Rachel Grimes was elected president of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) she takes over Olivia Kirtley for a two-year term effective through November 2018.
Grimes is the second IFAC president with an “in industry” background. She is CFO of Technology at Westpac, a multinational financial services firm, and previously served as Director of Mergers and Acquisitions. Previously she also worked at PwC.
Grimes is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and a Fellow of CPA Australia. She was elected president of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (formerly the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia) after serving on its Board since 2006. An IFAC Board member since 2011, Grimes was elected deputy president in 2014 and previously chaired IFAC’s Planning and Finance Committee.
She is IFAC’s second female president.
Vice-president and board members
IFAC also elected its vice-president, In Ki Joo, professor emeritus of accounting at the Yonsei University School of Business, after serving as Dean of various departments.
He has served as president of a number professional institutions in Asia, notably the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants, the Korean Accounting Association, and the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration.
He was a member of the Advisory Committee to the Republic of Korea General Audit Bureau and the Vice President, International Affairs, at the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants (KICPA).
The IFAC Council elected three new members to its board: Philippe Arraou (France), Tommye Barie (United States), and Idesio da Silva Coelho (Brazil). Wienand Schruff (Germany), Michael Hathorn (UK), Gail McEvoy (Ireland), and Sebastian Owuama (Nigeria) were reappointed for a second term of service.
