Former Carillion audit committee chair Andrew Dougal is to face an uncomfortable time in his role as a board member at Victrex, with votes likely to be made against his reappointment in the role.
Governance organisation ISS is recommending an abstention in voting for Dougal’s reappointment as Victrex’s audit chair, reports Sky News. The abstention would be appropriate where his role in Carillion’s collapse is as yet unclear, ISS told clients, according to reports. Dougal served as Carillion audit chair for six years prior to its insolvency.
The note from ISS also suggested that Victrex’s board remained in support of his continuing position.
Dougal joined the board of high-performance materials producer Victrex in 2015. The chartered accountant has held a number of senior audit roles, including positions at Taylor Woodrow, Taylor Wimpey, and Creston. He has also served as a non-executive director at BPB and Premier Farnell.
The former chief executive of Hanson, he also served as its finance director and, prior to those roles, in other management positions. He is also a council member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
Carillion’s auditors are also under the microscope: the Financial Reporting Council announced an investigation yesterday into KPMG’s audit work on 2014–2016 financial statements, along with further audit work in 2017.
That investigation is hot on the heels of both the work and pensions and business select committees announcing a joint investigation into the Carillion collapse.
Rachel Reeves, chairman of the House of Commons business committee, said this week that Carillion was a “corporate governance failure”.