The new board for CPA Australia has been chosen, and it includes two prominent figures from AHRI.

The new CPA board announcement, effective on Sunday, includes the appointment of Peter Wilson AM, former HR group executive with ANZ Bank and Amcor.

Wilson is also a non-executive director on the board of the Australian HR Institute, where he is AHRI chairman and national president. He has now accepted the role of chairman and national president on the new CPA board.

In addition, Jon Scriven, also a current AHRI board director, has been appointed to the CPA board.

Both Peter Wilson and Jon Scriven will continue to hold their positions on the AHRI board.

The news has already made headlines around the country. In its report, the Australian Financial Review highlighted Wilson’s roots in a membership organisation and the whole board’s “directorship experience and expertise in governance and accountability”.

They quote Wilson on how he is planning on approaching CPA’s membership: “We’ll put in place a positive program to engage with them and make sure their views are being collected and considered.

“There will be a strong member engagement program coming out of the new board, you can be assured of that.”

In response to the recent turmoil that has engulfed the accountancy organisation, resulting in the contract termination of CPA’s high-profile CEO, Alex Malley, Wilson said: “We can make the changes necessary to restore confidence where it has lapsed. I’m determined to do that and I know my colleagues are.”

Several media organisations, including Women’s Agenda, highlighted the fact that five women have been appointed. They are Robyn Erskine, a partner in Brooke Bird; Merran Kelsall, who has been a partner at BDO for 10 years; Helen Lorigan, a venture partner with Sapien Ventures who is on a number of fintech advisory boards; Rosemary Sinclair, who is the CEO of Energy Consumers Australia; and Caroline Spencer, a public practitioner based in Canberra.

The previous CPA board had six members, two of whom were women. The new board now has a majority of women.

The nine new directors were elected by a member-appointed representative council in accordance with the CPA constitution. Two existing directors will remain on the refreshed CPA board until 1 December 2017, to assist with continuity.

The deputy-chairman of the Australian HR Institute, John Wilson, says, “AHRI welcomes the CPA appointment of Peter Wilson and Jon Scriven to the new board of the accountant body. I take it as a sign that the CPA understands it needs to look for a fresh direction with respect to its corporate culture and the wellbeing of its people.

“The CPA has gone through a troubled period in its recent history, and I wish its new board well in the task ahead,” he says.

The terms of the new CPA directors commenced 1 October 2017.