Marcine Waterman will lead the radically reduced Audit Commission as controller of audit, the board has announced.
The post replaces that of chief executive, which has been in use since 2003 at the commission.
Waterman, currently director of audit policy and regulation, will take office on September 1. Current chief executive Eugene Sullivan will stay in post until the outsourcing of the commission’s in-house audit practice has been completed later this year.
Commenting on her new post, Waterman said: ‘I am pleased that it is reverting to the original title of controller of audit as envisaged when the Audit Commission was founded. The transition to a slimline version of the organisation will be challenging, but we have a vital job to do ensuring high quality audits at lower cost to the public purse.
‘This is a challenging time for all involved, and I recognise the sacrifice and professionalism of all those who have lost or will lose their jobs, and of the small number of colleagues who will take the Audit Commission forward with me.’
She added that her first task would be to encourage a ‘constructive and positive’ response to the forthcoming draft Audit Bill, which will formally disband the commission and put in place legacy arrangements.
Audit Commission chair Michael O’Higgins noted that Waterman had worked at the commission since 1993 and been involved in most of its major change programmes.
He said: ‘As director of audit policy and regulation, she recently led the largest and most complex outsourcing procurement the commission has been engaged in. In appointing Marcine, we know that we have chosen someone who has a wealth of experience in audit regulation, and we wish her every success in her new role.’
She will be paid an annual salary of £134,070, significantly less than the total remuneration of £231,070 paid to Sullivan in 2010/11. The Audit Commission said this reflected the fact that it will soon become a much smaller organisation with a narrower field of responsibilities.
Before joining the Audit Commission, Waterman worked at the financial services firm Ernst & Young and for the US administration.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced the abolition of the commission in 2010. Since then it has ceased its inspection work, while its audit practice has been split up and will be outsourced to private firms. A slimmer commission will continue to oversee the audit contracts until the legislation to formally disband it has been enacted.
