Pegasus Economics

Brett possesses 35 years of accounting, governance, assurance, risk management, and financial reporting experience. Following several years of general practice with a global accounting firm, Brett has spent much of his career in the Australian public sector.

 

Brett was an Assistant Auditor-General, including as head of the ANAO's Melbourne practice from 1995 to 1998 and head of its London office from 1991 to 1994. Key clients included CBA, Qantas, RBA, Telstra, Australia Post and ANL, together with a range of Australian Government portfolio departments and statutory authorities. More recently, Brett was an Assistant Secretary with the Department of Finance, primarily in roles relating to whole of government account policy, consolidated ex ante and ex post financial reporting, appropriations and cash management, and financial management frameworks.

 

Brett is well-experienced in assessing internal controls, including IT control environments, risks and risk management frameworks, governance structures, performance reporting frameworks, and regulatory and other compliance processes and reporting. In his roles at the Department of Finance, Brett implemented Australia's new suite of accounting standards across the Australian public sector, including across some 180 separate reporting entities. Brett also led the project that introduced a harmonised public sector accounting framework for Budget and Budget Outcome reporting. During this period, Brett extensively advised governments on the accounting implications of complex transactions.

 

Brett was a member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (2002 – 2007), represented the Australian Government at the OECD and IMF, was a member of the joint OECD/IMF taskforce on public sector accounting harmonisation (2004 – 2007), a member of the Australian Heads of Treasuries Accounting and Reporting Committee (2002 – 2008), and a member of CPA Australia's Public Sector Centre of Excellence (2001 – 2009). Brett was also a director on the national board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia, including as deputy chair of the Board's Audit and Risk Committee (2011 – 2013). This Board oversaw the merger of the Australian and New Zealand Institutes in 2013.

 

Brett has been consulting to government entities in the areas of financial management, governance, accountability, planning and performance for a number of years. He has been publishing in Australian accounting journals and has been a key note and session presenter at national and regional accounting, governance and financial management congresses.

 

Brett is a fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and CPA Australia.​