Sharron Gunn confirmed as new Access Accountancy chair

​Social mobility charity Access Accountancy has confirmed ICAEW Chief Operating Officer Sharron Gunn as its new chair. Sharron replaces Hazel Garvey, who left ICAEW at the end of June.

In addition, ICAEW will continue as the Access Accountancy secretariat, working with signatories to drive the charity forward over the next three years.

Access Accountancy works to ensure that everyone has an equal chance of accessing and progressing within accountancy based on merit, not background. Since it was established in 2014, signatories of Access Accountancy have included 25 organisations, incorporating the biggest firms in the sector, to improve access and progression within the profession for those from low socio-economic backgrounds. More than 5,000 work experience places have been offered to students that meet Access Accountancy’s criteria since 2015.

Sharron Gunn said:

“It is a real privilege to become chair of Access Accountancy, working alongside our signatories from accountancy and beyond to open the profession up to benefit young people and society.

Giving young people from diverse backgrounds the chance to access a broad range of business opportunities is vital, so I am pleased that ICAEW will continue as Access Accountancy’s chair and secretariat.

I’d like to thank Hazel Garvey for all her hard work during the past year as we continue to build a fairer and more inclusive profession.”

Sharron qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1989 and worked at Wates and J Sainsbury plc. She joined ICAEW in 2001 and has driven a wide range of new member support services and commercial activities, including the transformation of ICAEW’s member facilities at Chartered Accountants’ Hall. Sharron is the ICAEW board member responsible for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, and developed ICAEW’s Women in Leadership programme, and leads ICAEW’s Women in Finance network, which supports and connects female Chartered Accountants.