Jo Jones and Chris Cole join BDO audit team
Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO has strengthened its audit services as with the addition of two new partners. Jo Jones and Chris Cole bring almost 40 years of combined experience to the firm.
Professional services firm BDO has been making consistent efforts to beef up its audit offering across the UK. In 2023, the audit department welcomed 400 trainees, and in 2024 that is set to rise to more than 500.
Jo Jones joins BDO amid this growth, arriving at the firm’s Southampton office. Jones will have a special focus on audit quality, culture and people development – something which will be particularly important as new talent continues to arrive at BDO.
Speaking on her new role, Jones said via LinkedIn, “Today is the start of a new chapter in my life where I join the BDO Southampton Partnership team. I am energised for this new challenge and look forward to meeting my new team over the coming weeks.”
Jones’ audit experience spans a wide range of industries, including retail, leisure and tourism, technology, and pharma. She spent the last 18 years with PwC, where she was latterly a senior manager in assurance – and specialises in multinational groups, particularly those that are US and UK listed, PE-backed businesses and privately-owned companies.
Chris Cole meanwhile joins BDO’s Nottingham office. He will deliver particular expertise in auditing US-listed businesses under the country’s Public Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) standards, including auditing SOX controls.
He spent the last eight years in the UK wing of KPMG. There, he was latterly an audit director for medium to large-sized corporates with revenues from £10 million to £22 billion, with a primary focus on US listed businesses that require audits of internal controls.
Paul Eagland, managing partner at BDO, said of the appointments, “Jo and Chris’s appointments are a key part of our ongoing strategic investment into audit quality. Having the right people in place in our regional hubs to support audited entities through the complex areas of audit and assurance is vital.”
