About Karen McWilliams FCA

Karen McWilliams is the Sustainability Leader in the Policy and Advocacy team at Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ). She is responsible for shaping and influencing sustainability-related issues of relevance to Chartered Accountants, including modern slavery, climate change, nature and sustainability reporting matters. 

In Australia, Karen chairs the G100 Sustainability member interest group and represents CA ANZ on the Advisory Board of Value Australia (A Capitals Coalition Regional Hub) and as a member of ASFI’s adaptation and resilience taxonomy advisory group, the Chapter Zero working group. Globally, Karen represents CA ANZ on the Global Accounting Alliance (GAA) Sustainability working group, the Chartered Accountants Worldwide Sustainability taskforce, the Capitals Coalition Advisory Board and the Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) Accounting Bodies Network. She is also a technical adviser to CA ANZ’s representative on IFAC’s Professional Accountants in Business Advisory Group.

Karen is also a non-executive director on the UN Global Compact Network Australia Board and chair of their finance, risk and audit committee.

With over 25 years’ experience in a variety of business and advisory roles, she started her career in the specialist field of audit and has held positions with Worley Parsons, Ernst and Young, and Deloitte in London. 

She is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a Master of Arts in Mathematical Sciences from the University of Oxford.