Professionals on the Move – October 2023

IFRS Foundation enhances global proficiency with appointments of Trustees

The IFRS Foundation recently announced the appointments of five new Trustees and the re-appointments of five Trustees.

The newly appointed IFRS Foundation Trustees bring a diverse range of skills and expertise from Asia, Europe and North America. The appointments include:

• Bertrand Badré is the Managing Partner and Founder of Blue Like an Orange Sustainable Capital, an investment fund that aims to finance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in Emerging and Developing economies. Previously Mr Badré has served as Managing Director and Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the World Bank Group. Before joining the World Bank, he was Group CFO for Société Générale and Crédit Agricole and a partner at Lazard
• Rudolf Bless has been the Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) for Bank of America, since 2014. Previously, Mr Bless was Deputy Chief Financial Officer and CAO of Credit Suisse AG Zurich, and prior to that a PwC Audit Partner, active both in the US and Europe. During his career, Mr Bless has had responsibility for financial, regulatory and sustainability reporting. He has served on the boards of the SASB Foundation and the Value Reporting Foundation, and as a member of the IFRS Advisory Council and the US Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council.
• Morgan Després is Executive Director for international climate finance, land use and net zero macroeconomy at the European Climate Foundation (ECF). Mr Després joined the ECF after 18 years working in the French official sector on financial stability and international and European financial regulation issues most recently as Director of Strategy at the Banque de France. He was the founding Head of the Secretariat of the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS).
• Chong-Tee Ong is Chairman of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority in Singapore. Prior to this, he had an extensive career in the Monetary Authority of Singapore of over 35 years. He retired in 2021 from his role overseeing Financial Supervision. Mr Ong has deep knowledge and experience in banking, insurance and capital market matters and in corporate disclosures, including financial and sustainability reporting. His expertise also covers broader issues of central banking such as in monetary policy and financial stability.
• Richard Sexton is currently a member of the Board and the Audit Committee Chair for Northumbrian Water and a Trustee and Audit and Risk Committee Chair of Our Future Health. He served three years, from 2018 until 2021, as a member of the board of the International Integrated Reporting Council and was, until its consolidation with the IFRS Foundation, Co-Chair of the Value Reporting

All the newly appointed Trustees will serve an initial term of three years. Dame Colette Bowe, Michel Madelain, Ross McInnes, Larry Leva, Vinod Rai and Lucrezia Reichlin step down from their positions at the end of December 2023, after completing their second terms.

Four current Trustees have also been re-appointed for a second term of three years:

•         Masamichi Kono

•         Robert Pozen

•         Kenneth Robinson

•         Erhard Schipporeit

As an exceptional step, Vice-Chair Teresa Ko has also been re-appointed for a further year in light of her role as Chair of the Due Process Oversight Committee and the need to provide continuity in the Committee’s work to reflect the establishment of the ISSB.

Sigma7 Adds Greg Crook as New CFO

Sigma7, a tech-forward risk information and services company, recently announced the hiring of veteran accounting and financial executive Greg Crook as the company’s next CFO. With a diverse background in financial leadership – spanning five continents – Crook will be tasked with guiding Sigma7 into its next phase of global expansion and organizational growth.

With over 25 years of financial executive experience, Crook has established himself as a foremost name in financial leadership and operational success – including spearheading mergers and acquisitions and IPO operations across the public and private sectors. Prior to joining Sigma7, Crook served as CFO at EverSmith Brands – a leading B2B franchising services company – leading the company from startup and its expansion into becoming a multi-brand entity selling franchises worldwide.

Crook’s hiring caps a year of impressive talent growth for Sigma7 including the appointment of former Aon Asia CEO Owen Belman as the company’s CEO; Marsh and JLT alum Andrew Tait as Integrated Risk Leader; Munich Re alum Bob Mozeika as COO, Garda World alum Colin Brown as Resilience and Security Leader, and Denton’s alum Deborah Rimmler as General Counsel.

VSH Promotes Lloyd Sandquist to Senior Assurance Manager

VSH CPAs, a leading accounting and consulting firm in Northwest Washington, recently announced the promotion of Lloyd Sandquist, CPA, to Senior Assurance Manager.  

Lloyd, a seasoned accounting professional with over 35 years of experience, is a valuable asset to the VSH audit and accounting department. He specializes in providing assurance services for privately held businesses, employee benefit plans, and not-for-profit organizations. In his role as Senior Assurance Manager, he is dedicated to improving the technical quality of assurance service engagements through thorough review and advanced technical training.

A 1986 graduate of the University of Washington, Lloyd earned his bachelor’s degree in Business with Concentrations in Accounting and Finance. He is a member of University of Washington Alumni Association. Lloyd is currently affiliated with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and serves on the Accounting, Auditing, and Review Services Committee for Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants (WSCPA). Lloyd grew up in Shoreline, Washington and currently lives in Mill Creek, Washington.

Andy Mattson Appointed as Committee Chair for the California Society of CPAs

Moss Adams, one of the largest accounting, consulting and wealth management firms in the nation, recently announced that Andy Mattson has been named chair of the Committee on Taxation for the California Society of CPAs (CalCPA). CalCPA is the largest state association of CPAs in the United States.

Mattson and his committee will provide CalCPA members with current information on tax laws, programs, regulations, and revenue rulings while serving as a liaison for the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board, Board of Equalization, and Employment Development Department. Mattson brings almost 40 years of experience in corporate, partnership, and individual tax and compensation planning, stock option taxation and planning, and international taxation.

Mattson has served as a tax professional in Silicon Valley since 1985. He has served for over 20 years as an appointed member of multiple American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) committees and technical resource panels to help shape tax policies and rules.