Introduction
We are looking to recruit a senior finance professional, qualified as an auditor and with Board-level experience, to serve on the Board of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).
IPSA is the independent body that regulates and administers public funding in support of MPs’ parliamentary duties. It was set up by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, which provides that its Board should be made up of a Chair and four members, one of whom must be a statutory auditor by virtue of Chapter 2 of Part 42 of the Companies Act 2006. They must not have been a Member of Parliament in the past five years.
This is a part-time position, requiring approximately 2-3 days’ work a month, remunerated at a rate of £550 a day. Board members are expected to attend meetings of the Board in London once every two months and sub-committee meetings, as required. This Board member will be expected to chair IPSA’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.
This role is an opportunity to contribute personally to the future of our parliamentary democracy by influencing the future direction of IPSA and building public trust in Parliament by assuring the integrity, transparency, and effectiveness of IPSA’s financial and assurance frameworks.
The key requirements of the post are a track record of operating at a senior leadership level in a complex organisation in a financial, accounting or auditing role; a strong understanding of financial governance, internal controls, and principles-based regulation; demonstrable integrity, sound judgement and political independence; and proven ability to work effectively with a diverse range of colleagues and stakeholders.
Specifically, we are seeking an IPSA Board member eligible for appointment as a statutory auditor by virtue of
Chapter 2 of Part 42 of the Companies Act 2006.
To fulfil this requirement, candidates must be:
- a member of a Recognised Supervisory Body (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Chartered Accountants Ireland, the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales, or the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland); and
- eligible for appointment as a statutory auditor under the rules of that body.
That is likely to require both a relevant Audit Qualification and a practising certificate by the time membership of IPSA is approved.
The recruitment is being managed by an independent panel on behalf of the Speaker of the House of Commons, with the assistance of the executive search company, Saxton Bampfylde. The panel will report a list of appointable candidates to the Speaker who will make the final selection, after consulting the Speaker’s Committee on the IPSA (SCIPSA). The recommended candidate will then be subject to approval by the House of Commons and to appointment by His Majesty the King.
The selection panel is committed to attracting a diverse range of candidates and would welcome applicants from all backgrounds, communities and regions of the United Kingdom, particularly from groups who are currently under-represented on the IPSA Board.
Introduction from the Chair
Welcome from the Speaker of the House of Commons
Thank you for your interest in the role of Board Member (Statutory Auditor) of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).
IPSA was created by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, as the world’s first fully independent regulator of MPs’ financial remuneration.
Today, it regulates and administers the business costs and determines the pay of the 650 elected MPs in the UK and administers the payroll of their 3,500 staff.
It has three principal aims: to resource and support MPs appropriately to carry out their parliamentary functions; to assure the public that MPs’ use of taxpayers’ money is well regulated; and to enable IPSA’s people to be a high-performing, professional team.
In recent years, IPSA has embarked on a programme of change, focusing on providing a higher-quality, more responsive service and a simpler regulatory framework which helps MPs, and their staff do their work, while commanding public confidence. Getting this right is crucial for a well-functioning Parliament and healthy democracy.
Under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, the IPSA Board has a Chair and four other members, some of whom are required to have particular professional backgrounds. We are now looking to recruit an individual who is eligible for appointment as a statutory auditor by virtue of
Chapter 2 of Part 42 of the Companies Act 2006. This person will be expected to take on the role of Chair of IPSA’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.
We are looking for an individual whose professional expertise will help the Board set IPSA’s direction during the next stage of its development, including on matters such as pay and pensions, corporate strategy, and organisational transformation, and employ their auditing skills to help guide IPSA to do so ambitiously and in line with its audit and reporting requirements. This demanding role requires integrity and independence and offers an opportunity to deliver lasting change and contribute personally to the future of our democracy.
I hope that a diverse range of people with the right mix of experience, skills and ambition will apply to take on this important role.
Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, Speaker of the House of Commons
Additional introductions
A message from Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority's Chair
On behalf of everyone at IPSA, I am delighted that you have indicated your interest in applying to become a member of IPSA’s Board.
