A veteran of emerging markets with over 30 years’ experience in the accounting, consulting and banking professions, James first moved to Indonesia in 1991 and has since guided Moores Rowland Indonesia to become the nation’s fifth largest accounting and audit firm with offices in Jakarta and Bali. He was also instrumental, along with Marzuki Darusman, in the initial conceptualization of the firm’s award-winning human rights audit methodology. 

The growth of human rights focus beyond MRI’s initial audit services of business compliance was to lead the pair, together with other luminaries, to found the Association For International Human Rights Reporting Standards (FIHRRST). Besides actively promoting the benefits of imbedding human rights practices throughout organizations, James has continued to expand the borders for which the Business and Human Rights International Standard for Certification (BHRISC 2011) may be utilized as a basis for certification of compliance on a wider scale. 

Already in Indonesia, Ministerial Regulation issued by the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and the Bandung Charter of a Human Rights City have both included human rights certification procedures initially based on BHRISC 2011, while development occurs in a range of other project areas.