CPA Australia appoints president, shakes up board
Veteran academic and board director Dale Pinto succeeds Merran Kelsall.
CPA Australia has revamped its leadership by electing Dale Pinto, a taxation law professor at Curtin University in Western Australia, as president and chair and appointing two deputy presidents and three directors to its 10-person board.
The body said Mr Pinto would succeed outgoing president Merran Kelsall, who stepped down at the end of this month after three years in the role and six years as a director. Rosemary Sinclair and Helen Lorigan were also set to retire as directors.
As president of the nation’s largest accounting body, with close to 170,000 members over 100 countries, Mr Pinto would oversee its strategic direction using his extensive board director experience.
He earned a master’s degree in taxation from the University of Sydney and PhD in law from the University of Melbourne.
In addition to Mr Pinto’s appointment, CPA Australia had also elected Louise Cox and re-elected Warren McRae as deputy presidents.
Louise Cox, a tax lawyer and accountant, had served as a non-executive director since 2019.
Warren McRae would bring over 30 years of financial services experience and had held board positions in Europe, Asia and Australia. He had served as a non-executive director and deputy president since 2021.
Finally, Kaushika Jayalath and Anna Quinn had been appointed as member directors while Sarah Adam-Gedge had been appointed as a non-member director.
Mr Pinto said: “I am deeply honoured to be elected as president and chair of CPA Australia and I extend my congratulations to Warren McRae and Louise Cox on being elected as our deputy presidents.”
“I also congratulate Anthony Wright on his reappointment as well as Sarah Adam-Gedge, Kaushika Jayalath and Anna Quinn on their respective appointments and warmly welcome all of them to the board. They bring enthusiasm and expertise and share our dedication and united commitment to deliver value to CPA Australia’s members.”
“CPA Australia sincerely thanks Merran Kelsall, Rosemary Sinclair and Helen Lorigan for the significant contribution they have each made as directors and for their unwavering dedication to CPA Australia’s members and promoting the value of the CPA Australia designation.”
“In particular I’d like to pay a special tribute to our Immediate past president Merran Kelsall, who has dedicated six years as a director and office bearer, leaving an indelible mark on the organisation and its members.”
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