Sumer Northern Ireland, the Belfast accountancy practice within Sumer Group, has appointed Jayce Bautista as corporate audit manager and Jeffrey Laryea as audit manager, expanding its audit division, a move that matters broadly because it adds capacity as Northern Ireland attracts rising foreign investment, and matters specifically to accountancy professionals because it shows audit being repositioned around technology, risk and strategic insight rather than compliance alone.

Sumer Northern Ireland is a Belfast firm formed in July 2024 when the Belfast office of ASM Chartered Accountants joined Sumer Group, offering audit, tax, corporate finance and forensic accounting to small and medium-sized enterprises, owner-managed businesses, large groups and foreign direct investment entities, with an audit team of 44 serving clients across the UK, Ireland, Australia and the US. Bautista brings cross-border experience with a focus on technology, automation and workflow innovation, while Laryea brings experience in internal controls, risk evaluation and stakeholder relations.

Brian Clerkin, managing partner at Sumer NI, said the role of audit is changing rapidly and that understanding business operations and the wider landscape has never been more important, adding that the team gives clients strategic insight beyond compliance.

The market behind that statement is growing. Northern Ireland recorded 28 foreign direct investment projects in 2025, up from 17 the previous year, with software and IT services and business services the leading sectors.

Invest NI also reported that it secured 20 new first-time foreign investors in 2025-26, including Bank of America, and foreign-owned entities typically bring group reporting deadlines and local audit requirements that suit a firm used to that work.

Sumer NI’s own plans point the same way. The firm reported 130 staff and a plan to add 100 over three years, so the two audit hires sit within a deliberate build-out rather than a replacement exercise.

For the sector, audit teams that combine technology skills with risk and controls expertise are being hired ahead of foreign investment inflows, signalling where demand for audit capacity in Northern Ireland is expected to grow.

Source: International Accounting Bulletin / NI Chamber / Invest NI / Insider Media