PSAA appoints new board members

The Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) company has announced the appointment of Alan Edwards, Irene Asare and Liz Murrall as directors on the board and of Adrian Lythgo as independent member on the audit committee.

Current directors Fraser McKinlay and Marta Phillips are stepping down from the board on 28 February and 31 March respectively. 

Edwards serves as deputy chair of both the Black Country Integrated Care board and University of Wolverhampton. His past roles include deputy chair for Staffordshire Police’s Ethics Panel and leadership positions at NHS trusts. 

As a former partner at PwC, KPMG, and IBM, he specialised in public sector consulting. A CIPFA member, he held executive positions there and received recognition from the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants in 2022. 

Asare is global HR director at BBC News. She has over 20 years of experience in HR leadership and business transformation across major multinationals. Currently leading BBC News’ digital transformation, she’s implementing a three-year plan for a ‘Digital First’ organisation. 

Her career highlights include successful transformations at Vodafone Ghana and Tullow Oil, focusing on employee engagement and diversity, equality and inclusion. 

Murrall, a chartered accountant, serves on Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council’s audit and transparency committee and the UK Endorsement board. She chairs the Public Interest Oversight board’s nominations committee, overseeing member selection. 

Previously, she chaired the FRC’s Corporate Reporting Council and was an executive director at The Investment Association, focusing on company reporting for investors before retiring in 2020.

Lythgo is a chartered accountant with over 30 years of public sector leadership experience, including roles as Kirklees Council CEO and West Yorkshire Combined Authority head of paid service. 

His extensive audit background includes KPMG and District Audit. He currently chairs the North-West Regional Flooding and Coastal Committee.

Bill Butler, chair of the PSAA board, said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of four such high calibre people. Alan, Adrian, Irene and Liz bring highly relevant knowledge and expertise to PSAA that will be invaluable over the next few years as we work with partners to address the significant issues facing local audit, and support the delivery of the government’s vision for a more cohesive local audit system geared to the needs of the sector and providing assurance over the use of public money. 

“We are tremendously grateful for Marta and Fraser’s contributions in helping to guide the company through a period of significant challenge and uncertainty in local audit. We wish them every success in the future.”