Teresa Graham OBE (Independent Reviewer)

17 February 2004

Teresa graduated from Newcastle University in 1977. She joined the Newcastle upon Tyne office of a Big 5 firm as a student accountant and transferred to the firm’s Department of Privatisation Services in London in 1989. From December 1986 to August 1987, she was seconded to the UK Government’s Enterprise and Deregulation Unit reporting directly to Lord Young, the Secretary of State for Employment and then Trade and Industry. In March 1988 she was appointed to the Government’s Deregulation Advisory Panel for a two-year term. She was winner of the “Young Accountant of the Year Award” for 1988 in recognition of her contribution to the small firms sector, her profession and work with Government.

Teresa joined Baker Tilly in 1989 and during her time there she headed up their Business Services Department growing it in less than six years from a turnover of £5m to turnover of £25m.

She now works independently focusing on her two passions – strategic advice to ambitious, growing business and liberating these businesses from the fetters of red tape. Translated into practice this means an active ongoing relationship as a senior advisor to Baker Tilly and chairing roles with three growth businesses – CW Communications, etc venues and Matrix. She also has a variety of mentoring and advisory roles for other growth businesses including Direct Wines, Furniture for Business and Harriet Kessie.

With her red tape hat on Teresa is Deputy Chair of the Government’s Better Regulation Task Force, a non-executive member of the Steering Board of the DTI’s Small Business Service and member of the DTI’s Small Business Council.

She is currently working on two major pieces of work. A review of litigation and compensation for the Better Regulation Task Force and an independent review for the Treasury on the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme.

She is currently Chair of the London Entrepreneur’s Club and Patron of Network, a national forum for women in business.

In her spare time she has been the past Chairman of the London Society of Chartered Accountants and still advises The Institute of Chartered Accountants’ in England & Wales on SME issues. She was also a past member of the Accounting Standards Board’s Committee for Accounting for Smaller Entities (CASE); a past member of the Government’s Ministerial Group on Access Business; past Chairman of the RSA’s Educational Policy Committee; past Governor of Bromley College of Further Education; past member of the Advisory Committee of the Office for National Statistics and a former Director of Business Link London South.

Teresa was awarded an OBE in the 1997 New Years Honours List for services to Better Regulation and the small firms sector.

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