Paul Brooks was appointed as the new lay-chair of the ICAEW Regulatory Board (IRB) in August. In the first of our series introducing the new members of the IRB, Paul tells us about his background and his ongoing commitment to strengthening trust in the accountancy profession.
The IRB is responsible for overseeing ICAEW’s regulatory and conduct activities. Its core objectives are to ensure that this work, carried out by the Professional Standards Department (PSD) and the regulatory and disciplinary committees, upholds the public interest and promotes high standards of professional competency and conduct.
The board also provides assurance to government, oversight regulators and the public that these tasks are carried out independently and objectively.
“For any profession to flourish, it must act in the public interest,” says Paul. “And to protect and enhance the reputation of the accountancy profession, ICAEW must maintain the highest regulatory and conduct standards. The IRB is the vital lynchpin in ensuring that happens.
“I hope my long experience of working with chartered accountants, coupled with my considerable understanding of professional regulation, will bring significant value to the board’s work.”
Wealth of experience
To support the distinction between ICAEW’s representative and regulatory roles, the IRB has parity of lay (non-accountant) and chartered accountant members. This combination of technical experts and lay representatives encourages a broad range of views and insights, and ensures the public interest stays at the heart of the IRB’s work.
Paul has a professional career that combines practical hands-on commercial and financial expertise with a wealth of experience in governance and regulation.
“My background is as a venture capitalist and private equity investor,” he explains. “And throughout my career I’ve worked with chartered accountants, both as colleagues and as advisers.”
He also brings with him two decades of experience of ICAEW’s regulatory and conduct work. His involvement started with membership of the Investment Business Committee, which regulates the work of members providing investment advice. A few years later he joined the Tribunals Committee, becoming its chair in 2014. “Then, in 2016, I was appointed chair of the Investigation Committee – now the Conduct Committee – where I served for eight years,” he says.
Paul also has years of experience of professional regulation outside his work with ICAEW. For example, he is currently chair of the Disciplinary and Interim Orders Tribunal of the Intellectual Property Regulation Board and a lay member of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers’ Adjudication Panel. He also sits as a magistrate in Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Unique insights
“Throughout my career, I've had to deal with a lot of complex information and be able to distil that and understand the real issues, whether when making an investment or taking a decision on the Conduct Committee,” says Paul.
“That’s probably one of the key things I bring to the IRB from my professional career,” he explains. “And that’s coupled with my first-hand knowledge of what accountants do and the value they add.”
Chairing both the Conduct and Tribunals committees has given Paul a unique depth of insight across ICAEW’s disciplinary and enforcement activities. “That experience has deepened my commitment to ensuring that accountants ‘play by the book’, and reassuring the public and the profession that those who don’t are dealt with properly and fairly,” he explains.
Duncan Wiggetts, Chief Officer, PSD, has welcomed Paul’s appointment given the important contributions Paul has already made during his time on ICAEW’s regulatory and disciplinary committees.
“The Conduct Committee is our busiest committee, responsible for considering nearly all of our disciplinary complaints,” says Duncan.
“Paul steered that committee through high volumes of work and always found time to feed back his ideas for how our processes could be improved. He also played an important part in the development of the new disciplinary framework. I look forward to working with him in his new role.”
Strengthening trust
“The reputation of the profession is precious and needs to be protected for the sake of ICAEW members and the public,” emphasises Paul. “And protecting the public and preserving the reputation of the profession are the touchstones for all our work, whether that’s the IRB, the disciplinary and regulatory committees or PSD.
“I’m delighted to have been appointed as IRB Chair and am very much looking forward to working with my fellow IRB members, the ICAEW Board, our oversight regulators, and with the PSD staff, to strengthen trust and achieve our mutual objectives and goals.”
Paul will be sharing more about his work as IRB Chair in future editions of Regulatory and Conduct News.
