Imre was appointed as the new CEO of the IRBA on 7 September 2022. He held the position of the IRBA’s Acting CEO from February 2021. He joined the organisation after being appointed as Director Inspections in February 2013, and his responsibilities comprised heading the regulatory monitoring (inspections) and remediation of registered auditors in South Africa. In his professional career, he has held positions at a number of small and large auditing firms. His last position before joining the regulator was that of director and regional (provincial) head of the fifth largest audit network firm in South Africa at the time. In the past 20 years, Imre has gained extensive experience in performing audits, audit regulation, audit quality monitoring and audit quality control. He has also attained comprehensive knowledge in accounting, risk management, forensic audit and public sector advisory.
Most of his career to date has been spent serving the public sector and the public interest. His broad knowledge and experience in these areas have underpinned his deep-rooted passion for the auditing profession and its regulation. Since 2013, he has been serving as an independent quality/technical advisor to the Auditor-General South Africa’s (AGSA) Quality Control Assessment Committee until 2021. On the international front, Imre currently serves as a Board member and Audit and Finance Committee Chairperson of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR), and he is also currently serving on the IFIAR Inspections Working Group, and the Investor and Other Stakeholders Working Group (2020 to 2022. In these groups, independent audit regulators from more than 50 countries share their knowledge and experiences. He is also a non-executive director of the IFIAR Association. Imre is a public servant at heart. He is an unwavering and independent professional, with a passion for promoting reliable financial information and high audit quality. These qualities are necessary for the protection of the financial interests of the public and are also key drivers of investor confidence, which ultimately promotes economic growth and stability.