FORUM OF FIRMS - Key Persons


Ainslie van Onselen

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Taryn Rulton / Australia

Andrew Hunter

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Taryn Rulton / Australia

Angela Peasah

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Nominating Committee

Barry Naik

Job Titles:
  • Director
Barry Naik (he/his) is the Director for the Forum of Firms (FoF) which currently comprising over 30 member Network firms is headquartered out of IFAC's New York office. At the FoF, Mr. Naik leads various initiatives in support of further advancing Audit Quality. Mr. Naik started his career in legislative audit working for several years at the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of New Zealand followed by a secondment to the Office of the Auditor General of Canada and then the Canadian Public Sector Accounting Board. Mr. Naik has also spent time with the International Public Sector Accounting Standard Board. He has a BCA and BA from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand and is a Chartered Accountant with Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CA ANZ). Outside of work Barry enjoys fitness, quality time with family and friends and is a long time volunteer with The Trevor Project.

BDO UK

Job Titles:
  • Partner
Mr. Isherwood is a Partner, Audit Advisory, BDO UK, residing within the firm's audit technical department. He specializes in audit methodology and ethical subject matters. He is also a member of BDO's Audit Steering Committee, which drives the network's international strategy on audit policy, methodology, and related tools.

Bo Mu

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Jianhua Tang / China

Brian Keegan

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Joan Curry / Ireland

Bruce Cartwright

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Caroline Gardner / United Kingdom

CA ANZ

Job Titles:
  • Registered Company Auditor ( RCA ) Factsheet, 2016

Caroline Gardner

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Nominating Committee

Cemal Ibis

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Ayşe Ariak Tunaboylu / Türkiye

Cesar Cheng

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Nominating Committee

Christine Albrecht

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Transnational Auditors Committee of International Federation of Accountants
Christine became the chair of the Transnational Auditors Committee of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in January 2023. She is a member of the Standards Setting Working Group (SSWG) and the Regulatory Working Group (RWG), and she chairs a professional working group on cross-border registration and reporting.

Christopher Arnold

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Director at the International Federation of Accountants
Christopher Arnold is a Director at the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). He leads activities on contributing to and promoting the development, adoption and implementation of high-quality international standards, including the Member Compliance Program, Intellectual Property and Translations. Christopher is also responsible for IFAC's SME (small- and medium-sized entities), SMP (small- and medium-sized practices) and research initiatives, which include developing thought leadership, public policy and advocacy. He was previously an Audit Manager for Deloitte and qualified as a professional accountant in a mid-tier accountancy practice in London (now called PKF-Littlejohn LLP). Christopher started his career as a Small Business Policy Adviser at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Claudio Girolami - CTO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Technology Officer
  • As Chief Technology Officer
As Chief Technology Officer, Claudio Girolami is responsible for planning, executing, and measuring the IT strategic plan while aligning it with IFAC's business plan and strategic goals. Mr. Girolami also oversees IT operations and leads cloud, software, infrastructure, and cyber-security projects across all departments and the Standard Setting Boards.

Cédric Gélard

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • Technical Advisor to Jean Bouquot / France

Dana Jensen

Job Titles:
  • Professional Skepticism and Inquiring Mind - Connecting the Standards

David Isherwood

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Forum of Firms in November 2017
  • Member of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants
Mr. Isherwood is influential in the wider professional and regulatory space, both in the UK and internationally. Within the UK, he participates in a number of ICAEW committees, including as a member of the Audit Faculty Committee and the technical committee that reports into the Faculty. At a regional level, he represents the ICAEW on the Audit and Assurance Policy Group at Accountancy Europe. Internationally, Mr. Isherwood was a member of the IFAC Transnational Auditors Committee and represents the BDO network in discussions with the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR). Mr. Isherwood is a member of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

David Madon

Job Titles:
  • Director, Sustainability, Policy & Regulatory Affairs

Dr. Neema Kiure Mssusa

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Nominating Committee

Edwin Nyabuga Makori

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Winnie Nyamute / Kenya

Elaine Young

Job Titles:
  • Head of Human Capital

Gillian Waldbauer

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Fiona Wilkinson / Germany

Helen Ko

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Yeong - Kyun Ahn / Korea

Helen Partridge

Job Titles:
  • CFO and Director, Accountancy Education
Helen Partridge was named IFAC's CFO in April 2023. She leads IFAC's finance team, manages its sustainability and carbon footprint reporting, and provides counsel to IFAC's CEO. Ms. Partridge is also IFAC's Director, Accountancy Education, leading IFAC's global approach to advancing accountancy education, including working with the International Panel on Accountancy Education and education directors at IFAC's member organizations and the Forum of Firms member firms. Prior to joining IFAC, Ms. Partridge was an accountant in practice, having spent 16 years in audit, advisory and audit systems design in the US and Asia Pacific. She has also served in the controllership function at a large multinational transportation company working with GAAP conversions, financial statement preparations and complex and significant transactions such as business combinations and tax planning. Ms. Partridge also serves on a not-for-profit board and is a CPA licensed in multiple states in the United States. Collaborating to Attract New Talent to the Profession: Working with Accountancy Education Directors in MENA

