ICAS Council, Boards, Panels and Committees: An update on 2020 Council appointments
ICAS Council made a total of 28 appointments to Council, Boards and Committees in 2020, all of which have an essential role to play in ICAS’ governance, operations, qualifications and policy leadership.
Your Council and its Boards, Panels and Committees play an essential role in the ICAS governance structure.
The role of Council is to ensure that the highest standards of governance are maintained, effective management is achieved, and the objects of the Royal Charter are met. Council oversees the governance structure and delegates certain responsibilities to a series of Boards, Committees and Panels.
In 2020 ICAS Council made a total of 28 appointments.
ICAS Council
The following Members have joined ICAS Council in 2020. These include three Members who have joined Council by election and two who were appointed by Council (as indicated) to fill the seats that remained vacant after the election.
Margaret Bunyan (elected)
Margaret is a Senior Manager at Drummond Laurie Chartered Accountants. Margaret is responsible for a diverse portfolio of clients, predominately OMBs within the SME market; although specialises in advising clients within the agricultural sector. As part of the Senior Management team she is involved in making key decisions within the practice. She is also the company’s ICAS Counselling Member and one of their Money Laundering Officers. She is a great ambassador for the firm.
Margaret qualified in 2009 and has had a successful career to date in practice. Margaret currently is the Treasurer for an agricultural show, and is involved within Women in Agriculture events in Scotland. Margaret is a hardworking, driven individual who is passionate about her work.
Michael Kay (elected)
Michael qualified with Arthur Andersen in Edinburgh, with secondments to London and Melbourne. He joined a sales promotion plc in London, before he and fellow directors established their own below-the-line agency backed by 3i.
The majority of his career was then spent in financial services, with senior regional and global finance and operational roles in Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and HSBC. Michael subsequently moved to the public sector with NHS Digital, leading the Commercial function through a period of significant transformation.
Brought up in Ayr, Michael is a keen Burns enthusiast, winning the “Tam o’Shanter World Championship” in 2018. He is also an Honorary Steward at the Wimbledon Championships.
Louise Page (elected)
Louise trained and worked in practice for 9 years, training in a small firm which gave her exposure and experience in a wide range of activities and providing broad base of experience to her early on in my career. After practice, Louise moved to financial services where she gained experience in asset management finances, governance, global operations, and marketing operations.
After 15 years in financial services Louise chose to move to the not for profit sector and became Chief Financial Officer and Director of Corporate Services for the National Trust for Scotland, a Charity registered in Scotland.
Emily Cheyne (appointed)
Emily Cheyne CA is an Associate at KPMG within their Transaction Services department in Aberdeen. She provides services including financial due diligence, vendor diligence, and strategic support on several high-profile transactions across the UK. Emily has been involved in deals across a wide range of sectors including oil & gas, food & drink, and insurance.
Furthermore, Emily contributes to both the Be-mindful Committee and the Business Stakeholder team within KPMG.
Emily graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 2014 with a first-class honour’s degree in Accountancy and Finance. Upon graduating, Emily joined AAB LLP in Aberdeen where she completed her CA training, qualifying in 2017. During her training contract, Emily managed a diverse client base having gained experience in Audit and Tax from small owner-managed businesses to large corporates.
Emily has taken an active interest in ICAS, sitting on the ICAS Grampian Area committee since qualifying in 2017.
Diana Muendo (appointed)
Diana is an experienced Finance Business Partner and Creative Entrepreneur, who is passionate about empowering people to explore their creative side and helping SMEs grow.
After studying Economics and Management in Oxford University, Diana joined Ernst & Young on the Corporate Finance Graduate Scheme, where I qualified as a CA and specialized in Commercial Due Diligence. She left EY after 3.5 years to pursue an industry career in Consumer Goods and Entrepreneurship; working in a variety of roles in a number of businesses, from confectionary start ups to Virgin Start Up, Diageo and most recently working for the founders at luxury jewellery brand Monica Vinader where she established the FP&A function.
She also co-founded her own business in 2017, M.Y.O (for ‘Make Your Own’) - a creative studio for adults based in London Bridge. M.Y.O runs 14+ arts and craft workshops for events, the public and companies, whilst also creating social media content for brands. She has now also launched a sister brand Creative Jungle Co that is all about bringing Creativity to Life and Business through creative kits and a creative podcast.
ICAS Boards, Panels and Committees
The following appointments have been made to ICAS Boards, Panels and Committees, in date order:
- David Cruickshank - Chair of Qualifications Board.
- Gillian Alexander - Member of Qualifications Board.
- Bernard Dunn - Member of the Regulation Board.
- Chris Campbell and Fraser Hiddelston – Members of Members Board.
- John Todd - Chair of the Highland Area Network.
- Gordon Smail - Member of the Policy Leadership Board.
- Jim Robertson and Carolyn Spencer - Members of Qualifications Board.
- Colin Young - Chair of the Lothian & Borders Area Network.
- Alan Begg and Rory Shedden – Members of Members Board.
- Bruce Minto OBE FRSE - Convenor of the Investigations Committee.
- Shona Campbell - Convenor of the Insolvency Committee and Member of Regulation Board.
- Alice Deakin - Member of Qualifications Board.
- Elizabeth Blythin, Karen Stewart and Chris Hunter – Members of Qualifications Board.
- Michael Kay – Chair of Members Board.
- Barry Fitzsimmons – Member of Policy Leadership Board.
- Liam Boyle and Colin Crosby – Members of Discipline Board.
- Tracey Rob Perera – Chair of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
- Robert Grome – Member of Remuneration Committee.
- Alan Horn – Member of the Constitutional Panel.
- Past President Jann Brown – Chair of Presidential Nominations Committee.
- Colin McClatchie – to succeed Past President Brown to Chair of Presidential Nominations Committee (in accordance with the revised General Regulations that were approved at the SGM). Colin will take over as Chair after the Privy Council formalities have been completed.
- Past President Mike McKeon – Member of Presidential Nominations Committee.
Help to shape your institute in 2021
ICAS is governed by Council, which in turn delegates certain responsibilities to a range of Boards and Committees whose remit covers governance and operations, qualifications, ethics and policy leadership. In addition, our specialist Panels and Boards consider matters such as taxation, pensions and charities. The composition of all these bodies reflects our diversity, is often broad and varied, aims to capitalise on the expertise that exists across Council and, where permitted by the constitution of the body, the wider ICAS membership. In some cases, lay (non-CA) members are also included.
Getting involved with any of these Boards, Committees or Panels can be a great way to add new insights, skills and expertise to your portfolio and can be a fantastic networking opportunity. Furthermore, you’ll be playing an active hand in shaping the future of both ICAS and the CA profession.
Although headquartered in Edinburgh, ICAS has a wide sphere of influence and wants to involve volunteers from across the UK – and in some cases even further afield. For convenience, participation at meetings can be by telephone or video conferencing.
Find out some of the other ways in which you can get involved with ICAS.
