Richard Moriarty has been appointed CEO of the Financial Reporting Council, succeeding Sir Jon Thompson, who has stepped down after being appointed Chair of HS2.

Moriarty joins the FRC following a 20-year career at various regulatory bodies, most recently as CEO of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). He has extensive experience of the regulatory landscape across a wide range of regulated sectors, as well as in economic regulation and competition.

The new CEO will take up the reins at the beginning of October, with Interim Deputy CEO Sarah Rapson becoming Acting CEO and Accounting Officer during August and September. As part of his role, Moriarty will be overseeing the organisation’s transformation into the new Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA).

“I’m very much looking forward to leading the FRC team at such a key time for all of the work in its very broad and important remit,” says Moriarty. “Having undergone such a strong transformation in recent years, there is still so much to be achieved in the years to come and I’m excited to get started.

“The FRC has a critical role to play in underpinning investor and public confidence in financial reporting and corporate governance in the UK.”

ICAEW’s Chief Executive Michael Izza welcomed the new appointment. “It’s more than five years since the collapse of Carillion and although there has been progress on corporate governance reform it has been uneven and remains incomplete.

“The FRC has done its best with the powers at its disposal, but the primary legislation to set up the new statutory regulator – ARGA – is now long overdue. With his experience at the CAA behind him, we hope that the new chief executive will press for ARGA to be established and then make it the kind of forward-looking improvement regulator the sector needs.

“We would like to thank Sir Jon Thompson for his leadership of the FRC through a period of momentous change for audit, reporting and governance regulation.”

FRC Chair Sir Jan du Plessis says: “With such an experienced appointee as Richard on board, I know that we have found a strong leader for the FRC on the next stage of its journey. I look forward to working with him to cement the FRC’s position as a more confident, assertive regulator working to the benefit of all of its stakeholders.

“A big thank you to Sarah Rapson who, as Interim Deputy CEO since February, has provided invaluable support to the FRC during this period of leadership change. The FRC is fortunate to have such a strong executive team.”