It is an important time to join our organisation, as we continue with the transformation of our regulatory approach. Our revised model supports MPs to better decide how they want to carry out their parliamentary work, within the guardrails set by IPSA.
We have a clear purpose, strong values and robust corporate objectives, expressed in our C
orporate Plan 2024-27, through which we will continue to play our part in supporting Parliament and maintaining trust in democracy.
The statutory requirements for membership of the Board of IPSA are specific. The Board is made up of myself and four individuals, each bringing experience and skills from our different backgrounds. This gives us a breadth of views that are central to our work and a great strength. But our respective contributions are not limited to our areas of expertise. We are individually and collectively responsible for all that the Board decides, working with the Executive and embodying the organisation’s values.
In this recruitment, we are seeking a candidate whose experience can help IPSA to not only navigate a changing risk landscape, deliver financial value, and support the organisation’s transformation, but who can use their expertise on audit, risk, and assurance to support continuous improvement and assess alternative operating models to that employed since IPSA’s inception. We are looking for candidates who can support reforms to our regulatory approach and continuous operational improvement in line with our statutory remit.
Within this field, we are keen to attract a diverse range of individuals who meet the statutory requirements and have a deep understanding of transformative change in regulatory environments. In particular, we would value experience of scrutinising organisational risk management, compliance, identifying opportunities to improve assurance, and horizon-scanning for evolving, emerging risks in the external environment. We would also value applications from candidates committed to the effective and secure use of technology and data as enablers of customer service.
Membership of the Board can, at times, be challenging and bring public scrutiny. But, most of all, it is an important and fascinating task, and one we have been entrusted by Parliament to perform on behalf of the electorate.
IPSA is committed to doing all we can to promote a diverse and family-friendly Parliament, and as an employer we are working hard to demonstrate this commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion. We are anxious to reflect in our own organisation, including the Board, the diverse population that MPs represent.
I hope you find the information in this recruitment pack and on
our website helpful in making your decision to apply.
Richard Lloyd OBE, Chair, IPSA
Appointment description
Statutory requirements
The Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 requires that:
- The Board of IPSA is made up of a Chair and four members
- At least one member must have held, but no longer hold, high judicial office;
- At least one member must be eligible for appointment as a statutory auditor by virtue of Chapter 2 of Part 42 of the Companies Act 2006; and
- At least one of the members (the ‘Parliamentary Member’) has been (but is no longer) a member of the House of Commons.
- Apart from the Parliamentary Member, no one who has been an MP at any time within the last five years may be a member of the Board of IPSA.
Role description
As a Board Member (Statutory Auditor), you will use your professional expertise in audit and financial oversight to help set IPSA’s strategic direction, strengthen governance, and ensure robust management of risk and resources. You will play a vital role in maintaining public trust in Parliament by assuring the integrity, transparency, and effectiveness of IPSA’s financial and assurance frameworks.
Key responsibilities
Working with other members of the Board, you will:
- Support the Chair and IPSA’s Executive in developing its Corporate Plan, approving its Annual Report and Accounts, Business Plan, and budget Estimate.
- Establish the strategic direction of IPSA and ensure compliance with IPSA’s statutory duties including reviewing and setting MPs’ pay, reviewing and developing the MPs’ pension scheme, and establishing the Scheme of MPs’ Business Costs.
- Work closely with the Chair and Executive to maintain strategic direction and monitor performance, including risk management and the promotion of IPSA’s vision and values.
- Chair IPSA’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, which offers advice to the Chief Executive, in their role as Accounting Officer, and also to the Board, on:
- the strategic processes for risk, control and governance, and the Governance Statement.
- the accounting policies, the Annual Report and Accounts, including the process for review of the accounts prior to submission for audit, levels of error identified and the Accounting Officer’s Letter of Representation to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
- the planned activity and the results of both internal and external audits.
- the adequacy and promptness of the management response to issues identified by internal or external audit activity, including the National Audit Office’s (NAO) management letter.
- assurances relating to the management of risk and corporate governance required for the organisation.
