The UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle, has put forward Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia as the government’s preferred candidate to chair the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) for a four-year term.
The FRC oversees auditors, accountants and actuaries, and is responsible for setting the UK’s Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes.
Its responsibility is to promote transparency and integrity in business, with a focus on investors and other stakeholders who rely on company reporting, auditing and robust risk management.
Gadhia is a long-standing financial services executive and entrepreneur.
She founded and chaired fintech company Snoop and served as CEO of Virgin Money from 2007 to 2018.
A chartered accountant, she has many years of experience in banking, financial services and consumer finance.
Kyle said: “Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has a proven track record in driving growth and championing high standards in the organisations she leads, along with exceptional experience in financial services.
“She is perfectly placed to lead the FRC at this important time and I look forward to working with her to boost confidence in British businesses.”
Gadhia’s nomination follows what has been described as a fair and open competition.
The Business and Trade Select Committee is due to hold a pre-appointment scrutiny hearing on 14 July and will issue a report on her suitability for the role.
Subject to that report, the business secretary will then move to confirm the appointment.
Gadhia said: “I am honoured to be appointed chair of the FRC at such an important time for the organisation and for the UK economy.
“Strong corporate governance, high-quality reporting and trusted audit are not abstract regulatory goals – they are the foundations on which businesses grow, investors commit capital and public confidence is maintained.
“The FRC has done impressive work in recent years to raise standards and modernise how it regulates and I look forward to working with Richard and the whole team to build on that progress.”
The FRC recently added six new asset managers to the UK Stewardship Code, bringing the total number of approved signatories to 191 organisations.
“UK picks Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia as preferred candidate to chair FRC” was originally created and published by The Accountant, a GlobalData owned brand.
