ACCA appoints chief economist

Jonathan Ashworth will run global accountancy body’s highly regarded global economics research

Jonathan Ashworth joins global accountancy body ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) as chief economist.

Working as part of ACCA’s policy and insight team, Jonathan will lead and expand ACCA’s work on the global economy to provide insight and analysis at a crucial time for the global economy, including supporting its well-regarded Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS).

Jonathan joins ACCA following roles as a China economist at Fathom Consulting, and global and UK economist at Morgan Stanley, and has held economist/global macro strategy positions at Barclays Wealth. He has also worked as an economist in the Productivity & Structural Reform team at Her Majesty’s Treasury, where he did work on the famous ‘Five Tests’ of whether Britain should join the euro. He has a MA degree in Economics from Duke University and a First Class Honours degree in Economics from Hull University. His academic work has been cited by major global institutions such as the IMF, OECD, BIS, BoE and the ECB.

Jamie Lyon ACCA Head of Skills, Sectors and Technology said: ‘ACCA is delighted that Jonathan is joining the team as he brings such a wealth of great economic experience. Our work on the global economy is an important contributor to the knowledge and understanding of our members and stakeholders. What happens in the global economy significantly impacts businesses in all sectors, as well as individual careers. It’s a critical part of our global research programme.

Jonathan said: ‘I’m delighted to join ACCA and am looking forward to building on the great work that ACCA has established through its research programme on the global economy. It’s such an interesting time given everything that’s happening in the world currently, and in particular the challenges policy-makers are facing. Helping our members understand these issues for the future is really vital”.

The ACCA and IMA Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) is the largest regular economic survey of accountants around the world, in both the number of respondents and the range of economic variables it monitors. The GECS has been conducted every quarter for over 10 years. Its main indices are good lead indicators of economic activity and provide a valuable insight into the views of finance professionals on key variables, such as investment, employment and costs.

Read the latest GECS report here.