Simon Dingemans has been named as the government’s preferred candidate to the post of chair of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). The House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee has been invited to hold a pre-appointment hearing and to report on Dingemans’ suitability for the post. This is in line with the government’s commitment to strengthen the role of Parliament in scrutinising major public appointments.
Pre-appointment hearings enable select committees to take evidence from preferred candidates for major public appointments before they are appointed. Hearings are in public and involve the select committee publishing a report setting out their views on the candidate’s suitability for the post. Pre-appointment hearings are non-binding but ministers will consider the committee’s views before deciding whether to proceed with an appointment.
Simon Dingemans will join at a crucial time for the audit regulator, which is going through a period of transformation to become the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority.
Dingemans was until recently the chief financial officer and main board memember for GlaxoSmithKline. He stepped down in May 2019 after more than eight years with the company, having joined in 2011 from Goldman Sachs International where he was a managing director and partner.
