Update from the CPA Australia Board 28 September 2023
Content Summary
- President’s message
- Board of Directors appointments
- Member Engagement Survey
- CPA Virtual Congress 18-20 October
- Introduction of Ethics CPD requirement
- 2023 Ethics Index released
- Divisional Council elections
President’s message
This is my final update as President and Chair of CPA Australia. It has been a tremendous privilege to serve in this role for the past three years and I’m very grateful for the wonderful support I’ve received from members, fellow directors and all of CPA Australia’s employees. I’m proud of what we have achieved on behalf of members, and I step down as President confident that the organisation is well placed to meet the challenges ahead.
On behalf of the board, I’d also like to thank CEO Andrew Hunter for his strong leadership in guiding the organisation since April 2018. As announced in July's board update, Andrew has resigned effective from March 2024, when he will pursue the next phase of his career in Europe. It has been a great pleasure working alongside Andrew who continues to make a significant contribution to CPA Australia and its members.
Board of Directors appointments
CPA Australia is pleased to announce the election of a President and Chair and two Deputy Presidents, as well as the reappointment of one director and the appointment of three new directors to the board.
Congratulations to John Curtin Distinguished Professor Dale Pinto FCPA on being elected as President and Chair of CPA Australia. I also congratulate Warren McRae FCPA and Louise Cox FCPA on being elected as Deputy Presidents. Dale has previously served as Deputy President for three years, and Warren for one year, while Louise has been a director for four years. They are united in their dedication to advance the needs of members and make sure CPA Australia remains a leading voice in the profession. Each of these appointments is for 12 months from 1 October 2023.
Congratulations also to Anthony Wright who has been re-elected to the board as a non-member director for a three-year term commencing 1 October 2023. Anthony brings to the board unique and valuable experience across a broad range of specialised fields including legal, governance, risk and compliance, finance, ESG and marketing.
Three new directors have also been appointed to the board:
Member directors
- Kaushika Jayalath CPA, is an experienced Solutions Consultant at Oracle Corporation specialising in higher education, implementing cloud technology solutions to drive enterprise finance transformations and sustainable change management.
- Anna Quinn FCPA, a senior executive and company director with extensive experience across a broad range of industries, including marketing, media, digital, ecommerce, retail and consumer business.
Non-member director
- Sarah Adam-Gedge CA, is a chartered accountant with extensive experience as a CEO and executive leader in the digital transformation and technology industry and as a non-executive director across a range of listed, private and not-for-profit organisations, including Austal Ltd, Codan Ltd, Bravura Solutions Ltd, Kinetic IT Pty Ltd and Cricket Australia.
Sarah, Kaushika and Anna have been appointed for a three-year term commencing 1 October 2023. We welcome them to the board and congratulate them on being appointed as directors. The Appointments Council, comprising members elected from CPA Australia's Divisional Councils, made the new director appointments in accordance with CPA Australia's Constitution.
I have completed my term as President and Chair of CPA Australia and will also be retiring from the Board. Rosemary Sinclair AM FCPA and Helen Lorigan, having completed their second three-year terms, are also retiring from the Board effective from 30 September. I take this opportunity to thank Rosemary and Helen for their tireless work and the incredible contribution they have made as directors.
Member Engagement Survey
Each year CPA Australia invites members to complete a Member Engagement Survey to help us understand your priorities and deliver improved value and services.In the coming week you’ll receive an email from our research partner, Forethought Research, which will contain a link to an online survey. The survey will take 15-20 minutes to complete and will be open until 3 November 2023. Your responses will assist us to understand the aspects of the organisation that are working well, and the areas where you feel improvement is required. The Board encourages all members to participate in the survey and in appreciation of your time, members who complete the survey will be eligible to enter CPA Australia’s prize draw.
Engaging Forethought Research as a third party to collect and analyse the data ensures that your feedback remains anonymous. The results will be released in the 2023 Integrated Report.
CPA Virtual Congress 18-20 October
CPA Congress will host live sessions from Wednesday 18 to Friday 20 October, followed by a six-week OnDemand period. The program theme is ‘Flex Forward’ and features more than 30 sessions from fellow CPA Australia members, industry experts, and internationally renowned leaders, including:
- Anna Wintour - Global Editorial Director at Vogue
- Rt Hon David Cameron - Former Prime Minister of the UK
- Idris Elba - Award winning actor
- Caroline Spencer FCPA - Auditor General for Western Australia
- Dr Allan Zeman FCPA - Chairman of LKF Group
With 18 sessions watched on average last year, you are sure to find practical, relevant and inspiring concepts to apply towards achieving your goals. Further details and bookings via the dedicated CPA Congress website.
Introduction of Ethics CPD requirement
CPA Australia is committed to ensuring members maintain the highest professional standards in ethics and integrity. From 1 October, all members (except those excluded in the by-laws) are required to complete 10 hours of ethics CPD per triennium, with a minimum requirement of two hours each year. This forms part of your existing CPD requirement of 120 hours per triennium. We offer complimentary ethics resources to help members meet the minimum requirements. In addition, a new micro-credential in Professional Ethics equating to five CPD hours will be launched in October. Learn more.
2023 Ethics Index released
The Governance Institute of Australia has released its 2023 Ethics Index that ranks the ethical behaviour of organisations as well as different occupations. CPA Australia ranked fifth for member organisations, up two points from the 2022 report, while in terms of people in contact, ‘your accountant’ ranked fourth, up one point from 2022. View the full report.
Divisional Council elections
Members in nine of CPA Australia’s Divisions are now able to vote in Divisional Council elections. The Divisions holding a ballot are Australian Capital Territory, Europe, New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. Elections are not being held in the remaining Divisions as the number of nominations did not exceed the number of vacancies. The Divisional Council elections are open for eligible members to vote, and polls will close at 5.00pm local time on 16 October.
Divisional Councils play a vital role in promoting member engagement and the Board encourages eligible members to take part in the election process. More information is available on the Divisional Council election webpage.
Merran Kelsall AO FCPA
President and Chair
On behalf of CPA Australia’s Board of Directors
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