Celebrating Our Contribution to the Economy
Author:
Pat Costello
This year, the week commencing December 3rd has been designated World Accountancy Week by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in honour of its thirtieth anniversary. IFAC is the global representative and standard setting body for the profession. To celebrate this anniversary and World Accountancy Week itself, the CCAB-I bodies in Ireland and the CCAB bodies in the UK are hosting a series of events. In Dublin, former European Federation of Accountants President, David Devlin, will address an audience on the future of the profession. David’s contribution to
the development of the profession in Europe has been without parallel in recent years. He is the only person to have served a double term as FEE President. His address will be the subject of considerable interest.
The idea though of celebrating the contribution of the accountancy profession, and Chartered
Accountancy in particular, to our broader public life is not a strange one. In his address to the Institute’s Annual Dinner recently, our own President, Vincent Sheridan, alluded to the strong contribution we have made to the development of the Irish economy of late.
The Davos based World Economic Forum in its recent report on the global economy placed Ireland 8th in the world as regards its accounting environment. Although this finding received less attention that some of the more critical findings of the report, it is a particularly creditable
showing. While the result undoubtedly reflects the corporate governance regime now in place in
Ireland and the UK and throughout Europe, this Institute in particular, through its representative function, makes a huge contribution to the development of that regulatory and statutory environment.
The profession also makes a more direct contribution to the national well being. Media commentary of late has concentrated on sectors of the economy that are performing less well
than previously. There has been less focus on those areas that are performing particularly well one of which, according to the CSO, is professional and business services.
Exports in this area have multiplied by factors of seven and eight over the last ten years. This is a wonderful performance and a credit to the quality of work being undertaken by Irish firms and businesses. Chartered Accountants are to the forefront of this development.
As an Institute, our job is to support our members in their working environment. The work undertaken by our representation, technical and indeed taxation departments is critical to sustaining a successful broader business environment. Much of this work is done behind the scenes often through lengthy and complicated processes that busy members simply don’t have time to follow. While it may not always be noticed by members, I can assure you it is taking place and that activity in this area has increased considerably in recent years. The addition of a taxation function to ICAI activity is but one example of it. Next year, through the appointment of a dedicated financial services resource, we hope to increase our capacity on the technical side to offer greater support to the over 2500 members working in this area.
Alongside this additional work in representation we have responded to the needs of our firms and businesses by increasing the range of our life long learning support including building on Council’s decision to allow us offer a range of Post Qualification diplomas. The latest such offering is the Diploma in US GAAP which was launched last month.This builds on initiatives like our joint programme with the international business school, INSEAD, which was so successful this
year and will run again in 2008. Enhancing our offerings in these post qualification areas, as well as running the largest CPD programme in the country, are critical strategic goals for ICAI going forward.
So, as we approach the Christmas break, members would do well not to ignore but to put in context some of the doom and gloom that abounds in the media. The evidence of our business sentiment survey during the course of the year is that members are doing just that. Yes, there are more
challenging times ahead. Yes, the business climate is more difficult than it may have been a year ago. But, the challenges we face now also serve to emphasise just how much progress
has been made in the last ten years.
The glass remains half full.
Pat Costello is Chief Executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.
Accountancy Ireland December 2007 Vol.39 No.6