PwC Isle of Man has promoted Alison Cregeen to Director in its Advisory services practice.

Alison joined PwC in 2009 and has 20 years’ experience working in Big 4 accountancy practices, both in London and the Isle of Man.
Alison is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. Prior to moving to the Isle of Man she specialised in forensic accounting, with experience in both commercial disputes and financial investigations. More recently she has qualified as a Data Protection Practitioner and in addition to her ongoing forensic work leads the growing data privacy practice in the Isle of Man.

‘Since I started work at PwC more than eight years ago, I have seen the Advisory department grow from just a couple of staff to a dedicated team of more than 10, with a range of general and specialised skills,’ said Alison. ‘It has been very rewarding to be a part of that, and I believe that we will continue to see the practice go from strength to strength in the future.

‘As the department has grown the issues that we are helping clients with have evolved. This change has been most striking when it comes to data. The explosion of data is changing the way our clients do business, and we have had to develop both in terms of the services we offer and the skills of the staff who deliver those services – whether it’s data assurance, cyber security or data privacy, to name a few.

‘For me, this has meant going back to the classroom to get my formal data protection practitioners certificate. Data privacy has become a significant concern for many local businesses, and with the forthcoming changes in data protection regulation we wanted to ensure we could offer our clients the right advice and support to understand the impact on their businesses.

‘We are well placed to respond to these challenges, as we have a talented local team and a wealth of experience within the wider PwC network.’

Advisory leader Steve Billinghurst endorsed the promotion. He said: ‘What’s exceptionally pleasing to see, is Alison’s foresight and awareness of business issues being rewarded. Nearly two years ago she came to me and pointed out the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) landscape and the impact it would have on businesses and, whilst completing her qualification, she has engaged with
many companies locally and is helping them to be “GDPR ready”. I look forward to continuing to develop the practice with Alison to deliver solutions for the future needs of our clients.’