The banker who bought Northern Rock and turned Virgin Money into a high-street challenger is the government’s choice to run the Financial Reporting Council, the watchdog that polices the auditors and accountants every UK business depends on.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle has named Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia DBE CVO as his preferred candidate to chair the FRC, succeeding Sir Jan du Plessis when he steps down on 30 September.
For business owners, the appointment matters more than the acronym suggests. The FRC sets the standards behind company accounts and audits, the numbers on which lenders, investors and trading partners decide whether to back a business. It has shown its teeth in recent years, imposing a record £48 million in fines on audit firms over failures at Carillion and London Capital & Finance.
Dame Jayne-Anne arrives with a CV that spans both sides of the regulatory fence. A chartered accountant by training, she led Virgin Money from 2007 to 2018, steering the acquisition of Northern Rock and the listing of the combined business. Since then she has been a founder and dealmaker in fintech, giving her rare first-hand experience of what regulation feels like from the smaller end of the market.
She currently chairs Moneyfarm, OVO and Shakespeare’s Globe, serves as Lead NED at HMRC and Senior Independent Director at the Tate, sits on the boards of PRA Group and Innovo Group, and advises SumUp. She also spent five years as the government’s Women in Finance Champion, following her review that led to the Women in Finance Charter, now signed by more than 400 firms.
Mr Kyle said: “Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has a proven track record in driving growth and championing high standards in the organisations she leads, along with exceptional experience in financial services.
“She is perfectly placed to lead the FRC at this important time and I look forward to working with her to boost confidence in British businesses.”
Dame Jayne-Anne said: “I am honoured to be appointed Chair of the FRC at such an important time for the organisation and for the UK economy. Strong corporate governance, high-quality reporting and trusted audit are not abstract regulatory goals — they are the foundations on which businesses grow, investors commit capital and public confidence is maintained. The FRC has done impressive work in recent years to raise standards and modernise how it regulates and I look forward to working with Richard and the whole team to build on that progress.”
She inherits a regulator that has worked to reposition itself as more focused, transparent and proportionate under Sir Jan, a shift smaller firms will hope continues at a time when 96 per cent of businesses say regulators are creating unnecessary problems in their industries.
Richard Moriarty, the FRC’s chief executive, said: “I am delighted with Dame Jayne-Anne’s appointment and look forward to working with her. Her exceptional experience, her deep understanding of what it takes to build and lead institutions that command public trust, and her commitment to the role the FRC can play in supporting our economy make her ideally suited to lead our Board.”
Her nomination follows an open competition for the post. The Business and Trade Committee will hold a pre-appointment scrutiny hearing before the Secretary of State confirms the appointment.
