It is with great sadness we announce the passing of John Shanahan, recently retired director of Summerland Credit Union.

John was an independent Director and contributed 11 years of service to Summerland. He was a very active director and during his term was the Chair of Board Audit Committee, a position held for 11 years; and a member of Governance Committee; and as recently as November 2018 was a member of Summerland’s Board Risk Advisory Committee.

Summerland was fortunate to have a recognised expert on financial reporting issues on our Board for such an extended period. As the author of Guide to Accounting Standards (9th ed.) and Guide to Accounting Regulation (3rd ed.), both highly respected textbooks used in the industry, he imparted his extensive knowledge in the discipline of auditing and accounting, and his knowledge will be missed.

Outside of Summerland he was an auditing and accounting consultant who advised on audit issues and prepared expert reports. He conducted training courses and seminars for many national and state organisations including ASIC, the ASX, CPA Australia, the Institute of Chartered Accountants, FINSIA and the Federal Judicial Commission. Until 2001 he was an Audit Partner at Deloitte. He was formerly Deputy Chancellor of Southern Cross University and until recently was the Chair of the University’s Audit and Risk Committee. Professionally he was a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia; and was registered as a company auditor since 1971.

John is survived by his wife Maggie, their children and grandchildren. Our thoughts are with the family following their loss.

We will fondly remember John for his positivity, optimism and sense of humour. He will be sadly missed.