Mr. Phil Sharman has been appointed as the next Auditor General of the British Virgin Islands. The appointment was made by His Excellency the Governor, Mr. John S. Duncan, OBE, in accordance with section 92 of the Virgin Islands Constitution, and acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Service Commission. The appointment will take effect on August 2017.
Mr. Sharman is currently the statutory Chief Auditor for St. Helena responsible for promoting public accountability, advising the Public Accounts Committee, and providing assurance to stakeholders on the use of taxpayer funds through the audit of the financial statements of Government and other public bodies in St. Helena.
Mr. Sharman is a Chartered Public Finance Accountant with professional membership in both the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand. He has extensive experience as a statutory external auditor having previously held director level roles with the Audit Commission and Audit New Zealand with reporting responsibilities across all major sectors including central government and state owned enterprise, local government, health and education.
Mr. Sharman fills the post of Auditor General which was vacant since the retirement of the former incumbent in September 2015. The vacancy was followed by comprehensive recruitment rounds on three separate occasions to identify the best suited candidate.
Mr. Sharman holds in-depth knowledge of United Kingdom overseas Territories, having served as Chief Auditor in both St. Helena and the Turks & Caicos Islands.