My main objective when I became ICAS president was to engage more with members and discover how to bridge the gap between students and accounting professionals.
What was not on my radar, at all, was running the London Marathon.
However, in just a few short months, I will be out there trying to raise £30,000 for the ICAS Foundation so that they can achieve the goal of increasing social mobility in accounting.
On top of all of my other responsibilities, I’d better get training to run.
Why is social mobility so important in accounting?
There is a major disconnect between how students view the accounting profession and what the reality is and this is felt most keenly by those from disadvantaged communities.
There is an idea that becoming an accountant requires a person to start from a place of privilege.
If ever that were true, it certainly isn’t anymore and a big part of that is the work done by the ICAS foundation.
I want to encourage people from all different backgrounds, with a full spectrum of identities, to get involved in accounting.
How else can our profession grow to meet the needs of an evolving world if we exclude different voices from the conversation?
Beyond making accounting a more welcoming space, we also need to do more to address the perception of accountants with the younger generation.
I’ve travelled a lot as President of ICAS, meeting members and speaking at universities and colleges, and this has allowed me to witness firsthand the differences between students and accounting professionals.
Students ask very different questions from seasoned members and understanding these differences could go some way to resolving the current recruitment crisis.
They want to know about work–life balance, mental health and whether their work will contribute to things they care about, with a particular focus on sustainability.
They’re keen to understand how sustainability reporting will be integrated into the way companies present themselves and they want to be part of that future.
Ultimately, students would like to know that their work will not cause harm to the world that they and the next generations are set to inherit.
This is at odds with older members who often see sustainability reporting as a compliance task.
Shifting that perspective can be a key to getting more students interested in the profession.
Beyond that, more work needs to be done to communicate what accountants actually do.
When I ask students to picture a career in accounting, they often think of spreadsheets and numbers in isolation.
It has not occurred to many of them that accountants are a vital part of many exciting sectors.
Formula One, aerospace, sport, fashion, film, these are all jobs that are supported by skilled accountants.
A CA qualification opens doors across industries and across the world and we should be shouting that from the rooftops.
This was the main focus of a talk I gave at Aberdeen University, which was titled “The changing role of accountants - the growing importance of sustainability, ESG reporting and ethical leadership.”
It was great to see so many young people engaging with the subject and asking some fantastic questions.
What does the future of accounting look like?
In my time as ICAS President, I have been fortunate enough to sit on a panel at the Practice Conference and learn more from industry professionals.
There has been a lot of discussion around the adoption and regulation of technology, as well as the role that private equity is playing in the industry.
With the advance of technology, there has been a host of new tools emerging that help us automate routine tasks and free up time for more complex advisory work.
This is brilliant for letting accountants get on with the high-value work for which they trained.
However, we as a profession must be mindful of the application of new technology.
New systems raise ethical questions and data-security concerns that need to be considered before anything new is adopted.
Members are becoming increasingly aware of the need to preserve client confidentiality and secure communications and seem to understand the need for secure platforms, encrypted channels.
This will be aided by clear guidance from regulatory bodies that will let firms adopt new ways of working without jeopardising client trust.
This is all set against the backdrop of the rise of private equity, which is fundamentally reshaping the way that the accounting profession looks.
How did the President of ICAS end up running the London Marathon?
I’m not sure I’ve fully understood how I’ve ended up in this position myself!
In all seriousness though, the London Marathon is a great opportunity to raise money for the ICAS Foundation and bring awareness to the vital work that it does.
I have never been much of a fitness fanatic, so the training process is looking quite daunting for me.
I’m fully equipped with a new set of kit and a smart watch to guide my journey.
Finding time for training alongside my work with Scholes and ICAS is going to be challenging, but I have never shied away from a challenge.
Over the past six months, I have balanced ICAS duties with my day job and this will continue for the rest of my term.
I have been to Council meetings, along with attending Oversight Board, Regulation Board, etc., while also attending conferences and industry dinners.
The Gold Club lunches are coming up soon, these are for individuals who have been members of ICAS for 50 years or more, and I am very much looking forward to them.
Chairing Council was something I worried about at the start, as it’s a room full of people who are experts in their fields and keeping meetings on time and on track felt daunting.
So far, that’s gone well and managing to step out of my comfort zone gives me confidence for the upcoming marathon.
One unexpected responsibility has been recruiting the new CEO of ICAS.
Our current CEO is retiring at the end of April and leading that hire has been a huge piece of work.
Finding the right person is one of the most consequential things we’ll do for ICAS over the next decade.
If I leave one real, tangible legacy, it would be appointing someone who can take ICAS from strength to strength.
Above all else, though, I want my legacy to be one of broken barriers.
I want to have enlightened young people on the realities of accounting and guide professionals in resolving the recruitment crisis.
All of that is coming to a head with the marathon, but the experiences I have had and the lessons I have learned from my time as president will serve me well when my term ends.
