Grant Thornton hires four more Australian partners from the Big Four
Accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton has tapped the Big Four to add four more partners to its Australian practice: Kevin Mar Fan, Alex Stepanyants, David Pitts, and Laura Woodman.
Risk consulting pair Fan and Stepanyants join Grant Thornton in Brisbane and Sydney from EY and KPMG, while the firm’s Brisbane office has also welcomed EY’s Laura Woodman to its national assurance quality team and sustainability advisory partner Pitts from PwC.
The latest quartet of partnership recruits follow the eight new partners promoted across the country towards the end of last year, with the more than two dozen added over the past six months taking the firm’s national overall tally to 191, who lead a team of around 1,500 professionals.
“These appointments are a clear indicator of Grant Thornton’s continued momentum and the confidence we have in our strategic direction,” said CEO Said Jahani. “Each brings their own unique expertise which strengthens our growing capabilities, and positions us to grow at pace while helping shape better futures for our firm, our people, and the communities we serve.”
Kevin Mar Fan has altogether spent two decades at EY across two stints dating back to 1993, broken up by over a decade in financial roles with the Brisbane City Council. He rejoined EY as a technology risk director in 2015, and will now lead Grant Thornton’s risk consulting practice in Queensland with a growing focus on the responsible adoption of AI across sectors.
Alex Stepanyants meanwhile joins the risk consulting team in Sydney after two decades at KPMG, including five years with the Big Four firm in London. A specialist in internal audit and governance, Stepanyants has led engagements for public and private sector clients with a recent focus on the transport & infrastructure, resources, and national security & justice sectors among other areas.
A sustainability strategy, reporting and assurance specialist, David Pitts has been with PwC in Brisbane for the past four years, with an earlier five years spent with the firm in Melbourne preceded by over seven at KPMG between Australia and the UK. He crosses to Grant Thornton as Australian businesses gear up for the introduction of the country’s mandatory climate reporting regime.
Laura Woodman joins Grant Thornton’s national assurance quality team after the past three years at EY, with an earlier five years spent at KPMG and altogether more than two and a half decades of experience in performing complex multinational audits across a broad range of industries and an evolving focus on building audit capabilities at scale through training, support and solutions.