Helene Agélii

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Margrét Petursdottir / Sweden

Jae-Kook Jung

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Yeong Kyun Ahn / Korea

Jean Bouquot - SEVP

Job Titles:
  • Deputy President
  • Member of the IFAC Officers Team
  • Member of the Nominating Committee
  • Deputy President, IFAC
  • Deputy President, IFAC / France
Jean Bouquot became IFAC Deputy President in November 2022. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Bouquot joined the IFAC Board in November 2020, nominated by Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes (CNCC) and Conseil Supérieur de l'Ordre des Experts-Comptables (now Conseil National de l'Ordre des Experts-Comptables). Mr. Bouquot was the president of CNCC from February 2017 to October 2020. From December 2012 to December 2014, he was vice-chairman of the Compagnie Régionale des Commissaires aux Comptes de Versailles (regional statutory auditors professional body) and member of the CNCC. From 2014 until 2016, he was chairman of the Compagnie Régionale des Commissaires aux Comptes de Versailles and in February 2015, he was appointed Board Member of the CNCC.

Jennifer DiClerico - CCO

Job Titles:
  • Head of Communications
  • As Head of Communications
Ms. DiClerico's communications career spans more than 20 years in the financial and technology sectors, during which time she led communications for Investment Banking & Global Markets at Bank of America and most recently served as Senior Vice President in Edelman's Financial Services Practice. Prior to joining IFAC, Ms. DiClerico also served as a Director at CA Technologies; Director of Public Relations and Investor Communications at SoundView Technology Group; and Head of Communications at an international broker dealer. Ms. DiClerico holds a B.A. in English and Business Writing from Lehigh University.

Jim Knafo

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Adviser for Kathryn Byrne / United States of America

Joy Thomas

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Nominating Committee

João Ferreira da Silva

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Idésio Coelho / Portugal

Khalid Rahman

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Nominating Committee

Kim Wallin

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Lisa Padmore / United States of America

Lee White

Job Titles:
  • Member of the IFAC Officers Team
  • Chief Executive Officer, IFAC

Linda A. Lach

Job Titles:
  • Director, Governance
Linda A. Lach is Director, Governance and is responsible for IFAC's governance matters, including management of IFAC's board and Council and compliance with its Constitution and Bylaws. She also supports the Governance and Planning and Finance Committees. Previously, Ms. Lach was the Director, Quality and Development, where she was responsible for the program management, implementation, and governance of IFAC's Professional Accountancy Organization Capacity Building Program funded by the UK Department for International Development. Before joining IFAC, Ms. Lach was a contributing author on numerous accounting publications for Practitioner's Publishing Company and served as the associate director of the Center for Financial Integrity at Baruch College (US). Ms. Lach also was the director of professional development for the American Institute of CPAs where she was responsible for conferences, seminars, and self-study professional development courses for accounting professionals. Her previous experience also includes audit and financial management positions. Ms. Lach has a bachelor's degree in economics from Yale University and a master's degree in accounting from New York University. She is licensed as a CPA in the state of New York and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs.

Megan Hartman

Job Titles:
  • Accountancy Education Ecosystems Are Complex. Our Ability to Attract Potential Accountants Suffers.

Merran Kelsall

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Nominating Committee
  • Australia Observer

Ms. Asmaa Resmouki - President

Job Titles:
  • President
Ms. Asmaa Resmouki became IFAC President in November 2022. Prior to becoming President, Ms. Resmouki was appointed Deputy President in November 2020 after serving on the IFAC board since November 2017, originally nominated to the board by the Ordre Des Experts Comptables-Morocco. As Deputy President, Ms. Resmouki chaired the IFAC Planning and Finance Committee, having previously chaired the board's Governance Subcommittee prior to her election as Deputy President.

Nana Yasuda

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Kohei Kan / Japan

Noemi Di Segni

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Chiara Mio / Italy

Onome Joy Adewuyi

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Ismaila Zakari / Nigeria

Patricia Stock

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Jeanine Poggiolini / South Africa

Rob Whiteman

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor to Caroline Gardner / United Kingdom

Rosemary McGuire

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Tashia Batstone / Canada

Scott Hanson

Job Titles:
  • Director, Policy & Global Engagement

Simon Grant

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Taryn Rulton / Australia

Stathis Gould

Job Titles:
  • Director, Member Engagement and PAIB

Susan Coffey

Job Titles:
  • Technical Advisor
  • IFAC Board Technical Advisor for Gregory Anton / United States of America