Commission members

Jo Armstrong

Chair of the Accounts Commission for a term of office until 31 January 2028

Jo is an internationally recognised economist and finance expert having worked in the public, private and third sectors across the UK. With periods in the oil, gas and banking sectors, she was also a senior civil servant in the Scottish Government. Jo acted as a budget adviser to Parliamentary Committees of the Scottish Parliament, including the Local Government Committee.

Jo is a former chair of the Wheatley Group, Scotland's largest social housing, care and property management organisation.

Andrew Burns

Deputy Chair of the Accounts Commission for a term of office until 31 July 2027

Andrew has extensive leadership and management experience across the private, public and voluntary sectors. He has served on the Commission since 2018, is a former Leader of City of Edinburgh Council and former Convener (Chair) of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), current Chair of the Edinburgh Union Canal Society, and is undertaking a part-time PhD at the University of Edinburgh Business School.

Christine Lester

Member of the Accounts Commission for a term of office until 31 December 2026

Christine has experience as a full time carer and as a fundraiser for MND Scotland. She was previously Vice Chair of the Board of NHS Grampian and Chair of Moray Integration Joint Board. She comes from a scientific background and had a successful career in commercial sales.

Malcolm Bell

Member of the Accounts Commission for a term of office until October 2030

Malcolm Bell has extensive experience in the public and third sectors. He served as Convener of Shetland Islands Council from 2012 until 2022. During this time, amongst other appointments, he was a member of the COSLA Convention, served as a director of the Improvement Service Ltd, and as President of the Scottish Provosts Association. 

Malcolm was a Non-Executive Director and Vice-Chair of NHS Shetland between 2010 and 2022. He is a former senior police officer, retiring from Northern Constabulary in 2010.  He has chaired Shetland’s Child Protection Committee and Adult Protection Committees in Shetland and Orkney, leading both through a period of significant organisational and legislative change. 

Malcolm currently serves as an Honorary Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, and is a member of the Standards Commission for Scotland.

Jennifer Henderson

Member of the Accounts Commission for a term of office until October 2030

Jennifer Henderson has extensive public sector management and leadership experience and is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute. She is currently the Chief Executive and Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, delivering a substantial programme of digital transformation. Jennifer emphasises the importance of effective stakeholder engagement, communication, and transparency in public service delivery — bringing experience from both her current role and from leading the stakeholder engagement for the Building Safety Programme established in response to the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower. Jennifer has a strong commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. She received a UK Women in Defence Award for improving gender equality during her time as a Director at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. Previously, Jennifer also served as a Non-Executive Director for Ploughshare Innovations Ltd.

Carol Evans

Member of the Accounts Commission for a term of office until September 2027

Carol Evans has over 20 years’ experience of education, stakeholder engagement and strategic leadership, driving organisational and culture change in organisations in the private, public and third sector. She has worked at a senior level in AstraZeneca, Kellogg’s and PepsiCo and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. She is a non-executive director of Skills Development Scotland, Food Standards Scotland, Chair of Friends of Cedarbank Charity and previously a member of other regulatory boards, committees and UK Department of Health advisory groups. As a member of global executive teams, she has been responsible for audit, risk and finance, ensuring the highest standards of corporate governance, compliance and performance improvement.

Angela Leitch

Member of the Accounts Commission for a term of office until September 2027

Angela Leitch has worked at a senior level in local authorities for over two decades and has a thorough understanding of the context within which councils continue to operate. After eight years as Chief Executive of East Lothian Council she was appointed as Chief Executive to the newly formed Public Health Scotland in November 2019 which gave her a deeper insight and experience of working of NHS in Scotland. Angela stepped down from this role in March 2023. She is a board member of the Scottish Police Authority and has been appointed to chair a review of Creative Scotland which will report to ministers by the end of 2025. In addition, Angela is a trustee on the Board of the Cyrenians and Chair of Youthlink Scotland.

Mike Neilson

Member of the Accounts Commission for a term of office until September 2027

Mike Neilson is a retired career civil servant who has worked at the UK Treasury, the European Commission, and the Scottish Government, with more than 15 years as a Director. He has in-depth experience of leading public service improvement and restructuring in a range of roles in Scottish Government, including in relation to digital services, housing, homelessness and public utilities. He brings extensive experience of different models of public service governance, and of financial and programme management, having had accountability for budgets in excess of £1 billion per annum, and for complex multi-agency programmes.

Derek Yule

Member of the Accounts Commission for a term of office until September 2027

Derek Yule is a retired Depute Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Resources at Highland Council. He is a qualified accountant (CIPFA), who trained in the NHS and held several posts in the NHS and local government. He has been a member of several boards and working groups relative to local government at UK and Scottish level. He was awarded CIPFA Scotland Public Finance Professional of the year in 2019. 

Derek is currently a Trustee and Treasurer of Clackmannan Development Trust, which works in partnership with Clackmannanshire Council