Greening was presented with the award at the institute’s annual dinner, in recognition of her outstanding achievements in public service, and for exceptional leadership in advancing social mobility and equality of opportunity.

She has also made a significant contribution to the accountancy profession, championing access to careers in finance and supporting initiatives that broaden entry pathways into the profession. Her work has highlighted the profession’s vital role in driving inclusive growth and enabling individuals from all backgrounds to succeed.

The award is the highest accolade the institute can give and Greening is only the 47th person to receive this recognition. Accepting the coveted ICAEW award for outstanding achievement, Greening said: ‘This award means a huge amount to me. Qualifying as a chartered accountant gave me a headstart in my career which was such an important part of my own social mobility journey.

‘I look forward to continuing my collaborative work in business and education, and to expand upon opportunities and address head on the inequalities within our society.’

Starting her career at one of the Big Six accounting firms back in the 1990s, Greening went on to work in senior finance roles, then spent more than a decade as an elected MP until setting up her own philanthropic organisation, the Purpose Coalition and pursuing a portfolio career.

Before her move into politics, Greening spent 15 years in business in various senior finance roles with GlaxoSmithKline and Centrica, including as head of sales and marketing finance, after originally qualifying as a chartered accountant at Price Waterhouse (now PwC) in the mid 1990s.

But in 2005, her interest in public service pushed her to stand for parliament. Greening swapped her financial career for politics, standing in the 2010 general election as MP for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields, a seat she won, and proved to be a popular and very effective local MP. In total, she spent more than 14 years in parliament, serving as a minister under various Conservative prime ministers, until stepping down in December 2019.

Some of her time in government included a stint at the Treasury as economic secretary under then Conservative chancellor George Osborne in David Cameron’s coalition government, and over the years she held six different ministerial roles. She was secretary of state for education, as well as minister for transport and international aid.

Her anecdotes about working in the Treasury are always entertaining, a time she describes as an eye-opening experience, particularly with her chartered accountant’s eye for detail and scrutiny of the numbers, giving her a different insight into government methods of accounting bringing as she did experience from years of working in the private sector in senior financial roles.

Surprisingly, Greening said she was the only chartered accountant working at a senior level when she was at the Treasury, and her commercial experience informed her rigorous, evidence-based approach to public policy.

An important part of her work these days is her role as founder of the Purpose Coalition, which brings together leading organisations to tackle barriers to opportunity and demonstrate how responsible growth can deliver wider social and economic benefits. She is also a non-executive director of On The Beach Group plc, the listed short haul holiday online business, the joint chancellor of the University of Southampton and chair of the Sutton Trust Education Advisory Panel.

Alan Vallance, ICAEW chief executive, said the institute was ‘honoured to present Justine with ICAEW’s Outstanding Achievement Award’, adding ‘Justine’s work has covered senior roles in politics, business and her leadership role in social mobility. She continues to make the case for breaking down barriers for opportunity across the UK’.