Sir Kenneth Russell Cork GBE (21 August 191313 October 1991) was a British

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

and

insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...

expert, and the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

from 1978–1979. He is best known for chairing a major review of

UK insolvency law United Kingdom insolvency law regulates companies in the United Kingdom which are unable to repay their debts. While UK bankruptcy law concerns the rules for natural persons, the term insolvency is generally used for companies formed under the ...

(whose report issued in 1982 is widely referred to as the

Cork Report ''Report of the Review Committee on Insolvency Law and Practice'' (1982) Cmnd 8558, also known as the "Cork Report" was an investigation and set of recommendations on modernisation and reform of UK insolvency law. It was chaired by Kenneth Cork and ...

and led to the passing of the

Insolvency Act 1986 The Insolvency Act 1986c 45 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provides the legal platform for all matters relating to personal and corporate insolvency in the UK. History The Insolvency Act 1986 followed the publication and ...

). He was a partner in Cork Gully, a well-known firm of insolvency practitioners (established in 1935 with his father, WH Cork, and Harry Gully) which in 1980 became part of

Coopers & Lybrand PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

. Cork was recognised as an "insolvency baron" who had a dominant role in that field which set him apart from mainstream

accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "language ...

. Prior to his election of Mayor he had served as a

sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery company, livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have ...

for 1975–76. He also contributed to governance of the arts, as Vice Chairman of the Arts Council and Chairman of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

, and guiding other bodies including the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...

and

London Festival Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish B ...

Family

Sir Kenneth's son, Sir

Roger Cork Sir Roger William Cork (31 March 1947 – 21 October 2002) was a British accountant and insolvency expert, and the 669th Lord Mayor of London (from 1996 to 1997). Roger Cork was born on 31 March 1947 in Hatch End, Middlesex, the son of Sir Kenne ...

(31 March 1947 – 21 October 2002), followed in his footsteps, both as a partner in Cork Gully and as Lord Mayor of London (1996–1997).Sir Roger Cork
, The Worshipful Company of Bowyers

Publications

*''Cork on Cork: Sir Kenneth Cork Takes Stock''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cork, Kenneth 1913 births 1991 deaths People educated at Alleyn Court School Sheriffs of the City of London 20th-century lord mayors of London 20th-century English politicians British accountants Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire