Joanne Parker | Host

Joanne Parker began her career as an auditor for KPMG and is now a Lecturer in Accounting at Newcastle University. She is passionate about empowering women to achieve success in their careers. She has collaborated with schools, the Girls' Network, and the ICAEW to create opportunities and support systems for young women, and has championed initiatives aimed at supporting women’s career progression within the University.

Dr Yvonne Gale FCA MBA DBA | Chair and Non-Exec Director

Yvonne is a plural director with non-executive roles including chairing boards and committees. These roles include Chair of Shared Interest Society, the international ethical finance provider specialising in the Fair Trade supply chain, chairing the Investment Committee of the North East England Chamber of Commerce, and as an audit and risk committee member for Innovate Loans.

Yvonne has extensive knowledge of entrepreneurial finance and impact investing for socio-economic development has led to advisory roles as Chair of the Office of the Small Business Commissioner, a UK government body that tackles late payment practices and the Fair Payment Code. She advises Creative UK on their North of Tyne Creative and Cultural Investment Programme and assesses grant applications for Innovate UK. With the ICAEW, Yvonne serves as a member of the Institute Members and Commercial Board.

Yvonne volunteers in multiple trustee roles with Northern Society of Chartered Accountants; Millfield House Foundation, a charity focused on addressing poverty and inequality through policy change; Shared Interest Foundation, focusing on skills development in Africa and Latin America; and at St Chad’s College, part of Durham University .

Yvonne was CEO of NEL Fund Managers, a North East economic development impact investor committed to changing local economies through investing in growing small businesses. In this role, she held the UK Financial Conduct Authority approvals SMF1 and SMF3.

In addition to being an FCA, Yvonne undertook an MBA and then a DBA researching investment decision making. She holds the Certificate and Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors, Certificate in Responsible Business, and completed the ICAEW Sustainability Certificate and also Financial Methods in Environmental Certificates and Mastering Systems Thinking in Practice both from the Open University.

Lorna Ford | Director | Interpath

Lorna is a Director in the Restructuring team at Interpath in Newcastle. Lorna started her career as an audit graduate at KPMG before transferring to the KPMG Restructuring team, which later became Interpath. Lorna works with corporates and their stakeholders across the region to navigate challenges and assess and deliver available restructuring options. Lorna specialises in distressed cash management, forecast reviews and stakeholder management alongside delivering formal insolvency process. Lorna is passionate about increasing gender diversity in the Restructuring and Insolvency market and chairs the IWIRC committee (International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation) across Yorkshire and the North East.

Sarah Dickinson | NAO

I joined the NAO in 2009 on their trainee scheme following graduating from Newcastle University with a degree in Biomedical Sciences. Following completion of my training contract I led and managed audits across the service line including DWP Fraud and Error, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a number of Health Bodies, and Homes England. Currently a Senior Audit Manager at the NAO, I now hold a central role in the Financial Audit Operations team. My responsibilities in the team have included resource management of the service line but now focus on contract management and procurement of services from external partner firms who work with the NAO.

I am passionate about supporting networks, serving as a Performance Coach, and participating in various mentoring schemes, including internal diversity and inclusion initiatives and the Crossing Thresholds programme.

Phillipa Symington | Partner | Clive Owen LLP

In 2004 I started my three-year audit traineeship at Grant Thornton South Africa and qualified as a Chartered Accountant (South Africa). I continued with Grant Thornton after my traineeship and joined the partnership as a Partner in 2008. At this time, I also gained my Registered Auditor (South Africa) with the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors. In 2018, after 10 years as a partner, my family and I made the move from South Africa to the United Kingdom, where I joined KPMG as an Audit Director in February 2019 as part of the Private Enterprise division. In 2021 I diversified my portfolio by moving on an internal secondment within KPMG to the Department of Professional Practice focusing on private enterprise audits technical, compliance and audit quality.

I joined Clive Owen LLP York Office as an Audit Partner on 1 August 2022.

My career has always had a focus on owner managed businesses, and I have been responsible for audits across a number of sectors, including manufacturing, retail, professional services, pharmaceutical, pension funds, leisure and hospitality, technology and communication, property / rental companies. I have always believed that the best part of the audit is understanding the business, how it works, the risks, strategies and the story behind how it got here today, and this passion has grown over the years as I have worked with various owner managed businesses.

My experience has meant that I will be involved in the internal technical and compliance team, ensuring that we deliver quality audits, that meet the Auditing Standards, but are also efficient and effective, ensuring that we do the right work based on the risk of material misstatement.