Fermín del Valle
Fermín del Valle is a Public Accountant. He is Director of the Accounting Career in Universidad de San Andrés in Buenos Aires, Argentina and former President of IFAC. He is a retired partner at Deloitte Argentina.
Fermín del Valle is a Public Accountant. He is Director of the Accounting Career in Universidad de San Andrés in Buenos Aires, Argentina and former President of IFAC. He is a retired partner at Deloitte Argentina.
Senior Manager
France
Nathalie joined the IAASB in January 2024 and is supporting various key projects, including fraud and going concern.
Prior to her role at IAASB, Nathalie worked in KPMG France in Paris as an audit partner for both listed and middle market companies. She was also involved in audit quality projects for the firm. Between 2018 and 2023, Nathalie was seconded to KPMG International based in the United States within global methodology and global learning and development teams. Her role involved developing audit methodology, tools and guidance, and developing learning sessions.
Nathalie is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) in France.
Professional accountants in business (PAIB) play a vital role within various sectors such as commerce, industry, financial services, education, and the public and non-profit sectors. IFAC’s PAIB Advisory Group, established in 1977, is a global forum of finance and business leaders advising the global accountancy profession and its members on critical areas such as sustainability and digital transitions so that PAIBs are well prepared to meet the evolving needs of both business and the public sector in the future.
The newest PAIB Advisory Group members are:
With these additions, the PAIB Advisory Group has achieved gender parity. Sanjay Rughani remains Chair and Sharon Ditchburn has been appointed Deputy Chair.
"Every member brings a distinctive and valuable viewpoint on the contributions of professional accountants in business and finance leadership,” said Sanjay Rughani, Chair, IFAC PAIB Advisory Group. “We are privileged to welcome these new members who will share their diverse experiences and offer strategic insights on the profession, expanding its contribution to sustainable economic development worldwide and serve as global champions for the profession.”
The continuing PAIB Advisory Group members are:
Member expertise is drawn upon to deliver timely reports, articles, and case studies relevant to professional accountants in business across the globe. Explore their latest insights.
About IFAC
IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.
About the Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Advisory Group
Professional accountants in business comprise a significant part of the profession working in commerce, industry, financial services, education, and the public and not-for-profit sectors. The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Advisory Group focuses on ensuring these accountants meet the future needs of business and the public sector.
Principal
Spain
Ana joined the IAASB in January 2024, after more than a decade working in firms that service the middle market. Having been involved in the development and implementation of global audit methodologies in two firms, she brings a practical multifocal lens to her role.
Ana regularly designed and delivered technical learning content to a range of audiences and presented at international and national conferences on matters of audit and assurance quality.
Ana is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW). She has a BSc (hons) in Natural Sciences and an MA in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine from Durham University, and an MSc in Psychology from the University of Glasgow.
Stakeholder Advisory Council Chair
United Kingdom
Alan Johnson was appointed the inaugural Chair of the Stakeholder Advisory Council by the Public Interest Oversight Board in May 2023. The Stakeholder Advisory Council (SAC) is a newly created body that provides strategic advice to the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) and the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). The SAC will commence its work in April 2024.
Previously, Mr. Johnson was President of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) from November 2020 to November 2022, having previously served as Deputy President from 2018-2020 and a board member since November 2015. He was nominated to the IFAC board by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
Mr. Johnson is a non-executive director and member of the Audit and the People & Governance Committees of Imperial Brands plc and a non-executive director and member of the Audit, Remuneration and Nomination Committees of DS Smith plc, both FTSE 100 companies in the UK. He is also a non-executive director and chair of the Audit Committee of William Grant & Sons Ltd, a family business based in Scotland. He is the current chair the Good Governance Academy.
Mr. Johnson is a former non-executive Director of Jerónimo Martins SGPS, S.A., a food retailer with operations in Portugal, Poland, and Colombia, having completed his board mandate in 2016, and is the independent chairman of the company's Internal Control Committee since 2014. Previously he was Chief Financial Officer of Jerónimo Martins from 2012 to 2014. Between 2005 and 2011 he was the Chief Audit Executive for the Unilever Group. Mr. Johnson also served as Chief Financial Officer of Unilever's Global Foods businesses, and worked for Unilever for 35 years in various finance positions in Africa, Europe and Latin America.
Mr. Johnson was a member of IFAC’s Professional Accountants in Business Committee between 2011 and 2015, a member of the ACCA's Market Oversight Committee between 2006 and 2012 and chair of the Accountants for Business Global Forum until 2018. He was a member of the board of Gildat Strauss Israel between 2003 and 2004. Mr. Johnson is the past chair of the board of governors of St. Julian’s School in Portugal and chairs its Finance & Bursaries Committees. In October 2016 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the International Valuation Standards Council and chairs its audit committee. Between July 2018 and September 2020 he was a non-executive director of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and chaired its Audit & Risk Assurance Committee.
IAASB Technical Advisor for Hernán Casinelli
Argentina
Fernando Zanet is Director of the Technical Committee at PwC Argentina. His primary responsibility is to analyze and research technical accounting and auditing issues and provide technical support to other members of the firm. Mr. Zanet has extensive experience in auditing public companies under international auditing standards (he works at PwC Argentina for 25 years).
