Keynote Speaker No.1: Dr. Mark WheatonRaised and educated in Adelaide, Mark completed a bachelor's degree in economics from Adelaide University. Before graduation, Mark worked in the outback of Australia as a Jackaroo, Truck Driver, Oil Rigger and on Building sites. Following graduation in 1983, Mark commenced employment as an Accountant for a subsidiary of BHP, in Sydney.
Many positions followed, working in government and banking until the year 2000 when he established an accounting business which grew exponentially. With 4 partners, Mark sold his interest and moved to France to complete his Master's degree in international relations. However, following a call from RMIT Vietnam, Mark started as a lecturer in accounting but soon became Head of the Department for Accounting, Economics, Finance and Marketing, where he completed his doctorate in business in 2016. Mark returned to Australia to take up the Academic Director of Accounting position for Kaplan Business School. Australia. An avid mountain walker and martial artist in Taekwondo, Mark brings a wealth of experience and passion to his new role as Senior Lecturer at the School of Business at BUV.
Keynote Speaker No.2: Mr. Mark Jerome, ACA (ICAEW)Mark has over 40 years of experience working in 20 countries, focusing on audit, governance, institutional capacity assessment and development, and administration. After eight years in the British Civil Service (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food), he joined KPMG and qualified as a chartered accountant. He was based in Southeast Asia as audit partner from 1996 to 2016, where he built up KPMG’s work for emerging economies and the not-for-profit sector and was a key member of the firm’s international steering committee for the development sector. Mark was also an active member of KPMG’s IPSAS Technical Working Group, an IFRS reviewing partner, and spearheaded capacity-building initiatives, helping organizations align with international financial reporting standards and donor requirements. After Mark left KPMG, he joined the Green Climate Fund in 2017, first as Head of the Internal Audit Office, which he set up from scratch, and subsequently as Head of the Office of Risk Management and Compliance, where he initiated a thorough review of the Fund’s risk management framework and led the oversight of risk management and compliance for a portfolio exceeding USD 11.4 billion.
Mark holds a Chartered Accountant qualification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and earned a bachelor’s degree in Modern History from the University of Oxford. His career reflects a deep commitment to improving governance, accountability, and institutional development across the globe. With a passion for fostering social development and addressing global challenges, Mark continues to engage in various advisory capacities, bringing his extensive experience and strategic insight to the organizations he supports. He remains an active voice in the governance community of the International Financial Reporting for Non-Profit Organisations initiative, supporting the development of financial reporting guidelines for the non-profit sector, and is contributing to thought leadership and development of risk management frameworks for emerging economies and the international development sector.
