SMH Group Appoint Steve Fern as Chief Financial Officer

SMH Group, a leading professional services firm with offices across Yorkshire and Derbyshire, is delighted to announce the appointment of Steve Fern as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective January 2025. Steve brings a wealth of experience in financial leadership, strategic growth, and business transformation, gained over a 25-year career across the UK, USA, and Australia. Steve gained his ACA qualification early on in his career and has gone on to hold several senior roles across a diverse range of industries, including business turnaround, insurance and professional services. His fantastic track record includes his most recent success story where he held the role of Managing Director, taking the business on an incredible expansion journey which ultimately concluded with a sale to a national business. Steve fostered a workplace culture where all staff felt valued and part of the company’s growth, aligning with the business’s core values. Earlier in his career, Steve supported hundreds of businesses during the financial crisis and implemented an industry-leading Enterprise Risk Management process while working in the US insurance sector. Steve said: “I’m thrilled to join SMH Group at such an exciting time in its journey. The firm has a strong reputation for its client-first ethos and […]

Year End Financial Planner 2024/25

As we enter 2025, we reflect on the significant events and transitions of the past year. The months ahead promise to bring new opportunities and challenges across various sectors and industries. With the tax year end approaching in April, now is the ideal time to review your finances and refine your planning to stay ahead. To help you focus on the issues, our guide to Year End Financial Planning 2024/25 brings you essential guidance for those opportunities. While Labour’s first Budget at the end of March included an immediate change to levels of capital gains tax, there was also no movement on frozen tax bands and thresholds. The effect has been to push increasing numbers into higher tax brackets. We can help you navigate all the complexities and hurdles, keeping your personal finances on track. Our guide to Year End Financial Planning 2024/25 will assist in making sure you maximise your allowances and reliefs to reduce your tax bill. The guide offers practical, concise steps you can take across key issues, such as: income tax saving opportunities tax-efficient investments pensions planning directors, employees and the self-employed capital gains tax planning inheritance tax planning charitable giving. With added examples and key […]

SMH Group appoints Jonathon Dickens as CEO, James Hartley steps into Chairman role

Yorkshire and Derbyshire based accounting and business services firm, SMH Group (“SMH”) today announces the appointment of Jonathon Dickens as CEO of the business, with James Hartley moving to the role of Chairman, effective immediately. Having been at the firm for almost 20 years after joining as an apprentice in 2005, Jonathon has been instrumental alongside James in the firm’s strategic growth in recent years, completing multiple acquisitions since 2017 and expanding the group’s service offering to include commercial finance, mortgage brokering and wealth management. With these changes, SMH is doubling down on its already successful growth strategy and its vision of becoming the leading accounting and business adviser in the region. Key to this is continuing to attract and retain the best talent, making it the partner of choice for clients in the region, and continuing its current growth trajectory through a combination of organic growth and future M&A activity. Jonathon Dickens, CEO said: “Our people are what makes SMH such a fantastic place to work and an equally trusted advisor to our clients. I hope to carry on the great work James and I have done together by continuing our growth trajectory into 2025 and beyond. On a […]

The Risks of Late Estate Planning

Imagine you are named as the executor and a beneficiary of your wife’s wealthy aunt. You learn that she is suffering from terminal cancer and has ‘a very impaired lifespan’. What do you do?

State pension sees rise thanks to the triple lock

A 2.6% rise in the single tier state pension was announced in the 2018 Budget.

The increase to the single tier state pension, and its predecessor the basic state pension, will apply from next April. Other state pensions, such as the State Earnings Related Pensions Scheme (SERPS), will rise by 2.4%.