Grant Thornton appointed Beatrix Bernauer to serve as the firm’s first chief risk officer, in addition to her current role as chief compliance officer.

In the role, Bernauer will design and execute the firm’s enterprise risk management program and practices, including frameworks and methodologies to support effective risk identification, assessment, mitigation, and monitoring, Grant Thornton said.

Bernauer, a principal at the firm, has served as Grant Thornton’s chief compliance officer for the past three years, establishing standards, policies, and procedures to ensure compliance with laws and regulations, as well as the firm’s own requirements. She has also led the firm’s data privacy and sustainability reporting program. In her new role, she will continue to oversee these important areas and also retain her responsibilities as deputy general counsel at the firm.

Bernauer has more than 20 years of experience as an attorney advising, defending, and supporting accounting firms, 17 of them at Grant Thornton. As deputy general counsel, she defends against litigation and legal threats and advises on a range of legal and transactional issues, including data privacy, security, incident response, M&A transactions, and matters related to the firm’s governance.

Topics