Dame Sheila Masters
Sheila Masters was born in 1949 and went to Eltham Hill Grammar School. After graduating in law from the University of Bristol she joined Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. (now KPMG) as an articled clerk in 1970 with the intention of joining the Revenue Bar after qualifying. She later said that it was very hard for women to join a City law firm or the Bar without family connections, but slightly easier for women to join an accountancy firm. Even so, Masters was one of only four woman out of 100 trainees who joined KPMG in 1970.
She qualified as a chartered accountant in 1973 after winning several prizes in the ICAEW exams* and did not follow her original plan as she decided to stay on at KPMG in general practice. was seconded from 1979-81 to HM Treasury to act as accounting and financial adviser.
She was a partner at KPMG from 1983 to 2000 (only the second female in the firm to become a partner), specialising in public sector issues, becoming the head of KPMG's public sector group. In 1988 she was seconded for three years to head financial reforms in the NHS, as director of finance. In 1991 she returned to the firm and took up chairmanship of KPMG’s international government practice. In these roles she led large teams supporting the government's privatisation programmes. During the 1990s she also became a non-executive director at the Court of the Bank of England and a commissioner of the public Works Loan Board. In 1996 she was awarded a DBE.
Baroness Noakes was a member of the London Society of Chartered Accountants from 1984-1988 and served on ICAEW council from 1987-2002. In 1999 she became the first female president of ICAEW in its 120 year history, promising to modernise it for the new millennium.
In 2000 she was made a life peer as Baroness Noakes (She had married Colin Noakes in 1985) of Goudhurst in the County of Kent. Offices held in the 2000s include Conservative front bench spokesman in the Lords for Health and for Work and Pensions and Shadow Minister in the Lords for the Treasury and for Work and Pensions. She is now a backbench Conservative peer. She has held non-executive directorships at a number of organisations and continues to do so.
* First place in the order of merit, the Stephens Prize, the Deloitte-Plender Prizes for the papers on Book-keeping and Accounts and the General paper in the Intermediate Examinations in September 1971; Second Place on the order of merit, the Charles M Strachan Prize and the Frederick Whinney Prize in the Final Examinations, May 1973.
Further reading
- 'Mastering a new role', Accountancy, July 1999, Vol. 124 Issue 1271, p.12, 1/3p. (1 colour Photograph)
- ICAEW Past Presidents 1880-2005 - article on past presidents by accounting historian Peter Boys, written at the time of the 125th anniversary of ICAEW.
- Check our Library catalogue for books and articles on Baroness Noakes
There should be no necessity to consider a woman's special role in any profession, since she should be accepted as an integral part of that profession as a whole and not in a special class of their own
Further reading
- 'Mastering a new role', Accountancy, July 1999, Vol. 124 Issue 1271, p.12, 1/3p. (1 colour Photograph)
- ICAEW Past Presidents 1880-2005 - article on past presidents by accounting historian Peter Boys, written at the time of the 125th anniversary of ICAEW.
- Check our Library catalogue for books and articles on Baroness Noakes
To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.
You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.
Subsequent female presidents
Hilary Lindsay
ICAEW President 2016/17
- First woman on ICAEW's senior management team
- First academic to be ICAEW president
- President of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) in 2011/12
It's about encouraging people to come into the profession so that we reflect the diversity of society. And that’s not just because I will be only the second ever woman president of ICAEW. Yes, women are still less than a third of the membership, but we have to keep showing potential future members, both men and women, what the profession can look like.
Fiona Wilkinson
ICAEW President 2019/20
- Presidency coincided with centenary of women's admission to ICAEW
- Worked in audit department of Touche Ross & Co in London and Jersey
- Set up own practice as a technical consultant on auditing and financial reporting
I have always maintained that chartered accountancy is a fantastic profession for women. It can take you down so many routes into different sectors and careers anywhere in the world and is flexible enough to let you work round caring responsibilities such as bringing up a family.
Julia Penny
ICAEW President 2022/23
- Principal of JS Penny Ltd, provider of technical and training consulting on anti-money laundering procedures, auditing and financial reporting.
- Chair of the ICAEW Board during her year as President
- Former Chair, ICAEW Technical Advisory and Ethics Advisory Committees
- Former Chair and Director of CCAB
As the fourth female ICAEW President, I have seen first hand what kind of difference this can make. I’ve had several people tell me how inspirational it is for young women to see a woman in a position of leadership and influence. You want to believe you’re going somewhere when you join a profession, so seeing people from diverse backgrounds in positions of leadership is essential.
Acknowledgment
The text of this page is adapted from the ICAEW booklet 100 Years: Celebrating women in Chartered Accountancy (2020) written and researched by Dr. Jane Burney BFP, FCA with further research and additions by the ICAEW Library & Information Service.
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