Those who can’t "do", "teach" (or audit, perhaps…)

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Or maybe I already did, here and here. Let’s hope Sir Michael has learned the lessons of Rand Blazer, one of his former KPMG partners.

KPMG is no substitute for plc experience
Ability to run a large, complex organisation? Tick. International experience? Tick. Robust and realistic approach to government relations and regulation? Tick. Knighthood? Hang on – ah, yes: tick…A more significant hole in Sir Michael’s CV is his lack of experience heading a publicly-listed company…Sir Michael did his best to turn KPMG International into a coherent whole, with global guidelines and computer systems. But it remains, for all its international reach and Big Four brand-name, a network of partnerships governed by national rules and run by national partners. Having oversight of a business with a traditional pyramid-like command structure may come as a relief. Sir Michael also points out that accountants gain valuable experience, at least vicariously, of the challenges faced by real-life managers.…