Sumer appoints national head of accountancy and business advisory services
Sumer has appointed Ellie Dignam as national head of accountancy and business advisory services (ABAS), as the Group continues to strengthen its national leadership team and invest in the future of SME advisory services across the UK and Ireland.
The appointment comes at a time of significant change for the accountancy profession and the SME market, with rapid advances in AI, automation and digital finance, alongside major regulatory developments such as Making Tax Digital reshaping how businesses operate and seek advice.
Through its regional hub model, Sumer supports around 60,000 SMEs across the UK and Ireland, combining national scale with local delivery in the communities where clients live and work. The Group believes the next generation of accountancy and advisory services will play an increasingly important role in helping ambitious businesses navigate uncertainty, improve performance and embrace new opportunities for growth.
Ellie joins the national leadership team from BHP, part of Sumer Group, where she is currently partner and head of digital finance. Since joining BHP in 2012, she has helped shape and grow a modern accountancy and advisory service for SMEs, combining strong financial foundations with insight, technology and practical commercial support. Her experience spans service-line leadership, operational transformation, client experience, people development and the use of data and systems to deliver better outcomes for business owners.
In her new role, Ellie will work closely with Sumer’s regional hubs and national leadership teams to help shape the future of the Group’s accountancy and business advisory proposition, with a focus on innovation, operational excellence, technology and client experience.
Ellie Dignam said: “SMEs want advisers who understand their ambitions as well as their pressures, and who can turn that understanding into clear, practical support that helps them move forward with certainty.
“We have exceptional talent across the Group, and the opportunity now to bring that capability together in a way that elevates the experience for every client we work with.
“I’m excited to help shape how we continue raising the bar for SME accountancy and business advisory services and ensure business owners feel supported, informed and confident at every step of their journey.”
Warren Mead, chief executive officer at Sumer, said: “This is an important appointment for Sumer and for the future of our ABAS offering.
“Accountancy and business advisory services are going through one of the most significant periods of change the profession has seen in years. Technology, AI and evolving client expectations are fundamentally changing how services are delivered.
“Ellie brings exactly the kind of forward-thinking, collaborative and innovation-led leadership we are building across Sumer. She has already demonstrated at BHP how technology and digital finance can improve outcomes for clients and teams alike.
“Our regional hub model gives us a unique opportunity to combine deep local relationships with national capability and innovation. Ellie will play a key role in helping us continue evolving our services to support SMEs right across the UK and Ireland.”