Since 2019, Mr. Zanet has served as a member of the Audit Committee of the Accounting and Assurance Standards Committee, supervised by FACPCE, the country's professional accounting organization. He is also Technical Secretary in FACPCE since 2023 and member of the Commission of Companies that operate in local public offering in the Professional Council of Economic Sciences of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.
Mr. Zanet was an advisor in the "First Initiative - Roadmap for Strengthening Accounting and Auditing in Honduras-" for the World Bank Group. He is also a professor of Auditing at the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) and at the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE) and he has written articles and books on auditing.
Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants
In 2014, May Tan became the first female CEO of Standard Charted Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (“SCBHK”) in the bank’s 150-year history. Before retiring in 2017, she founded and championed the bank’s Women’s Network and served as its global sponsor for D&I. Prior to joining SCBHK, she served as the CEO of Cazenove Asia and was the first female partner at Cazenove and Co’s then 175-year history.
Since retiring in 2017, May has focused on board and leadership positions: she currently serves on the Board of CLP Holdings, Manulife Financial and JP Morgan China Income and Growth PLC. She has also served on the HSBC Insurance Board and the Link Asset Management Board. She has been a member of the Advisory Council of the Malaysian Chamber since 2019 and started the Women’s Network at the chamber in 2020.
Over the past 20 years, May has also made significant contributions to Hong Kong through numerous public roles. In 2016, she was the Chairperson of the Hong Kong Association of Banks, and Director of the Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited. In the same year, she was a member of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee Sub-committee on Currency Board Operations of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and a member of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
May is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. May received two awards from the American Chamber in HK: firstly “Woman Professional of the Year” award in 2015 and “Woman on Board of the Year” in 2020. In 2023, she was named a “Women of Our Time” by the South China Morning Post 2023. May is the co-founder of ACcelerate, a leadership program which was founded with the core purpose of bridging the gap in senior female representation at the C-suite and accelerate the progression of female talent to senior leadership roles
Turks and Caicos Islands
Ruth Forbes joined IFAC’s Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Advisory Group in January 2024. She was nominated by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).
Ruth Forbes is President and CEO of FortisTCI in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and is one of the few female CEOs in the utility sector serving the Caribbean region. Under her leadership, FortisTCI is focused on achieving a supportive regulatory environment to transition to a greener, smarter energy future.
Prior to assuming the leadership role, Mrs. Forbes was Senior Vice President of Corporate Services, Chief Financial Officer, and Company Secretary and has 17 years of experience in utilities. She has been instrumental in driving transformative change and innovation, having had oversight of several business functions, including finance, internal audit, legal, information technology, customer service, corporate communications, human resources, and supply chain management.
Mrs. Forbes has a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Barry University. She holds the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designations. Mrs. Forbes also completed the Directors Education Program and received the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors through the University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management.
She serves as a Director on the boards of FortisOntario and Fortis Belize Limited and is also a Director on the board of The Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC). She has served for almost three years as the Governor’s Appointed Member to the Public Accounts Committee of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Mrs. Forbes is a devout philanthropist and founder of “Jewels Ablaze”, a not-for-profit organization that empowers and supports girls and women.
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM CET
Malta
Charles Xuereb became a member of the Professional Accountants in Business Advisory Group in 2024. He was nominated by the Malta Institute of Accountants. He is CEO of Trident Estates Plc.
Charles started off his professional career with PricewaterhouseCoopers as an auditor. In 1995, he joined Simonds Farsons Cisk plc (“SFC”), a company listed on the Malta Stock Exchange, as Chief Accountant of a subgroup operating franchised foods outlets (Pizza Hut©, Burger King©, KFC© and TGIF©). Subsequently, he was appointed SFC’s Group Financial Services Manager and in 2004, following the acquisition of the food importation arm, he was assigned the key task of integrating the newly acquired company’s finance systems within the Group. He was appointed Financial Controller whilst retaining the overall finance responsibility of the franchised foods business.
In 2005, Charles was appointed SFC’s Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) that included the responsibility for the Group’s overall financial management, direction and governance as well as the Group’s Credit Control, Information Technology and Business Services. He also served as a member of the Group Executive Board and sat on the Board of ten companies within the SFC Group.
In 2017, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Trident Estates plc, a property group that was spun-off as a separate listed entity on the Malta Stock Exchange in 2018. He spearheaded the development of Trident Park, a €66 million green office campus developed on a historic site, a landmark Art Deco industrial facility, creating a space that embraces both contemporary design and state-of-the-art technology while also preserving and even celebrating the original site’s heritage and context, developing 43% of the developable land available.
Charles is a Certified Public Accountant and a Fellow of the Malta Institute of Accountants. Elected in 2013, he is President of the Malta Association of Credit Management. He is also the Deputy Chair of the Professional Accountants in Business Group within the Malta Institute of Accountants, and forms part of the Disciplinary Appeals Pool within the said institute.
Charles holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Accountancy from the University of Malta.