Caroline Gardner

Country: United Kingdom

Caroline Gardner joined the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants in January 2010. She was nominated by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

Ms. Gardner is Auditor General for Scotland, responsible for auditing and reporting to the Scottish Parliament on the Scottish Government and public bodies in Scotland. She is the accountable officer for Audit Scotland, and works closely with the Accounts Commission, which secures the audit of local government bodies.

Ms. Gardner has 25 years of experience in public audit and financial management, including six years as Controller of Audit and 11 years as Deputy Auditor General in Scotland’s devolved government, responsible for overseeing and reporting on the audit of approximately 200 public bodies that spend more than £30 billion each year. She spent a year as Chief Financial Officer to the Turks and Caicos Islands Government, appointed by the UK Government’s Department for International Development to restore stability to the nation’s finances.

Ms. Gardner served as president of CIPFA during 2006-2007 and has also served the organization extensively as a member and chair of the CIPFA Council. As president, Ms. Gardner led the adoption of CIPFA’s Statement of Professional Practice on Ethics, which is based on the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.

Ms. Gardner is a qualified accountant and has an MBA from the University of Warwick Business School (UK).