BDO re-elects Matthew White as Senior Partner until 2026

25 July 2022 Consultancy.uk

Audit and advisory firm BDO has announced that Matthew White is to continue as the firm’s Senior Partner for a second four-year team. White was first elected to the role in 2018, and has since overseen the firm’s ESG drive within its leadership.

Paul Eagland, Managing Partner of BDO in the UK, commented, “I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Matthew on his re-election to Senior Partner. The role, that Matthew has demonstrated requires a high level of knowledge and includes several key areas of responsibility. Over the last four years Matthew has proven he was the right person for the job and made a huge impact, successfully leading significant firmwide projects including our Net Zero journey and governance structure. These remain key priorities for BDO and I look forward to seeing more success across the next four years.”

Prior to becoming BDO’s Senior Partner in 2018, White was an audit partner, working within the firm since 2008. After being elected to Senior Partner, White prioritised a number of key projects relating to the BDO’s UK climate commitments. In particular, he led the creation of BDO’s ESG board, on which he holds the position of co-chair. The ESG board includes a number of partners and individuals from across the firm and is working towards BDO’s global commitment to becoming Net Zero by 2050 or sooner, in addition to other key elements of BDO’s ESG strategy.

Matthew White, Senior Partner, BDO

In the months ahead, White will commence his second spell as Senior Partner by continuing this focus on governance and ESG. He will also play a key role in succession planning within BDO, liaising with regulators, and growing the firm’s international presence.

White remarked, “It has been a great honour to serve my first term as Senior Partner. The achievements over my first term are by no means a solo effort; I have worked with a number of teams and individuals throughout the firm during this time. It is this culture of collaboration which I believe has resulted in a successful first term and will continue to be essential over the next four years.”

The role has evolved significantly since 2018. This was driven by the unprecedented and ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and increasing regulatory scrutiny, and the growth of the firm. For example, White led several projects that included a review into the overall governance structure of the firm, overseeing the governance of the newly enlarged firm when BDO merged with Moore Stephens in 2019, and recently appointing three new Independent Non-Executives (INEs).

Each consulting firm has a different set of terms for its leadership, though many favour Chief Executive Officers and Chairs as their two leading figures. In the case of BDO, the managing partner sits at the top of its hierarchy, heading an executive committee comprised of other senior partners. It seems that its Senior Partner role is the next most powerful position.