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This has been a very special (and very busy) year for the Ulster Society of Chartered Accountants as it marks the Society’s Centenary. Earlier in the year Accountancy Ireland reported on the Society’s Conference in Toronto and looked forward to the series of charity runs which the Society organised in five different cities over one weekend.

Both of those events were tremendously successful, with the Toronto Conference attracting a record number of attendees – 209; and 300 members taking part in the charity runs, raising over £17,500 for charity.

Since then, the Society has held its Centenary centrepiece event, a Gala Dinner in the magnificent surroundings of Belfast City Hall (which also celebrates its Centenary in 2006). The event, held in October, was a key celebration in the Society’s calendar, and also served as an opportunity to launch a 160 page book, Recounting, which recalls the Society’s first 100 years.

The Society’s Chairman, Colin Johnston, says that the Centenary has been an ideal time to reflect on the profession of Chartered Accountancy and how it has influenced local life in Northern Ireland: “One hundred years ago Accountants were seen as professional keepers of accounts, and probably not much more. Today, the focus of the profession has changed and Chartered Accountants are leaders and decision makers rather than back office cogs.

“A large proportion of Northern Ireland’s leading companies, public sector organisations and charities are headed up by Chartered Accountants. It’s a fact of modern business life. It’s probably true to say that no other profession has had such a profound impact on Northern Ireland.”

“Anyone who looks at the Recounting book will realise how many of the century’s leading businessmen were Chartered Accountants and the role that these people have played in our biggest public and private organisations.

“The Centenary Year as a whole and the Gala Dinner in particular, have been organised to mark that contribution and to celebrate the fact that our Society remains so dynamic. As much as we want to celebrate all that has gone before, we realise that those that live in the past will stay there. We want to look forward to continued success in the next 100 years for the Society and the contribution we can make to wealth creation in Northern Ireland.”

Indeed, as it enters its 101st year there are a lot of indicators that the Society will continue to prosper. Each year, around 70 members are active in sub-committees, helping to put on events and projects which provide a very active schedule for members. On top of that, around 120 members each year contribute to focus groups and consultations, ensuring that the Ulster Society has a strong, informed and influential voice on business issues in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, half of the membership is under the age of 37, more than half of newly qualified members are women, and over half of the Society’s members work in industry rather than in practice. This diversity is vital to the Society’s success.

Colin says: “It’s a Society which has always had the right sort of dynamic. It’s fantastic for networking, contacts become friends and our events are always well attended without exception. We were delighted that at our most recent event, a Young Professionals welcome evening, over 200 of our younger members came to take part. It’s a great situation for any professional group to be in and it’s that commitment from the members which makes it work.

“It’s remarkable that when you look back to early years of the Society and there were only 33 members in total – most of the Chartered Accountants working in Belfast at the time. It reminds us that Accountancy is still quite a ‘young’ profession and it makes the contribution of the profession to business life all the more outstanding. I’m sure that the original founders of the Society 100 years ago would look on proudly at the Society as it stands today.”

Hard-back copies of the Recounting book were given to all members attending the Gala Dinner and it certainly caused a stir on the night, with members looking to see who they could recognise despite the changing fashions and hairstyles. Rather than being a heavy historical tome, Recounting was conceived as a user-friendly book which members can leaf through to find stories which provide a bit of background to the Society.

“We wanted the book to be something which people could pick up and leaf through without expecting a serious history lesson,” says Colin. “What it does is pick key moments, events and people which show how the Society has developed over the years and some of the exceptional stories, for example those members who qualified while studying as prisoners of war in World War 2.

“Producing the book has been a real achievement; it’s thanks to the hard work of a steering group of our members lead by Past Chairman Tony Nicholl; our author Don Anderson and the Institute’s Director of Publishing Kieran Lyons as well as our Ulster Society office staff.

“The whole project was made possible by the Irish Accountancy Educational Trust; they saw what we were trying to do and gave us the support and funding to make it happen. I think that the finished publication is something which our members will find both interesting and enlightening.”

The final event marking the Centenary will be a dinner on the 4th December (the actual Centenary date) for all Past Chairmen of the Society who are able to attend. It’s fairly rare for all of the Past Chairmen to come together, so it should make for a night to remember, as well as being a fitting acknowledgement of the contribution that those men have made to the Society through the decades.

A key in all of the celebrations though has been to look to the future. As well as being a celebration of what has gone before, the Centenary has been an opportunity to assess the years ahead.

One symbol of that new future for the Society will be a new home in Belfast city centre. Just as the Institute is planning for a landmark headquarters in Dublin, plans for new Institute office space in Belfast are already well underway, with an agreement to take 20,000 sq ft of space in modern offices at Linenhall Plaza in Linenhall Street. It is expected that the offices will be ready early in 2007, which means that the Society is looking forward to starting its 101st year in a new home.

Colin says: “This has been an important year for us. In 2006, we’ve been able to show the pride our members have in their profession, in their Society and in their Institute. I also hope that we’ve reached some members who, for one reason or another, haven’t been active in the Society. I think that we’ve been able to get across to people outside of the profession what we’re all about and what Chartered Accountants contribute to not only the business sector but to many aspects of life in Northern Ireland.

“All of those aims though, are not exclusive to the Centenary Year. Those are all ambitions which we can continue to fulfil next year, the year after and for decades to come.

“For me personally, it’s been a very great honour to be Chairman of the Ulster Society in our Centenary year. But it’s the commitment, dedication and contribution of the Officer Group, the Main Committee, the sub-committees and our wide network of members which makes this Society so special. And it is that participation from our members which will ensure continues success through the next hundred years to come.”

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