Wes Bricker – public service passion

Wes Bricker, PwC’s Vice Chair –Co-Leader, has been fortunate to have several experiences at the SEC, serving as a Professional Accounting Fellow and also being appointed to Chief Accountant.

“Both of these positions were incredible opportunities that allowed me to be in public service and follow in the footsteps of my Uncle Blake who worked as a public defender,” says Wes. “These experiences offered me an opportunity to apply my previous experience in audit, law and public policy to build a stronger accounting profession in a way that protected the public interest and rebuilt trust in our capital markets.”

Wes tells Business Chief that the SEC focuses on supporting an environment that’s worthy of the public’s trust, whether it’s promoting investor protection, capital formation or the fairness and efficiency of our markets.

“People must trust that the system will operate effectively. It’s a mission I feel passionately about to this day.”

At PwC, Wes has been able to bring a balanced understanding and appreciation for the stakeholders, regulations, policies and standards that impact the accounting profession. “I’ve been able to apply my insights and knowledge to support my clients and our people and help the firm in our never-ending pursuit of quality and adherence to all applicable standards and regulations.

“As CPAs, whether serving in the private or public sector, we have an important responsibility to the public to provide assurance over financial information so stakeholders across the capital markets can have confidence that there is reliable, quality data they can use to help make more informed decisions. Building that trust requires the inclusion, not exclusion, of a diversity of thoughts, backgrounds, perspectives, functions, and disciplines.

“I am incredibly proud of my public service and the many opportunities to work with professionals from different backgrounds, including government, private sector and academic institutions, to help advance the reliability of decisionuseful information.”

Wes Bricker