PwC: New Lead For Firm’s New Investors’ Resource Institute

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

PwC US today announced that Kayla J. Gillan, who joined PwC in 2011 after serving as Deputy Chief of Staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission, will take on a new role as leader of PwC’s Investors’ Resource Institute (PIRI).

PwC US Chairman and Senior Partner Bob Moritz said, “Investor confidence is the bedrock of our nation’s capital markets.  The goal of our program is to strengthen this confidence by helping investors better understand companies’ reporting and other publicly available information.”

Ms. Gillan, 54, was deputy chief of staff to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro before joining PwC.  She was also a founding board member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), where she served from 2003 to early 2008.

“PwC has a vast reservoir of expertise that can be tapped for the benefit of investors,” Ms. Gillan added.  “From supporting a deeper understanding of how to read financial statements, to taxation, data security and a myriad of other issues, there are many, many opportunities for us to work with investors in areas of mutual interest,” she said.

Program activities will foster two-way communication, enabling the firm to utilize investor insights.  “The success of the program will not only depend on the insights and education we provide to investors, but also on our own ability to absorb what we learn from the investor community and then broaden our base of understanding,” said Mr. Moritz.