CHARTERED accountancy firm Tait Walker has appointed five new faces to team at its Gosforth headquarters.

The firm, which has offices in Newcastle, Northumberland and Teesside, recently brought on board business services executives Michael Shipley and Anna Crawford, tax manager Louise Barker, corporate finance executive Barry Gill and financial services paraplanner Mark Jeffs.

Tait Walker, which has more than 130 staff, specialises in a range of financial services.

Louise Barker and Anna Crawford, who have significant specialist experience in the education sector, will be working alongside partners Brian Laidlaw and Alastair Wilson to spearhead the company’s joint business services and tax offerings to local academies.

Barker said: “I’m looking forward to taking on the challenge of this varied role with Tait Walker.

“As well as managing corporation compliance cycles for a range of different-sized companies, I’ll be building on my previous experience delivering tailored advice to a number of non- profit sectors.”

Tait Walker’s HR partner Gordon Goldie said: “One of the main secrets to our staff retention has been our consistent outlook on staff development.

“For example, we were recently awarded a Gold Investors in People accolade, putting us in the top 1% of elite UK businesses holding IIP accreditations in the UK.

“We are extremely proud of our ability to attract recruits of such a high calibre.”