![Former Commonwealth Auditor-General Ian McPhee will head the CPA review panel.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170705154943/http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/h/c/z/8/b/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gx569n.png/1499244580842.jpg)
Dissident CPA Australia members have not changed their call for the old guard directors to step down, despite welcoming the revised panel members and terms of the inquiry.
The review is expected to examine all aspects of how CPA is run and will now be led by former Commonwealth Auditor-General Ian McPhee after the shock resignation of former defence chief Angus Houston from the panel.
Mr McPhee, who has brushed off criticisms of his independence over his earlier endorsement of former CPA CEO Alex Malley's book The Naked CEO, said that a website would be set up to accept member submissions about any issue of concern.
"The terms of reference are broad enough to allow the issues that have been raised by members and others to be addressed through the review process," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
![The CPA Australia board is looking for new members.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170705154943/http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/w/u/d/8/5/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1499036837459.png)
The expanded review panel also includes experienced directors Su McCluskey and Maryjane Crabtree, with Professor Bob Baxt acting as an expert adviser on governance. It is due to report on September 15.
The inquiry into the embattled body was announced in mid-June by chair Jim Dickson after ongoing member anger at the way the body was being run and amid an ongoing investigation by Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Mr Dickson announced major changes to the review panel on Monday after an outcry over the reporting structure and members of the original panel and the exit of Sir Angus.
Rebel members still want the long-term CPA directors, which includes Mr Dickson, Graeme Wade, Richard Petty, Michele Dolin and Sharon Portelli, to step down immediately. For their part, the old guard believe they feel they are best placed to rebuild CPA.
'Step in the right direction'
Marcia O'Neill, a fellow of the CPA who is a former board member and former Victorian divisional president, said the revised review was "a good, strong step in the right direction" but wants the old guard gone.
"[President Jim Dickson] must exercise leadership to have the five longstanding directors stand down in concert at an appropriate time, and keep communicating with the members. Doing this in the spirit of renewal will allow the new board to facilitate a fresh start," she said.
Ian Fargher, a corporate governance academic, fellow of the CPA and former Assistant Commissioner with the Tax Office, said of the review: "It's been like pulling teeth but Jim Dickson, CPA Australia president, has finally announced a credible review committee with broad terms of reference."
Richard Mifsud, a former member of its representative council who wrote about the need for an "independent legal review" of CPA in early June, welcomed the new panel members but wanted to know what would be done if any evidence of corporate law breaches were uncovered "especially if they involve past or present officers and/or directors of CPA Australia".
"It is pleasing to note the addition of corporate legal expertise to the review panel, in particular, the appointment of Prof. Baxt as the expert adviser on governance," Mr Mifsud said.
"However, it will be interesting to see how the review panel will deal with any evidence and any subsequent findings, regarding allegations raised by members and other stakeholders, which may give rise to potential grounds for further investigation by ASIC of matters relating to possible contraventions of the Corporations Act , especially if they involve past or present officers and/or directors of CPA Australia."
However, Greg Angelo, a CPA for 45 years, is sceptical of how much can be done in eight weeks, especially under the existing directors.
"I have no confidence in this process whilst the remaining rump of the board is calling the shots. There are still five directors left who were inside the tent with [Mr] Malley, and these are the ones who had no shame whilst the directors with integrity left," he said.
Mr Angelo wants the inquiry to particularly look at governance during the "10 years or so that Malley and his acolytes were in possession of control" and the loss-making CPA Australia Advice.
"To have a decent inquiry you would need to allow individual written submissions, full and exhaustive analysis and public disclosure of the findings related to individual queries and/or complaints.I suspect that the mid-September report deadline is just a step necessary to allow the board to reconstruct itself and continue to obfuscate and whitewash," he said.