Grant Thornton has appointed a new chief executive after the former boss Sacha Romanovitch was ousted.

The UK audit firm has announced Dave Dunckley as the group’s new chief executive.

Romanovitch, who was the first female to run a big City accountancy firm, left Grant Thornton in October after an anonymous memo criticized her leadership skills and accused her of a “socialist agenda”.

At the time of the memo’s release, Romanovitch told the Guardian: “A small cadre of partners will find it hard we are making decisions that will depress profits in the short term but will help profits in the long term.”

“If profits get unhinged from purpose it might not hurt you now, but it will come back and bite you on the bum,” she added.

On her departure, the CEO who capped her own salary, said: “It has been a privilege and an honour to lead this firm. I am proud of what we have achieved in the market, with our people and with our clients, breaking the mould in so many ways.”

“We have attracted so many talented people and great clients to our firm due to our purpose and what we stand for.”

Romanovitch will be replaced by Dunckley, who has been with Grant Thornton since 1998 and has been a partner since 2007.

A spokesperson from the UK’s fifth-largest audit firm has said that the 200 partners employed at the group are “overwhelmingly in favour” of his appointment.

“Our brand is the strongest it has ever been, and we will use this to continue to speak out on big themes that impact our industry and society, driving profitable commercial growth whilst ensuring that we continue to have a strong social conscience,” said Dunckley.

Grant Thornton carries out the audits for Patisserie Valerie, which almost collapsed last month.