Selma started her career at PKF Smith Cooper in 2012 after completing a master’s degree in marketing, advertising and communications at Nottingham Business School. She founded our firm’s marketing team, growing it from a team of one to the seven-strong team it is today. Her role further expanded in 2021 with her being at the forefront of the launch and implementation of our firm’s vision and values, as well as taking an active role in our membership of the PKF Global Network, shortly after which she was promoted to Operations Director.
Selma now heads the non-client facing element of our business, including Marketing, Business Development, Human Resources, Learning and Development, Innovation & Systems, Secretarial Support and Payroll. She also chairs the Operational Board responsible for overseeing the internal development required for the delivery of our firm’s 5-year business strategy.
David Nelson, Senior Partner of PKF Smith Cooper, commented: “Selma’s promotion to Partner is the natural next step for someone who has been so instrumental to the pace of change and development of the business over the last 4 years. The continued growth of our client facing teams provides a need to make sure we have the internal structures in place to cope with the pressures that such scale brings. Selma’s understanding of the business allows her to ensure we have the foundations in place to take maximum advantage of the opportunities that changes in the market will create over the coming years. I am delighted for Selma and pleased that her hard work, commitment and contribution to the senior leadership team has been validated through her promotion to partner.”
James Bagley, Managing Partner at PKF Smith Cooper, commented: “As part of our commitment to investing in and nurturing talent, we are dedicated to developing people and Selma’s progression is a great example of what you can achieve at PKF Smith Cooper with ambition, focus and a strong work ethic. We hope her success inspires and motivates equally ambitious team members to follow in her footsteps.”
Theo Vermaak, CEO of PKF Global, stated: “I had the pleasure of working with Selma from the very beginning of PKF Smith Cooper’s admission to the PKF Global network, as she led the onboarding process for the firm. Her proactive approach resulted in a successful outcome, but more importantly her attention to detail, feedback to us and her willingness to challenge processes also led to improvements at PKF Global level. I have no doubt Selma will continue to make a great contribution to both PKF Smith Cooper and the global network in years to come.”
PKF Smith Cooper is a multi-award-winning organisation, providing a full range of audit, accountancy, tax and advisory services to businesses. As the home of PKF in the Midlands, our company is the region’s leading firm of trusted accountants and business advisors, with key office locations in Derby, Nottingham, Birmingham and Ashbourne.
Applications for PKF Smith Cooper’s 2025 graduate programme open at the end of September. Connect with us on our careers website to be notified via email when our graduate positions go live.
