Kreston Reeves Graham Gardner named a rising star

Kreston Reeves Audit Quality Director Graham Gardner has been named one of Accountancy Age’s 35 Under 35, joining an exclusive group of the accountancy profession’s rising stars.

Graham joined Kreston Reeves in January 2024 as an audit quality director to drive innovation and maintain the high audit standards that the firm is recognised for. Kreston Reeves was named Progressive Audit Firm of the Year in the annual Accounting Excellence Awards in October 2023.

He has throughout his career played a critical role in exploring, developing and implementing new technology to improve the audit landscape. He joined Kreston Reeves from KPMG where he played a pivotal role in the firm’s implementation of AI-empowered audit software and led the design and development of the firm’s internal generative AI virtual assistant.

His commitment to inclusivity led to the creation of tools to support KPMG staff with dyslexia, and he built an automated staff allocation tool, saving administrative staff several hundred hours annually.

He has continued to drive innovation in his role at Kreston Reeves. He has developed an automated sampling tool and wrote and implemented a fraud detection methodology for AI in journal entry testing.

The Accountancy Age judges in making the award said: “His blend of technical proficiency and audit expertise positions him as a leader in his field, consistently driving improvements and efficiencies in audit practices.”

Commenting on the award, Graham said: “This is a real honour to join this exclusive group of peers. Every single one is exceptional and hugely talented. Technology is shaping the audit landscape and that will accelerate dramatically over the next few years. It is exciting to understand how technology will help us better achieve audit excellence and deliver greater assurances to our clients.”

Michael Cook, Partner and Head of Audit and Financial Reporting at Kreston Reeves adds: “The whole firm joins me in passing on our congratulations to Graham. In his time so far at Kreston Reeves Graham has made an outstanding contribution, he is a real asset to the firm and our clients.”