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After 23 years at a big four firm, Lauren Witherdin takes over at the independent provider.
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Whistleblower service Your Call appoints ex-KPMG director as CEO
15 September 2022
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Independent whistleblowing service Your Call has appointed former KPMG director Lauren Witherdin as chief executive.
Your Call co-founder and former CEO Nathan Luker said he was excited by the appointment as it showed the organisation was developing.
“Lauren’s appointment marks the next phase of growth for Your Call and the Clarity Plus group of companies,” he said.
“Lauren is well respected as an expert in whistleblowing and shares our passion for building better cultures. She will be an asset for our clients and team.”
Ms Witherdin said it was a special opportunity to lead an independent whistleblowing organisation that had blossomed from a start-up only eight years ago.
“Your Call has a great reputation in the market and I saw an opportunity to join a purpose-led organisation and lead the next chapter of growth for a successful firm in integrity and whistleblowing, something I’m passionate about,” she said.
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Ms Witherdin spent over 23 years working at KPMG where she started in audit, worked in the forensic practice, and most recently was the director and national leader of the firm’s whistleblowing services.
“Originally I was at KPMG in the audit practice and I found that was a fabulous way of getting to know different organisations, their processes, their culture, but it did feel a bit as though the job never finished because you’d finish one year’s audit and it’d be time to start again,” she said.
“I saw an opportunity to move into forensic consulting, to help organisations prevent, detect and respond to fraud and other types of improper conduct.
“At that time whistleblowing focus was on fraud, specifically financial fraud so there was a very natural segue there.”
Ms Witherdin said that while financial fraud was previously the focus of whistleblowing today it encompassed much more.
“Whistleblowing has become far broader than dealing with just financial fraud matters, but everything from conflict of interest, bullying and harassment, and even policy breaches can potentially be a protected disclosure,” she said.
She said her zeal for whistleblowing came after discovering that it could help expedite the discovery of improper conduct within organisations.
“I was running investigations for a number of years and I noticed, that typically there would be a bystander who would be aware of the fraud or the improper conduct that was occurring, and often it would take place for a number of years before it was detected in the organisation,” she said.
“I realised that there was an opportunity for the improper conduct to be detected far sooner and that whistleblowing could really assist in bringing improper conduct to the forefront on a timely basis.
“This was where I developed a real passion for whistleblowing.”
Ms Witherdin said her accounting background provided a strong platform to diversify.
“Embarking on a career in accounting isn’t necessarily an avenue to be a financial reporting accountant. Accounting qualifications can deliver much more for you in your career,” she said.
“Alongside the technical skills of being a chartered accountant, the soft skills that you develop along the way and the professional development opportunities that you are given as an accountant are immense and transferable in many different directions.
“I think it’s a wonderful foundation for going into business.”
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