28 July 2006
The Audit Commission's six-month search for a new chair ended this week with the appointment of senior private sector consultant Michael O'Higgins.
He will take the helm of the public spending watchdog on October 1, filling the gap left by the abrupt departure of James Strachan in January.
That came shortly after the controversy over last year's Comprehensive Performance Assessment results, when critics said that good overall results had been obscured by an excessive focus on the poor results of the component value-for-money studies.
O'Higgins, a managing partner at PA Consulting for its government and IT consulting groups, will work two days a week during his three-year appointment, for an annual salary of £86,800.
He recently chaired an external panel for the Department of Health on commissioning, and last year headed a group advising health ministers on the operation of NHS research ethics committees.
Before joining PA Consulting ten years ago, O'Higgins spent seven years at Price Waterhouse.
PFjul2006
