Peter Wyman, who officially stepped into the role of ICAEW Chair of the Board this month, is no stranger to the spotlight. A former partner and member of the Global Executive at PwC, Wyman was once described by the Daily Telegraph as one of the firm’s “most longstanding and famous bean counters”. The article also quoted a member of Council who said Wyman had got as much exposure as Kylie Minogue’s bottom. 

Nor is he a stranger to the workings of ICAEW. In fact, a longstanding involvement with ICAEW at various stages over the course of Wyman’s illustrious career means it’s almost easier to list the roles that haven’t appeared on his enviable CV. As he admits: “When I was first approached by the headhunters, I said, ‘You’ve got to be joking. I've done pretty much every role going over the course of my career – student society, district society, council, faculty, education and training, professional standards, president. Why would I want to go back?’”

The need for an independent Chair of the Board was one of the first recommendations of a comprehensive review launched in 2020 with the aim of modernising the Institute’s governance. Until Wyman’s appointment, the ICAEW Board had been chaired by the elected ICAEW President, who is a member of ICAEW Council and changes each year. The Chair of the Board will oversee the implementation of further governance reforms approved by ICAEW Council, including changes to the composition of the Board. Wyman will serve for an initial three-year term.

The significance of his latest appointment to ICAEW’s evolution clinched the deal. “When they started to explain the role,” Wyman says, “I realised that it builds on everything I did when I was previously involved with the Institute, but more particularly builds on everything I've been doing since. I have been a passionate advocate for my profession and my professional body, ICAEW, all my working life. After a gap of some 14 years, it is great to be able to contribute to this important new development in the governance of the Institute.”

Wyman was a member of the ICAEW Council from 1991 to 2009, President in 2002-03 and was awarded a CBE in the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to the accountancy profession. “When I was ICAEW President, we didn’t have a Chief Executive, we had a Secretary General. The President was a spokesman but also had huge internal responsibilities and was the main conduit between the Institute and government, but the post is only held for a year. 

“I led the review that said we needed a Chief Executive who would be in that position for much longer than just a year, who would build the right relationships and do all the things that Michael Izza has been doing so well for the last umpteen years. Now, a Chair of the Board will have greater continuity over that slightly longer period. It’s a governance shift that builds on something I put in place 20 years ago.”

Wyman’s wealth of experience in the public, private and third sectors, combined with his intimate understanding of the workings of Moorgate Place, stand him in good stead for the next three years: “I know the landscape. It's moved on a lot since I first got involved. But nevertheless, it feels like coming home.”

At a time when the accountancy profession faces so much upheaval, the new Chair of the Board role is more relevant than ever, Wyman says: “We’re living in a very fast-moving, complex world. Being chief executive is a hugely demanding job in any organisation, and ICAEW is no exception. Having somebody who can work with the chief executive, be a trusted confidant, and take a little bit of the load makes a lot of sense.”

Top of the to-do list, Wyman says, is maintaining the value of the ACA qualification, something he describes as a perennial priority. “It’s got to be the qualification of choice for people who want a career in accountancy, finance or business, for training firms, and for employers – whether that’s for newly qualified Chartered Accountants, right the way through to people looking for the next CFO, chief executive or chairman.” 

Another priority and opportunity for ICAEW is to tap into the extensive knowledge and experience of ICAEW’s 150,000-plus members to help shape government and regulatory policy, he says: “I mean that very much in a public interest way, not in a self-serving way and certainly not in a party-political way.” 

That public interest focus includes continuing to ensure that ICAEW members operate with the highest possible professional standards. “We're living in a world where some of our leaders seem to regard behaving with integrity as optional and it's important that leaders in business generally, but certainly Chartered Accountants, behave with the utmost professional integrity at all times.”

Wyman is all too aware of the ramifications of behaviour falling below acceptable standards; he was ICAEW President when Enron’s fraud came to light and oversaw ICAEW’s important role in shaping policy and bringing about reforms including the end of self-regulation for Public Interest audits, and the creation of the FRC in its present form. 

But Wyman warns against knee-jerk regulations, some of which he believes do little or nothing to prevent either audit or corporate failures, and may have unintended consequences. “It's perfectly right that people ask searching questions of the board, of regulators and of the auditors. And if they have fallen short, they need to be held to account. I’m not suggesting for one minute that we should be completely relaxed about it. But on the other hand, there have always been corporate failures, and there will always be corporate failures, and we need to be certain that any changes to either corporate governance or audit regulation are proportionate and will achieve the desired outcomes.” 

Since leaving PwC in 2010, Wyman has held a portfolio of non-executive appointments, including Chair of health and social care regulator the Care Quality Commission. He is currently Chair of NHS Blood and Transplant and an Independent Non-Executive Director of Pay.UK, which operates the UK’s national retail inter-bank payment systems including BACS. 

Wyman’s experience gives him an unrivalled perspective on the ins and outs of his ICAEW role. “It’s about getting the most out of the board. A good board will develop a talented collection of executive and non-executive directors, but the whole has got to be greater than the sum of the parts.” 

Despite his firsthand experience at the CQC, Wyman describes himself as a “deregulator at heart” and warns against the UK’s tendency to gold-plate lots of regulation: “There is a need and a role for regulation, don't get me wrong, but we need to be mindful of how poor regulation or poorly conducted regulation can be a massive overhead that sucks productivity out of the country.”