PwC Australia’s Chief Operating Officer and Energy Transition Executive Liza Maimone appointed to Australian Accounting Standards Board

PwC Australia’s Chief Operating Officer, Energy Transition Executive and Net Zero Leader, Liza Maimone has been appointed as a member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), one of three new appointments announced yesterday by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), commencing from 1 January 2023 for three years. Ms Maimone is also a Director on the Board of Engineers Australia.

The FRC is the Australian Government’s statutory body responsible for overseeing the effectiveness of the financial reporting framework in Australia. The AASB is the Australian Government agency responsible for developing, issuing and maintaining accounting standards that apply under Australian company law.

Ms Maimone said it was an honour to be appointed and is looking forward to working with the AASB to continue the important and valuable work the agency does in delivering a distinctive contribution to the development of high-quality financial reporting standards.

“It’s a great responsibility to be appointed as a member of the AASB. The AASB also has a vital role to play in looking forward, and considering how to respond to emerging reporting areas such as sustainability, and growing demands for even greater transparency within an increasingly complex environment, to maintain trust and provide confidence in the areas that matter most for Australians.”

As PwC Australia’s Executive sponsor of the firm’s ESG services to clients and its newly formed energy transition practice, Ms Maimone is also the firm’s Chief Operating Officer and Net Zero Leader, responsible for setting and implementing PwC Australia’s sustainability and net zero strategy.

Ms Maimone has over 28 years of experience in sustainability and climate change, having provided numerous sustainability and climate risk reporting advisory and assurance engagements across a range of industries, and continues to lead client engagements today across a range of industry sectors. She also led the development of PwC Australia’s first public transparency report, the second of which was released recently in August 2022 and developed its Science Based Target aligned Net Zero strategy.

“My passion for strategy, transformation and creating impact comes to life in the work I do with my clients, across PwC, and with public and private sector boards.

“I have a deep understanding of the practical challenges faced by both small and large organisations as they mature in their sustainability journey including their reporting on sustainability disclosures, and I’m well equipped to provide advice on practical implementation issues.

“I’m keen to bring the skills I’ve acquired to the AASB through my experience - both as a practitioner (and advisor and assurance provider) as well as an executive responsible for the implementation of sustainability strategy and reporting for our firm,” said Ms Maimone.

Ms Maimone was appointed by PwC’s Global Chairman as PwC’s representative and member of the G7 Task Force on Impact, Transparency, Integrity and Reporting, which was made up of global private sector companies to prepare recommendations for G7 governments on the emerging area of impact reporting. More recently, she has taken on the role of Chair of the ESG Working Group of the Australian Public Policy Commission to support the profession and professional bodies on the pathway to the implementation of emerging reporting standards.

Ms Maimone has qualifications in energy and resources law and chemical engineering, is a Chartered Professional Engineer, a Fellow of Engineers Australia and also a Director on the Board of Engineers Australia, an Honorary Fellow of the Engineering and IT department of the University of Melbourne and a registered greenhouse and energy auditor. She also holds a number of other professional memberships and is an active member of Chief Executive Women.