Accounting Firms as Gatekeepers: Navigating Contemporary Governance and Accountability Challenges
In recent years, some of the world’s largest accounting firms have been in the spotlight for controversies involving conflicts of interest, audit failures or complicity in corporate scandals with global repercussions. As gatekeepers, auditors play a significant role in safeguarding the interest of the public. Reforms are presently being considered to mitigate the loss of public trust in accounting firms. This seminar brings together three experts from industry and academia to discuss recent developments from regulatory and ethical perspectives, drawing insights from domestic and international experience. Join us for an engaging discussion of strategies for enhancing the regulation of the audit sector and public trust.
The seminar is jointly organised by Monash Business School’s Corporate Law, Organisation and Litigation Research Group and Monash Law's Centre for Commercial Law and Regulatory Studies (CLARS).
Event Details
Accounting Firms as Gatekeepers: Navigating Contemporary Governance and Accountability Challenges
When: Wednesday 30 September 2026
Time: 5.30 - 7.30pm AEST
Campus: The Sky Room
30 Collins Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000
Registrations close Wednesday 23 September 2026.
This activity may be claimed in the following CPD categories (subject to the attendee’s assessment):
- Substantive Law
- Ethics and Professional Responsibility
Participants should determine the appropriate allocation of CPD units in accordance with their applicable CPD rules.
If you have any enquiries or need more information, please contact the Monash Business School’s External Engagement and Events Team at mbus-events@monash.edu.
Speakers
Vanessa Chapman, Group Executive General Counsel and Corporate Assurance, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand
Ms Chapman has almost 30 years’ experience as a corporate lawyer and governance professional in top-tier private practice and in-house financial services legal roles. She has significant experience as a trusted adviser to boards and business leaders on ESG, legal, risk and compliance issues, delivery of ASX Corporate Governance practices and managing operational risk and compliance functions.
Ms Chapman holds a BA (Econ)/LLB and Master of Laws (Corporate and Commercial) from the University of New South Wales, and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute Company Directors and graduate of the Cranlana Executive Colloquium.
She is also a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia, a member of the Law Society of New South Wales (having also served on the society’s Professional Conduct Committee), and an Advocate Member of The Ethics Centre.
Philip Koh, Senior Partner, Mah-Kamariyah & Philip Koh
Mr Koh has more than forty years of experience in the legal profession, industry and academia.
He specialises in contract and investment, mergers and acquisitions, financial services and securities regulation, corporate governance, commercial and civil litigation, and public law.
Mr Koh is sought after for his expertise on the governance of financial institutions, and has provided high-level training, including matters involving audit and law, at major forums. He has also been involved in law reform and landmark commercial, civil, public and constitutional law cases which have helped shape Malaysian law.
Professor John Bevacqua, Head of the Department of Business Law and Taxation, Monash Business School, Monash University
Professor Bevacqua is an Australian commercial lawyer who had more than a decade of experience in private legal practice before he became an academic.
He holds a PhD in tax law from the University of New South Wales, and is recognised as an international expert in the field of taxpayer rights and remedies and public authority accountability. Professor Bevacqua continues to publish and present in the field both nationally and internationally.
He also previously held the position of Associate Dean - Learning and Teaching at Monash Business School.
Moderator
Associate Professor Steve Kourabas, Faculty of Law, Monash University
Associate Professor Kourabas lectures in corporations law and related areas. His scholarly interests include corporations law, financial regulation, and international economic law (including global governance and regulation). He has published on matters regarding prudential regulation, and is currently focusing on the interaction between technology and the corporation with an emphasis on the development of equity crowdfunding in Australia and globally.
Associate Professor Kourabas completed his doctorate at Duke Law School. His dissertation explored the development of international financial law after the global financial crisis, with a particular emphasis on the potential to bring international finance law within the international public law regime.
Prior to joining Monash, Associate Professor Kourabas worked as legal counsel for a number of years, when he held positions at Telstra, The Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance, and the Victorian Government Solicitor's Office.