Ian Hay Davison attended Dulwich College and then the London School of Economics before completing postgraduate studies at the University of Michigan, USA. He returned to the UK in 1958 and joined the accounting and public services firm Arthur Andersen where he managed the rapid growth of the company, building and expanding its strong national reputation. He went on to serve in a number of high-profile regulatory roles, including chairman of the Accounting Standards Committee, Department of Trade & Industry inspector and member of the Audit Commission, before being asked by the Bank of England to become the Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman of Lloyd's of London.

Hay Davison's extensive experience in the private sector includes directorships of The Independent, Cadbury Schweppes and Midland Bank. He also took on voluntary appointments including as trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum, chairman of the Sadler's Wells Foundation and president of the National Council for One Parent Families. He served on the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and received a CBE in 2002.

He was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Bath in 1998.

The collection contains material relating to Hay Davison's career in numerous commercial organisations, including books, pamphlets, speeches and associated papers covering topics such as conceptual frameworks for accounting, setting accounting standards, inflation, auditing, the regulation of prices, the early uses of computers for business data processing and budgetary control. The collection also documents Hay Davison's involvement with several public and charitable bodies.

The collection was donated to the University of Bath by Ian Hay Davison in 2015, 2017 and 2022.

Size: 59 boxes, 1,273 items.

A catalogue providing full details of the contents of the Ian Hay Davison Collection is available in PDF format.