Jim Burton

Executive summary

Jim is a partner at Grant Thornton and oversees the firm’s ESG & Sustainability services. In this role he develops sustainability strategies and reporting solutions as well as attestation offerings. He is the current chair of the Assurance Services Executive Committee, a senior technical committee of the of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants focusing on sustainability reporting, assurance and consulting services.

Over Jim’s 32-year career with Grant Thornton he has been a lead Audit partner delivering financial and non-financial assurance for multi-national clients. He has also held several leadership positions in the firm’s Audit practice, being responsible for the adoption, interpretation, and application of global and United States auditing and attest standards. In addition, he has led the development and implementation of the firm’s assurance-innovation solutions, including tools, analytics, automation and artificial intelligence.

He has also served as the chief financial officer for a privately held semiconductor materials and services company.

Professional qualifications and memberships

Certified Public Accountant in California, Colorado and Illinois
Certified in Integrated Resource Management through the Association of Supply Chain Management
Level II Candidate with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting

Community involvement

Presentations and publications

Education

Master’s of business administration degree from San Jose State University
Bachelor’s degree in accounting from San Jose State University