Sky News has learnt that Alan Vallance, chief executive of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), has been identified as the frontrunner to become the next chief executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

It was unclear on Thursday whether Mr Vallance had been formally offered, or accepted, the post, and one person close to the process said it could yet go to an alternative candidate.

The ICAEW has been hunting a successor to Michael Izza, its veteran boss, for months, amid growing scrutiny of its performance.

In September, it was reprimanded by the Insolvency Service for failing to supervise an insolvency practitioner who had had professional restrictions placed upon him.

The body has also been criticised by industry professionals after Sky News revealed earlier this year that it was to pay Mr Izza a secret six-figure severance package despite announcing that he was retiring from the industry.

The ICAEW has refused to quantify the sum, saying it would be published in its next annual report.

Mr Vallance is a serial leader of industry bodies, having previously run the Royal Institute of British Architects and held a senior role at the Law Society.

However, he has only run the CII for 18 months, which one source said cast doubt on whether he would jump ship to the ICAEW.

An ICAEW spokesman declined to comment, while the CII did not respond to an enquiry from Sky News.