Michael Izza, chief executive of the ICAEW, has been given the difficult job of chairing the panel selcted to find an independent valuer for troubled Northern Rock.

The appointment will place Izza at the heart of decisions to value compensation for shareholders who lost out when the bank was nationalised earlier this year.

The role also sees Izza firmly in the firing line if the valuations prove controversial with shareholders.

Yesterday the government announced that the tender process for finding a valuer was now open. There has been much speculation in the press that the government was struggling to find a firm willing to take on the work because it was either too difficult or too risky in terms of public relations.

However, Accountancy Age understands there has been expressions of interest. It is also thought that it is not certain that an accountancy firm will take the role and that they may find themselves competing for the work alongside investment banks.

Izza's panel will include Anthony Fry, senior managing director, Evercore Partnership, Christopher Gardner QC and Louise Tulett, finance director at the Treasury.

The appointment will be seen by many as a huge endorsement of Izza's time heading up the ICAEW and vindication of his strategic decision to invest in the institute's thought leadership programme.

Applications for the valuation work will have to be submitted by 4 July this year.

Links
To see the application click here