Sir Michael

I am afraid I don’t have much to say about the appointment of Sir Michael Rake of KPMG as Chairman of British Telecom. I guess once you become “knighted” you’re too good for the accounting firms. He should have a broader stage.

What’s funny is the repeated mention of his “key ” role in resolving the KPMG tax shelter issue. Didn’t we just have an article in the Wall Street Journal last week telling us it was US Chairman Tim Flynn who was the saviour?

Well, it remains to be seen whether someone who has spent his career in one firm, an accounting firm, a partnership, is an appropriate Chairman of the Board of a public company or if the best role for these “financial experts” is as Chairman of the Audit Committees. My first reaction was to look and see who the auditors of BT are. It’s PwC. I’m sure Sir Michael has never met any of those guys…