Simon Cunningham has been a member of the Board of Revenue Scotland since January 2021, having previously served as a member of Revenue Scotland’s Audit & Risk Committee from 2019. He is a Chartered Accountant and was for a partner with Scott-Moncrieff, Chartered Accountants, leading their outsourced internal audit and risk consulting services for many years working with Boards and Audit Committees for a wide range of organisations across the Scottish public sector, and several of Scotland leading listed companies and charities. He was Chief Internal Auditor at AEGON UK and part of the global internal audit leadership team, and for 6 years was Director of Compliance and Group Risk at McInroy & Wood (investment manager) where he established and chaired their Risk Committee.
He brings extensive audit, risk management, governance and financial reporting experience and expertise to the Revenue Scotland role, and was appointed as the Deputy Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee in 2023. He has been a co-opted member of the Audit & Risk Committee for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service since 2020. He has number of other non-executive roles.
On the reappointment, Chair of Revenue Scotland, Aidan O’Carroll said
“We are delighted that Simon's reappointment to the Revenue Scotland board for another three years, has been confirmed by the Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance Tom Arthur MSP.
Simon’s wealth of experience as a risk, audit and governance specialist has brought critical skills to the Board of Revenue Scotland, supporting discussions and scrutiny at both the Board and Audit and Risk Committee meetings. He will continue to serve in his role as Deputy Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee, providing valuable contributions to the board”
Reappointment
This reappointment will be for 3 years and will run from 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2026.
This reappointment is regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.
More information
Remuneration
This reappointment is part-time and attracts a remuneration of £303.52 per day for a time commitment of 36 days per year.
Other ministerial appointments
Simon Cunningham is a co-opted member of the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service Audit & Risk Committee for which he receives remuneration of £1,400 per year, for a time commitment of 5 days per year.
Simon Cunningham is also a Member of Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Limited for which he receives remuneration of £320 per day, for a time commitment of 4 days per month.
Political activity
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. In accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, however, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.
Simon Cunningham has had no political activity within the last five years.
Background
Revenue Scotland is the tax authority with responsibility for the collection and management of Scotland’s devolved taxes.
Revenue Scotland was established as a Non-Ministerial Office on 1 January 2015 and is the tax authority responsible for the administration and collection of Scotland’s devolved taxes - Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT). These taxes came into effect on 1 April 2015, replacing their UK equivalents (Stamp Duty Land Tax and UK Landfill Tax respectively). The organisation has a Board with seven members, a Chief Executive and a senior leadership team.