Kitay to take the reins from Kidd at Crowe Horwath

Mervyn Kitay has been anointed as chief executive at Crowe Horwath Perth, Western Australia's eight biggest accounting firm, taking over from Geoff Kidd, who has run the partnership for the past 19 years.

Mr Kidd told clients of the firm that he had decided to retire from his position at the end of the financial year after 41 years with the partnership, almost half of which time he spent as managing partner or chief executive.

Well-known as an insolvency specialist, Mr Kitay joined the partnership's predecessor firm Hendry Rae and Court in 1990 in the area of corporate recovery and restructuring, an area he will continue to oversee due to strong demand.

In other recent news, Crowe Horwath has appointed Justin Audcent as head of corporate finance.