- IPSA’s anti-fraud policies, whistleblowing processes, and arrangements for special investigations; and the arrangements for internal and external audit.
- Review and communicates to the Board, in their capacity as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, on:
- the Accounting Officer’s governance statement in the Annual Report, ensuring it appropriately discloses issues relating to IPSA’s governance, the management of risk and internal controls;
- significant matters raised by and/or discussed with the NAO;
- the Annual Report of the Head of Internal Audit and the Annual Report of the Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO);
- the effectiveness of assurances relating to the requirements for governance and risk management of IPSA, IPSA’s risk management policy, risk appetite and the quarterly risks register, including any changes to the register and any risk registers that underpin the main register; and
- proposals for the provision of internal audit services, including any tendering arrangements.
- Be a member of either the People Committee or the Improving IPSA Assurance Group.
- Commit to IPSA’s values, abide by the Board’s code of conduct, and support equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Organisation description
The Board provides the strategic leadership of IPSA, safeguarding its independence, acting as an advocate for its values and delivering its objectives: meeting its statutory duties; helping to maintain confidence in Parliament; and providing efficient and cost-effective administration of services which meet the needs of taxpayers, MPs and their staff.
The Board ensures that IPSA exercises its statutory obligations, including:
- The review and setting of MPs’ salaries;
- The review and development of the MPs’ pensions scheme; and
- The operation and review of the Scheme of MPs’ business costs (‘the Scheme’).
The Board sets the strategic priorities for IPSA as an organisation ensuring it is efficient, cost-effective and fit-for-purpose and delivers its objectives. In doing so, the Board:
- Contributes to the development and articulation of IPSA’s vision, values, strategies and plans, and shares, champions and demonstrably lives the values;
- Sets the policy framework for MPs’ business costs;
- Oversees the development of, and approves, a Corporate Plan, Annual Report and Estimate of IPSA’s use of resources; and
- Sets the risk appetite and approves the framework of internal controls in support of the achievement of IPSA’s strategic objectives.
The Board also:
- Reviews and approves the Scheme for MPs’ business costs and assesses and ensures compliance with Scheme rules;
- Determines the salaries to be paid to MPs, including mechanisms for review and up-rating of salaries;
- Scrutinises the performance of the organisation in meeting its objectives and holds the Executive to account for their delivery;
- Determines and reviews the procedures used by the Compliance Officer;
- Proposes and, from time to time, revises a Code of Conduct for members of IPSA’s Board; and
- Appoints and determines the terms and conditions of the Chief Executive.
The Board meets normally once every two months, either in person at IPSA’s offices or occasionally via virtual meeting platforms, with notice given well in advance. The Board currently has three subcommittees: the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, the People Committee, and the Improving IPSA Assurance Group. The respective remits of the subcommittees are detailed in the Board’s Standing Orders.
Board composition
IPSA’s work is organised around five main functions: MP Services, Strategy and Change, Finance, Policy and Engagement, and Legal, Audit, Risk and Assurance. There are currently 98 members of the IPSA team.
Our background
IPSA is independent of Parliament, the Government and of political parties.
We started operations at the General Election in May 2010. Since 2011, we have also had responsibility for setting MPs’ pay and pensions, on which we must consult and announce a determination within the first year of a Parliament, and at other times as may be appropriate.
Our oversight of MPs’ expenditure represented a clean break from the old system of ‘allowances’. The principles which we set in relation to MPs’ business costs need to be clear, proportionate and fair. We take a risk-based approach to reviewing MPs’ expenditure, ensuring fast reimbursement alongside value for money and assurance for the UK taxpayer.
We are in the process of implementing a new regulatory approach which will provide MPs with greater flexibility to make decisions about what to spend money on to best service their constituents within a framework of clear expected standards of behaviour and action.
In 2025-26, IPSA has an annual budget for MPs’ staffing and businesses costs of c£280m, and an operational budget of £11.8m.
We process almost 4,800 MPs’ staff contract changes every year, alongside 450 office and accommodation registrations, answer hundreds of calls and emails every day whilst supporting MPs and their staff to self-serve online.