Katy Chamberlain, the Chief Executive of Chwarae Teg, which promotes and develops the role of women in the workforce, is the new president of the South Wales Society of Chartered Accountants.
A former winner of the Welsh Woman of the Year Management Achievement Award, Katy was elected at the society’s annual meeting at the Miskin Manor Hotel. She is only the third woman to hold the role since the society was formed in 1913.
Katy, a chartered accountant, spent more than 20 years with accountancy giant KPMG. She led teams delivering audit, grants advisory and corporate finance services to a wide variety of businesses in Wales and across the UK. Katy joined Chwarae Teg in April 2008.
Katy, who hails from Cheshire, but has lived in South Wales for 25 years, said: “I can still remember the day when I passed my last exam and became a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). I did my articles during the tough economic climate in the early 1980s.
“I felt then that achieving the chartered accountancy qualification would provide me with a platform for a challenging and interesting career, providing some element of certainty in what was then a turbulent climate. And here we are again – and I feel just the same.
“I have been impressed by the Institute’s efforts to maintain public confidence in the profession through recent years. I have benefited from that hugely through my career, and still do so in my current role. It is fantastic to be given the chance to give something back.”
Katy added: “I’m glad to have the opportunity to represent the Institute from the perspective of my current role in Chwarae Teg. It shows how the skills I have gained during a long career as a chartered accountant in public practice have given me the breadth of experience to take on a job that on the face of it is so dramatically different.
“These days, when none of us know where our career is going to take us, it’s a huge advantage to be able to demonstrate transferable skills – that’s the passport that my qualification has given me over the years.
“I’m keen to work with the committee to strengthen further the role of the Institute and its members in Wales – we need to support our members to the best of our ability, especially as our members have many of the key skills and expertise to underpin Wales’ economic recovery.”
Katy, who lives at Ewenny, near Bridgend, is married with a 10-year-old daughter and two grown-up step-children. Katy owns a horse and her interests are riding, reading and having fun with the family.
The new deputy president is Nick Toye, director at BPU Chartered Accountants, and the new vice president is Brenig Preest, Investment Director at Excalibur Fund Managers Ltd.
