The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Chair-in-waiting, Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, has faced intense scrutiny over her substantial portfolio of other board positions, with MPs expressing significant concerns about her ability to dedicate sufficient time to the accounting watchdog. The government's nominee, who is set to take up the role in September 2026, currently holds seven directorships and chairmanships, raising questions about whether she can manage the demands of the FRC Chair position, which requires a 10-day commitment per month.
During her pre-appointment hearing with the Business and Trade Committee, MPs questioned Gadhia's ability to balance her existing commitments. Liam Byrne MP, the committee chair, directly challenged her, stating: "You still have seven directorial chair roles in addition to being the Chair of the FRC... There are only 24 hours in a day... We are pretty concerned about the overload here." Gadhia defended her ability to manage these responsibilities, citing the use of remote working tools and arguing that many of her other roles demand limited time.
Gadhia confirmed that she will step down from her role at Tate when her term concludes in November 2026 and will also be leaving Ovo Energy following its recent sale to E.ON. However, she declined to disclose which other positions she intends to relinquish, stating that she needs to inform the respective boards first. Her current portfolio includes chairing Shakespeare's Globe, Ozone, and Moneyfarm, serving on the Tate audit committee and the Economy and Honours Committee, and acting as lead non-executive director at HMRC, in addition to directorships at several other organisations.
The committee also pressed Gadhia on her views concerning the FRC's future powers and the state of the UK audit market. She strongly backed long-delayed plans to place the watchdog on a statutory footing, arguing that this would provide guaranteed funding and crucial legal powers to demand information from firms it oversees – a capability she admitted the FRC currently lacks in all cases. This reform is seen as a high priority, especially after the proposed Audit Reform and Corporate Governance (ARGA) Bill was scrapped earlier this year to avoid imposing significant new costs on businesses.
The discussion also touched upon the lack of competition within the UK audit market. An MP noted that the 'Big Four' firms – Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC – still account for approximately 40 per cent of public interest entity (PIE) audits. When questioned on whether this market share was still increasing, Gadhia admitted she did not know the current figures but committed to providing them to the committee in writing.