Johnston Carmichael has welcomed a new Technology Risk and Assurance Partner to its leadership team as part of its strategic growth plans.

Stephen Harrison, who specialises in technology risk, will be based in Glasgow but will work across Johnston Carmichael’s 14 UK offices. He will be a key member of the firm’s Audit team but will also collaborate closely with Johnston Carmichael’s Consulting specialists as the firm grows its suite of risk advisory and assurance services.

With more than 22 years’ experience, Stephen began his career at a Big Four firm before moving into banking where he was a technology leader responsible for group-wide controls assurance and regulatory compliance. He returned to accountancy to become a Big Four regional head of information risk management, leading a large UK-wide team of IT risk and audit specialists, before joining Johnston Carmichael.

In his new role he will help clients across all sectors to address their technology risk and improve their internal controls. This will include areas such as Systems and Organisation Controls (SOC) reporting, third party risk management, control remediation, operational resilience, and technology process improvement.

Stephen said: “I’m incredibly excited to join Johnston Carmichael’s leadership team during a period of continued growth and success. Technology risk is a relatively new but very important area for the firm, and I relish the opportunity to shape the team and develop our offering in the marketplace.

“I look forward to supporting our clients with their technology needs, providing additional capabilities to our existing work and increasing the breadth of Johnston Carmichael's service offerings across the technology risk and assurance landscape.”

Ewen Fleming, Partner and Head of Consulting & Financial Services at Johnston Carmichael, said: “Stephen brings a wealth of experience in identifying and managing technology risk. His skills will be a significant boost to the strength and depth of our audit practice as well as key to our continued growth of our risk and resilience services across the firm’s network around the UK and beyond.

“We see this as a huge step in the right direction as we continue on our journey to help our clients strengthen their businesses and become more resilient.”