In a historic first, the Financial Reporting Council has banned the former chief financial officer (CFO) of Thurrock Council from working as a CFO in local government.
The council was declared officially bankrupt in 2022 after a number of failed commercial investments left the council with £1.5bn in debt.
Following an investigation, the Financial Reporting Council has decided to impose a five-year ban on Sean Robert Clark – the council’s CFO between 2018 and 2022 – which means he will be unable to work as a CFO in local government.
This is the first time that the FRC, the regulator of auditors, accountants and actuaries, has imposed sanctions on a local authority CFO.
Claudia Mortimore, deputy executive counsel, said: ‘Mr Clark held a fiduciary responsibility towards local taxpayers and it was incumbent on him to make sure that the risks arising from Thurrock Council’s financial strategy were identified, managed and reported to the council’s leadership and members.
‘He fell significantly short of the required standards in a number of respects leading to his exclusion from the profession and the imposition of a severe reprimand.’
