Two new promotions in the Dafferns Leadership team

Dafferns, a leading Coventry and Warwickshire firm in the audit, accounting, tax and advisory sector, is thrilled to announce two significant promotions within its leadership team. Effective from 1 July 2024, David Halkett has been promoted to Business Services Director, and Lucy Hatton has been promoted to Partner.

David Halkett – Business Services Director

David Halkett joined Dafferns in 2015 as a manager in the corporate team, before being promoted to senior manager. Over the years, he has become an integral part of the leadership of the corporate team. As the new Business Services Director, David will head up the Business Services team, which includes small business, payroll, outsourcing, and business services teams. His role will focus on providing a full range of accounts, tax, advisory, and outsourcing services to small and medium-sized businesses. Later this year, David will also assume the role of audit RI (Responsible Individual) for many of the corporate audit clients he has managed.

Lucy Hatton – Corporate and International Partner

Lucy Hatton has been with Dafferns since 2017 and joined the Leadership team as a Director and Audit RI in 2021. From 1 July 2024, Lucy's promotion to Partner further solidifies her position within the corporate and international teams and her role as staff and training Partner. Lucy is well-connected within AGN International, an international association of independent audit, accounting, advisory, and tax firms. For the last two years, she has been a member of the AGN International shadow board, supporting the main international board.

Talent Development with a Problem-Solving Advisory Mindset

Dafferns has made a substantial investment in talent development for senior team members. Both David and Lucy have benefited from working one-on-one with an external business coach over the past few years. They are also part of Dafferns’ Mindshop advisor team, utilising tools and diagnostics to solve problems and develop strategic plans, both within the firm and with clients.

International Connections

Both David and Lucy are graduates of AGN International’s next leaders programme, which is a year-long initiative designed to connect, train, and mentor senior managers and directors of AGN member firms across Europe, preparing them for future leadership roles.

"As a firm, Dafferns aspires to be authentic, agile, and connected. David and Lucy’s promotions are a testament to our talent development programme. They have benefited from coaching, business advisory training, and building significant international and regional connections. They will be key parts of the Dafferns leadership team in the coming years and invaluable assets to the firm, our team, and our clients."

Martin Gibbs – Dafferns Managing Partner www.dafferns.com