiny and financial reporting and governance requirements across all aspects of charities, social enterprises as well as more traditional public sector work including local and central government, and higher and further education.

Kelly Adams

Kelly is an Audit Partner in RSM. She is a Chartered Accountant and leads the not for profit offering in RSM’s Glasgow office. She has over 18 years’ experience in providing audit and assurance services to not for profit organisations. She looks after a wide portfolio of clients ensuring that their compliance needs are met and providing general advice and support. Kelly is experienced in working with local and national charities and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), as well as owner managed businesses.

Kelly is a member of the RSM national not for profit group, which meets quarterly in London to discuss sector developments and share issues arising, and solutions found, for our not for profit clients. She is involved in delivering training to Trustees/Committee members and management teams and delivering technical seminars and updates for charities and housing associations.

Kelly is a voluntary board member, and Chair of the Audit Committee, of West of Scotland Housing Association.

Niall Macpherson

Niall is Director of Finance & Corporate Services at Quarriers where he is responsible for finance, internal audit, taxation, payroll, investments, health & safety, and commercial support (covering contracts management, procurement and insurance).

Quarriers is one of Scotland’s leading social care charities.  The charity provides practical care and support for vulnerable children, adults and families who face extremely challenging circumstances.  It challenges poverty and inequality of opportunity to bring about positive changes in people’s lives.

Prior to joining Quarriers, Niall worked in senior finance roles in the private sector (retail, technology and investment sectors).

Scott Jeffrey

Scott is an Audit Partner at Johnston Carmichael, based in the Inverness and Elgin offices. Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant with a Big 4 firm, Scott has over 20 years' experience of working in public practice and industry. During this time, Scott has provided audit, SORP accounting and technical advice to many charities and other entities in the not for profit sector.

Day to day, as one of Johnston Carmichael's charity technical specialists, Scott has responsibility for developing and presenting the firm's not for profit sector training and development programme. As well as signing audit reports on behalf of the firm, Scott is also Independent Examiner for a number of charities throughout Scotland and is a member of the PKF not-for-profit sector focus group.

Tom Mitchell

Tom is a partner in CGPM Consulting LLP a firm of Chartered Accountants working almost exclusively with registered charities. Tom specialises in cross-border charity governance, risk and finance. Tom spends about half his time undertaking lessons learned reviews or investigations to support charities resolve notifiable events or serious incident reports and in more serious fraud or employment investigations. The other half is spent providing board secretariat and charity business improvement and consulting services.

He trained with KPMG and after a number of years working overseas troubleshooting for Big 4 firms and banks, Tom returned to the UK to migrate those skills into supporting charitable organisations through a range of assurance services within professional practice prior to setting up CGPM.

Tom is also a trustee of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the Royal Scottish Forestry Society and of the Donkey Sanctuary where he also chairs their Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee. Until 2017 Tom was chair of Dunedin Canmore Housing and so also served on the Board of the Wheatley Group for a period.

Victoria  Simpson

Victoria is a senior associate solicitor at Anderson Strathern LLP.  She deals with private client and charity law/charity tax matters and is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in charity law. She is recognised as being one of the leading lawyers in Scotland in the area of charity law.

Victoria is also tax and investment qualified. Victoria is a director and charity trustee of the Scottish SPCA, so understands first-hand the issues which affect the charity sector today. She is a co-author of “A Practical Guide to Scottish Charity Law” which is due to be published by Greens later this year.