Lesley Smillie, who heads the firm’s public sector business operations division, and Stephen Pratt, who works in the audit and insurance practice, have been appointed partners in the Edinburgh office. Michael Caullay, who also works in audit and insurance, was also promoted to associate in Glasgow.

The appointment of Smillie, who joined Deloitte in 2005, means that almost a quarter (23%) of Deloitte partners in Scotland are women. Pratt, who joined in 2006, focuses on large corporations and listed companies and Caullay, who joined in 2004, has built a team specializing in providing audit services to the investment fund market.

Elsewhere, Nikola Doig and Alan McClements have been promoted to directors in Edinburgh; Alison Sheridan and Thuy Vo were promoted to directors in Glasgow; while Kat Innes and Bradley Watts were promoted to directors in Aberdeen. This decision means that the representation of women at director level now stands at 35%.

Steve Williams, Deloitte’s senior partner in Scotland and Northern Ireland, said the promotions highlight the practice’s strong position in Scotland despite challenges over the past year.

“Lesley, Michael and Stephen have each played a pivotal role in the growth and development of their respective teams and areas of activity and should be incredibly proud of this achievement. Congratulations also to our six new directors who have demonstrated their ability to weather these uncertain times, while continuing to support our clients and colleagues within the company. “

Following the acquisition last October of technology consultancy Keytree, Deloitte has recruited three additional new external hires at partner and director level in Scotland, including Keytree COO Derek Lithgow, who has joins the firm as a partner based in the Glasgow office. In December, Angela Mitchell was also appointed Senior Partner in Glasgow.

Overall, Deloitte has promoted 79 people to partner across the UK this month to bring the total number of partners to 1,115. It has also recruited 68 additional new external hires at partner level in the UK. United during the last fiscal year.

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