The RICS has named Mike Driver, president of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and a former senior Whitehall official, as the new chair of its audit committee.
Driver replaces Amit Shah in the role, who stepped down after his term ended in September. Shah was among a cohort of figures that played a role in the governance crisis at the centre of Alison Levitt’s report, which was published in the same month.
Driver will take on the role with immediate effect and serve for an initial three-year term. Most recently, Driver was the senior responsible officer for the Borders Programme and Managed Quarantine service at the Department of Health and Social Care. He left the civil service in September this year and is now establishing a portfolio career alongside his role as president of the CIPFA. He has been a member of the CIPFA Council since 2013.
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The RICS has named Mike Driver, president of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and a former senior Whitehall official, as the new chair of its audit committee.
Driver replaces Amit Shah in the role, who stepped down after his term ended in September. Shah was among a cohort of figures that played a role in the governance crisis at the centre of Alison Levitt’s report, which was published in the same month.
Driver will take on the role with immediate effect and serve for an initial three-year term. Most recently, Driver was the senior responsible officer for the Borders Programme and Managed Quarantine service at the Department of Health and Social Care. He left the civil service in September this year and is now establishing a portfolio career alongside his role as president of the CIPFA. He has been a member of the CIPFA Council since 2013.
During his 42-year civil service career, he held several finance director roles and was interim permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice.
In his role chairing the RICS’s audit committee, Driver will operate independently and report to governing council. The audit committee consists of two RICS members – Peter Lewis and Tom Barclay – as well as independent member Brigid Sutcliffe.
The committee’s responsibilities include monitoring the “integrity and effectiveness” of the RICS’s financial reporting, internal control and risk management systems, reviewing anti-fraud measures and recommending the appointment of the external auditor.
Nick Maclean, interim chair of the RICS’s governing council, said: “[Driver] has a wealth of experience in senior roles during his long and distinguished Whitehall career, combined with his role as president of one of the UK’s leading membership organisations.
“He was the perfect choice to take over one of our most important committees, and we are fortunate that he is bringing his considerable experience to the RICS.”
Driver said he aimed to provide the “strong independent oversight and constructive challenge” that the RICS needs and to “lead and modernise the audit committee”.
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