ACCA appoints boss of condemned audit watchdog as new director

Mr Suffield will take up the role in August 2019, having held his current position at the FRC since since August 2018, a period that recently culminated in ministers announcing plans to completely abolish the regulator and replace it with a new body, following controversy over its approach to a string of corporate scandals.

Mr Suffield built his career to director level at the National Audit Office before joining the FRC in 2016 as the director of the Audit Quality Review.

He established his accountancy career at Coopers and Lybrand after graduating from Brasenose College, Oxford University in 1988.

Last week, UK business secretary,  Greg Clark, confirmed that he would implement the recommendations of a review led by Sir John Kingman, the former Treasury mandarin.

Sir John’s finding slammed a string of calamitous corporate audits, leading him to conclude that the FRC‎ was not fit for purpose and should be replaced by a new body called the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA).

At ACCA, Mr Suffield will report to Alan Hatfield, executive director of ACCA’s strategy and development directorate, within which the professional insights team sits.

He will direct a team of subject experts who create and deliver ACCA’s global research and development programme, alongside ACCA’s global public affairs agenda.

Mr Suffield said: “I’m delighted to be joining ACCA as its new director of professional insights, leading a team of talented specialists whose work moulds global thought leadership, which helps shape and lead the profession. Research and reports help to communicate the tangible benefits of accountancy and business, and provides the much-needed evidence to help ACCA’s public interest remit.”

Mr Hatfield added: “We are thrilled Mike is joining ACCA; he brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding from both the public and private sectors about the profession and how it works on the global stage. Mike also has a keen understanding of the challenges and opportunities ahead for the profession, from regulation to skills – and how it also relates to government and policy making.”