What did the Institute ever do for us?
Author:
Brian Walsh
With apologies to the Monty Python team, the above question, or variations of it, is often asked by members I meet. I do not profess to be objective in the matter, but the answer is much the same as the one given to the questioner in The Life of Brian about the Romans, i.e. "A Lot". This was brought home to me recently when I was given a summary of the work we had done in attempting to influence the Companies (Auditing & Accounting) Bill 2003, which was published on 14th February 2003.
The Bill can be roughly divided into two segments. The first deals with the regulation of the accounting profession, the second deals with corporate governance issues. While the Bill was intended to give effect to the recommendations of the Review Group on Auditing which reported in 2000, it departs from those recommendations in a number of significant areas. The Institute welcomed the Bill, particularly as it gives effect to the establishment of the supervisory authority proposed by the Institute in its submission to the RGA.
To ascertain the views of members on the Bill, the Institute initiated a round table forum with a membership sample, including senior business figures, to discuss the Bill. Those meetings took place on the 5th and 6th of March of this year. This process informed the Institute's position on the Bill which was published in a lengthy submission to Government on April 10th. As well as newspaper coverage, I took part in an interview on the ICAI submission on RTE's Business news on that day. I also responded to criticisms levelled at the profession by Senator Joe O'Toole in a Morning Ireland interview on April 16th. In a similar fashion, the Irish Times carried an article by myself on May 16th in response to further criticisms by Senator O'Toole. I responded also to points made by the Senator in Business and Finance by way of a letter to that magazine in July.
The Bill was put down for initial debate on the Seanad on May 28th and May 29th. In advance, Institute executives met with representatives of both Opposition parties. Fine Gael agreed to sponsor a number of points made by ICAI by way of amendment at Committee Stage of the Bill which took place on May 28th. Few of these amendments were accepted by Government which reserved its position until the Dail debate. The Seanad passed the Bill on May 29th. The Institute also communicated with representatives of the Stock Exchange, IBEC, the Institute of Directors and the American Chamber of Commerce to draw their attention to elements of the Bill. We also made our views known through the Company Law Review Group.
In addition to my own appearances on RTE, the Institute also conducted a high profile media campaign on the Bill. No less than six press statements were issued between April and July, many of which received considerable coverage in the national newspapers. In addition, individual Council members raised their concerns about the Bill in their own professional capacities. The Institute in conjunction with CCAB-I also addressed the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business on May 28th on the Bill. The CCAB-I delegation was led by Institute Deputy President, Terence O'Rourke.
Despite being passed by the Seanad in May, the Government decided not to proceed with the Bill in the Dail until after the Summer recess. Over the summer, the Institute emailed members informing them of the progress made by the Bill in the Seanad. The Institute met with Deputies Phil Hogan of Fine Gael, Brendan Howlin of Labour, and Eamonn Ryan of the Green Party in advance of the Dail 2nd Stage debate. We also discussed the Bill with a number of Independent deputies. We also met with Minister Michael Ahern to re-emphasise our view that the corporate governance issues contained in the Bill should be abandoned and inserted into a more flexible code. The Dail debate commenced on the 16th of October, with a number of speakers making direct reference to the Institute's submission.
As I write the Institute has circulated a series of possible amendments in line with our submission to opposition deputies. By the time you read this the Bill may well have proceeded through committee stage. No doubt we will make more progress on some issues than others. However, I think it is important to let members know the extent to which the Institute lobbied on behalf of members in relation to the Bill.
I concluded my Comment Page in the December 2002 issue of Accountancy Ireland by saying that it had been a difficult year, but onwards and upwards. I believe we have moved upwards past some very significant milestones in 2003. The Public Concern cases were concluded and significant costs were recovered, resulting in the Institute being able to build its reserves to almost â?¬4 million by the end of the year. We launched a new Institute website in July 2003 and a new Communications Strategy, in which the website will play a major part, will be brought to Council in January 2004. The Education Review progressed further, and the CCAB-I representative group, which now meets regularly with the Companies Registration Office, has been very effective.
And we lobbied; lots.
Brian Walsh, FCA
Chief Executive