Meet the Trustees
Our experienced board of Trustees guide and steer ICAEW Foundation agreeing our strategy, approving our spending decisions and gauging our impact.
Richard Baylis
Richard is an Associate Professor in Accounting at Swansea University, beginning his academic career at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ACA) while working at Grant Thornton and became a fellow (FCA) in 2020.
Richard has taught at various levels and for many different audiences. His primary expertise is financial reporting at the under- and post-graduate level, but has also provided bespoke courses to industry and a number of public sector bodies (e.g. NHS Wales and the Welsh Parliament). Richard's research focuses on financial reporting, audit, public sector accounting, and more recently, accounting pedagogy.
His work has been published by internationally recognised journals, including Journal of Accounting and Economics, Accounting and Business Research and has engaged with UK and Welsh Governments. He acts as an ad-hoc reviewer for several international journals including Accounting and Business Research, British Accounting Review and Abacus.
Richard actively engages with professional and academic bodies, such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the British Accounting and Finance Association, in disseminating his work, delivering best practice, and engaging with the ever-changing landscape of accounting education and practice.
Chris Soan
An experienced ICAEW Chartered Accountant, I am the Associate Dean for Education at Newcastle University Business School and a Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Finance. Previous roles here include Director of Education, Joint Subject Group Head of Accounting and Finance and Degree Programme Director for the Business Accounting and Finance Programme (the Flying Start degree, a partnership with PwC and ICAEW running since 2003).
The Chairman of the ICAEW Northern Board and a past President of the ICAEW Northern Society of Chartered Accountants, I have a BA (Hons) in Accounting and Financial Analysis from Newcastle University and am a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (FCA), by profession.
Before becoming an academic in 2010, I worked in two of the ‘big four’ accountancy practices in Newcastle as well as in industry in both the private and public sectors.
From a voluntary and engagement perspective, in addition to being a member of the Chartered Accountants’ Trustees Board, I am an active participant in the Region's ICAEW committees and a trustee of the Northern Society of Chartered Accountants. Other recent voluntary roles have included Treasurer of the Friends of the Newcastle Theatre Royal committee for four years and Treasurer of my son’s swimming club.
Shauna Bevan
Shauna has over twenty years investment experience across multiple asset classes and geographies. She is currently Head of Investment Advisory at RiverPeak Wealth, a private client advisory firm which she joined in January 2017. Prior to that she was Co-Head of Collectives Research and Portfolio Management at national wealth manager, Charles Stanley. In addition to her role at RiverPeak, Shauna is a non-executive director of Witan Investment Trust Plc and CT Global Managed Portfolio Plc. She is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI).
Mike Hicks, BSc (Econ); FCA; DChA
Mike has retired from practice as an audit partner with Crowe UK LLP having been with that firm since he first started training to be a ICAEW Chartered Accountant. He served as a member of the Executive team and as Crowe’s finance partner for a number of years, specialising throughout in the audits of a varied portfolio of charitable and not for profit organisations. A significant area of specialism was in endowed charities making grants as well as a number of high-profile national charities.
Outside of his professional career Mike is a Trustee of a small charity which owns and safeguards playing fields for the public benefit, situated in the village where he lives. Mike is married with two daughters in their twenties and includes sport in his main interests, where he still plays (to a fashion) for the local cricket team.
Andrew Ratcliffe FCA
In 2024, Andrew became the Chairman of CAT Ltd (Chartered Accountants Trustees) having been a director of the board since 2019. Andrew Ratcliffe is a past President of ICAEW. He spent his career with PwC as lead engagement partner for the audits of a number of large international companies in a range of industries. He is now a director of Barclays Bank UK PLC and chair of its Audit Committee. He is also a trustee of a number of other charities.
Andrew Wauchope BA, FCISI
Andrew Wauchope has specialised in investment management and the charity sector throughout his 30 years in the investment industry. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) and has been a visiting lecturer at the Cass Business School. He is a trustee of CABA, the Solicitors Charity and the Harrow Mission Trust and Honorary Treasurer of the Sir Halley Stewart Trust. He is an external advisor for the RCN Foundation, a member of the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee of the Institute of Civil Engineers and sits on the Court of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, a London Livery Company.
