BRUSSELS, 1 September 2022 : BDO has today announced that Daphna Smuckler, Managing Partner of the Assurance and Accounting Practice and member of the Executive Leadership team at BDO in Canada, will succeed Chris Smith as BDO’s Global Head of Audit & Assurance (A&A).
Daphna Smuckler is based in Toronto and has over 25 years’ BDO experience, providing audit, management and business assurance services to a wide range of clients in North America, Europe and Asia. Under Daphna’s leadership, as the Managing Partner of the Assurance and Accounting Practice at BDO in Canada, various important strategic changes have been successfully made, including a significant growth, both in profitability and in the talent pool. She led the digital transformation of the A&A practice, fostered a people-first culture and continued to build on a strong quality culture.
Outgoing Global Head of A&A, Chris Smith, who retired at end of August after having been in the role for six years, adds: “I’m thrilled that Daphna will be taking over from me. For several years now, I have worked together with Daphna. She is not only an expert in her domain; she is an excellent leader and a passionate supporter of creating a diverse and inclusive environment for our people.”
Commenting on her appointment, Daphna says: “I am delighted to be taking over from Chris, who has done a fantastic job over the past few years. I have big shoes to fill, but I look forward to my new challenge. In my new role, I will further increase our focus on audit quality and will be working with our people to delivery quality with a continued spotlight on innovation and technology to meet our clients’ needs. I am excited to collaborate with our BDO network with a lens on the evolving market, as well as the talent and client experience.”
As Global Head of A&A, Chris Smith has been instrumental in the development, implementation and deployment of APT NG, BDO’s digital collaboration tool, allowing BDO people to work with others within their own firm and across BDO on international engagements, invaluable during the pandemic. He has been a huge advocate for audit quality – and quality across all operations – and has been leading the development of BDO’s International Standards of Quality Management (ISQM) project.
Keith Farlinger, BDO’s global CEO, concludes: “Chris has always had a keen interest in improving our focus on innovation, quality and efficiency, as well as leveraging developments in technology as part of the audit approach. I would like to thank Chris for his many contributions to BDO and I wish him a long and happy retirement. We will miss him for his tireless work, but we are equally pleased to welcome Daphna, who will bring a lot of strategic counsel to the global organisation. We are excited to start a new journey.”