Grant Thornton is joining the Big Four in appointing more leadership to its firm governance to drive more focus on audit quality.
The firm said it has appointed two independent members to a three-person Audit Quality Advisory Council to bring “deep, practical and objective advice” to the firm’s partnership board on how to deliver high audit quality. The inaugural council consists of a Grant Thornton partner, who is a current member of the partnership board, and two individuals from outside the firm.
Independent members are Chris Mandaleris, a retired audit partner from EY who also served as senior deputy director to the inspections division at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and Ann Yerger, the former executive director fo the Council of Institutional Investors. The third member is Seth Siegel, a Grant Thornton partner.
“These new members not only reaffirm our focus on quality above all else, but the council itself complements Grant Thornton’s approach to providing the audit of the future, which is built around innovation and quality,” said Jeff Burgess, national managing partner of audit services at Grant Thornton.
EY recently established an independent committee of audit quality advisers, and Deloitte formed a council a few years earlier. PwC added two independent members to its 21-member board, and KPMG added one, although the firm does not disclose who is on its governing board or how many members it contains.
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