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CPA Australia’s immediate past president, Peter Wilson, has assured members that the board will continue to build on his goal of restoring confidence in the professional body’s brand and reputation.
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CPA Australia’s outgoing president reflects on term
26 October 2020
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Mr Wilson concluded his maximum three-year term as president and chair of CPA Australia earlier this month, handing over the reins to former deputy chair Merran Kelsall, who was selected by the Appointments Council.
Reflecting on his term, Mr Wilson said his immediate goal in accepting his appointment in 2017 was to restore trust in the organisation in the wake of the Alex Malley leadership saga, which ultimately saw the former CEO sacked and the entire board resigning.
“Like a lot of members looking in from the outside, I was very concerned by what I was reading in the media at the time,” Mr Wilson said.
“As a CPA Australia member of 43 years standing and an FCPA for 30 years, I wanted to help restore pride in my professional body.
“I think my greatest accomplishment as president and chair has been leading a completely new, active and hard-working board and management team to regenerate confidence in the organisation and protect the reputation of the designation.”
Mr Wilson said his first step was to implement the recommendations of an independent review that had been initiated at the height of its leadership spill.
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“The board and I also immediately established an extensive program of open and genuine dialogue with members. Part of this involved establishing a rigorous baseline of member sentiment and expectations,” he said.
“These actions helped us to draft final special resolutions to reshape our governance, which were overwhelmingly endorsed by our members at the 2018 AGM.
“Within three months of becoming president and chairman, CPA Australia received approval to restore professional indemnity insurance coverage for our members from the Professional Standards Council.”
Mr Wilson, who will now continue to serve as a board director, said he has no qualms passing on the baton to Ms Kelsall, the former chair and chief executive of the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board.
“Merran is a very experienced director and chair in her own right,” he said. “As a deputy president for three years, Merran and I regularly conferred on critical issues confronting CPA Australia.
“In addition, Merran chaired the finance committee during the past year of which I was a member. So, we were well prepared in alternating critical leadership roles and providing mutual support.”
However, the immediate past president conceded that there was more to be done and assured CPA Australia members that the board would continue to seek out member feedback and sentiment.
“It’s also true that there is much more to do and the CPA Australia Board is determined to continue this work,” Mr Wilson said.
“Our organisational strategy incorporates key performance indicators that are based on member feedback via our annual engagement survey. Members are actively evaluating our performance as we go.
“The overall evidence, including independent media monitoring, suggests we are meeting these expectations.
“Integrity — the sole word in our motto — means that we will keep doing what we say we’re going to do.”
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