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Home / 2003 / August 2003 / Merger Moves

History doesn't bode well for merger attempts in the accountancy profession. Failures have been plentiful, successes few and far between. Yet, at its meeting in June, the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) agreed to continue merger negotiations with the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CPA). Terence O'Rourke, the ICAI's Deputy President, is ICAI spokesman for a Steering Group that has been established to conduct face-to-face merger negotiations. Mr O'Rourke believes that the merger is important for the future success of both organisations. He tells Accountancy Ireland why: "Ultimately, this merger is not a stand alone proposal", explains Mr O'Rourke. "The membership will decide whether we can go ahead providing that final agreement on a proposal can be agreed by Councils. But our choice is not between proceeding with the merger and everything remaining the same. To remain relevant into the future ICAI has to change. The question is whether a merger with the CPA is part of that process, I believe it is. If the merger were rejected, we as an Institute would still have fundamental issues to address."

Read the full interview in Accountancy Ireland Vol 35 No 4 August 2003