Grant Thornton names new executives to its Audit Quality Advisory Council

Kurt Schacht and Helen Munter to bolster firm’s commitment to audit quality

CHICAGO — As part of its continued commitment to audit quality, Grant Thornton LLP, one of America’s largest providers of audit and assurance, tax and advisory services, has named two new independent members to its Audit Quality Advisory Council: Kurt Schacht and Helen Munter.

Established in 2018, Grant Thornton’s Audit Quality Advisory Council advises the firm’s Partnership Board on delivering high quality audits ― an activity that is at the core of the firm’s mandate to help protect the U.S. capital markets and the investing public.

Schacht assumes his new role immediately and succeeds Ann Yerger, who became a founding member of the Audit Quality Advisory Council when Grant Thornton initially created it. Separately, Munter will join the Council later this year, assuming the role of chairperson from Chris Mandaleris ― also a founding member who will be wrapping up his tenure later this year.

“Kurt and Helen are two of the business community’s most accomplished leaders when it comes to audit integrity, and we welcome them to our Audit Quality Advisory Council,” said Seth Siegel, CEO of Grant Thornton. “Their perspectives and insights will help us execute against our critically important responsibility to deliver quality, trust and transparency for our clients and the financial markets. This is especially important now, at a time of accelerating transformation in professional services and the broader business environment.”

Grant Thornton’s national managing partner of Assurance Quality and Risk, Jeff Hughes, echoed this sentiment: “Exceptional quality is an entire firm effort and it’s at the core of everything we do here at Grant Thornton. Kurt and Helen are keenly suited to help us focus on this mission, and we know their impact will benefit the full range of Grant Thornton’s stakeholders, from audit committees to the investing public.”

Hughes also extended his gratitude to Yerger and Mandaleris for their terms on the Council: “Ann and Chris have been instrumental in establishing our Audit Quality Advisory Council and making it so incredibly effective. It was truly a pleasure to work alongside them the past several years as they helped sharpen our firm’s focus on quality.” 

Schacht's extensive and varied background

Schacht, who has spent the last 18 years with the CFA Institute, currently serves as the executive director of the CFA Institute Systemic Risk Council in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the CFA Institute, he served as chief operating officer for a mutual fund complex and as general counsel and chief compliance officer for a Manhattan-based hedge fund. He also served as deputy executive director and chief legal officer for the State of Wisconsin Investment Board.

Earlier in his career, Schacht served as the former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Investor Advisory Committee. He was also a former trustee of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation and a former member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Standing Advisory Group. He is a chartered financial analyst and received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a juris doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin.

Munter’s deep roots in audit quality

Munter, who has long focused on audit quality matters, is the co-founder and chief executive officer of ADIGEO Consulting LLC, where she provides expert services related to regulatory oversight and audit liability matters. Earlier in her career, Munter spent 14 years at the PCAOB, seven of which she served as the second director of the Division of Registration and Inspections. In her various roles at the PCAOB, Munter was responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining key methodologies used to oversee the auditors of public companies.

Munter began her career at Deloitte and served as an Audit partner in the firm’s San Francisco office. She is a globally recognized expert in U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (GAAS), International Auditing Standards, PCAOB rules and regulations, SEC rules and regulations, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act — including internal controls over financial reporting. Munter is a certified public accountant in California and received a bachelor’s degree in political economies of industrial societies from the University of California at Berkeley.

To learn more about Grant Thornton’s focus on audit quality, read the firm’s most recent audit quality and transparency report.