Sarah Smith

Sarah Smith is Chief Financial Officer of Southern Housing. She held the same position with Optivo from 2017. She was previously AmicusHorizon’s Executive Director, Finance & Resources.

Sarah has worked with, and in, the housing association sector since 1988. Before joining AmicusHorizon, Sarah spent eight years as Director of Financial Services at London & Quadrant Housing Trust. She began her career as an external auditor with BDO. Having progressed to a managerial position she moved to KPMG in 1998 to provide audit, mergers and acquisitions, and financial planning services principally to the housing association sector.

Sarah sits on the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) social housing sub-committee and the National Housing Federation’s (NHF) Finance & Policy Advisory Group. She was Chair of the G15 Finance Directors’ group between 2017-19 and Vice Chair of the NHF's SORP working party until 2020.

She is a Board member and Audit & Risk Committee member of the Dolphin Square Charitable Foundation. She is a Board member and Chair of the Audit Committee of Reall Limited and a member of the Sustainability for Housing Board.

Sarah won a joint award in July 2016 for 'Finance Director of the Year' and 'Overall Winner' at the Housing Association National Accountancy (HANA) Awards. Her teams have also won a number of other HANA awards including Treasury Team of the year and Overall winner in 2018.