#ICAEWROAR Top Online UK Influencers Accountancy 2023

 

I have been ranked 13th out of 60 in the ICAEW Top Online UK Influencers Accountancy 2023 list.

In the seventh #ICAEWROAR event, the ICAEW focussed specifically on UK individuals using Twitter within the realms of accountancy.

As per the ICAEW:

“Methodology

We focused on UK-based individuals tweeting and discussing accountancy related topics such as accountancy, tax, budget, assurance, insolvency, audit and finance.

Our values of integrity, objectivity and respect for others were applied to the tone of voice of the tweets and retweets, determining the data we’ve included in our metrics.

Working with Falcon we used their social media listening tool to pull data relevant to our specific keywords, looking at a metrics comprising of:

• Audience re-tweets;
• Author tweets;
• Positive and neutral sentiment
• Visibility and audience relevance.

Algorithm

The #ICAEWROAR algorithm values quality over quantity. Placing more emphasis on topical engagement of the authors’ tweets than the amount they’ve tweeted, the algorithm considers everything from visibility, relevance and tone of voice, to reaction and audience engagement.”

My thanks to the ICAEW, and congratulations to those others on the list.

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Happy International Accounting Day!

 

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ICAEW Appoints Alan Vallance As New CEO

 

The chartered accountant and CEO of the Chartered Insurance Institute is taking up the ICAEW leadership role in Spring 2024.

ICAEW has picked Alan Vallance as its new Chief Executive, to take over from current CEO Michael Izza from Spring 2024. Izza has been Chief Executive of the Institute since 2006.

Izza announced his intention to retire from ICAEW by the end of this year in March. He has agreed to stay in post until Vallance joins the Institute to ensure a smooth transition.

Vallance, an ICAEW Chartered Accountant, is currently Chief Executive of the Chartered Insurance Institute. He previously worked as Chief Executive of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Group Chief Operating Officer at the Law Society.

Prior to this, Vallance was the Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Head of Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the national weather agency based in Melbourne, where he spent time participating in and leading Australian delegations at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. 

He qualified as a chartered accountant at Ernst & Whinney’s (now EY) London office. He is a Fellow of ICAEW, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Korean Institute of Architects. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of York.

Mark Rhys, ICAEW President and chair of the recruitment panel, announced Vallance’s appointment as ICAEW Chief Executive after an open and extensive recruitment process. The role attracted a strong field of candidates, with Vallance the outstanding choice to take up the role as Chief Executive.

The ICAEW Board was impressed with Vallance’s track record of leading successful membership organisations and working alongside different stakeholders, and with his vision for the Institute and for the evolution of the profession. Vallance’s focus on values and the role ICAEW can continue to play as it looks to its 150th anniversary in 2030 was also an important consideration.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Michael for his leadership of the Institute and tremendous contribution to the wider profession,” said Rhys. “The changes he has led to ICAEW’s strategy and structure since he became Chief Executive in 2006 leave us well placed for future success. I am grateful for his commitment to the organisation and wish him well for the future.”

Peter Wyman, Chair of the ICAEW Board, added: “I am greatly looking forward to working with Alan in the coming years as we address together the challenges and opportunities facing our Institute in a fast-changing world. I would also like to pay my own tribute to Michael for the quite extraordinary contribution he has made to ICAEW and the accountancy profession during his long and distinguished tenure as Chief Executive.”

Vallance said: “I am delighted to be joining ICAEW. As a chartered accountant it is a genuine honour to have been asked to lead the organisation of which I am a member and to succeed Michael Izza as Chief Executive.” 

He thanked Michael Izza for his leadership and the contribution he has made to the Institute during his time as Chief Executive, and pledged to build on the foundation that Izza created over the past 17 years. 

“The accountancy profession today plays a vitally important leadership role on the key issues facing society. I am determined to make sure that ICAEW leads from the front and that this role continues, indeed evolves in the future, with an unwavering focus on the public interest so that our members play their rightful part in building a world of sustainable economies.”

Michael Izza, ICAEW Chief Executive, said:

 “It has been a huge privilege to lead ICAEW through the last seventeen years of accelerating change in business, the economy and society, and to see the Institute grow and strengthen. Our touchstone has always been the public interest, and I passionately believe in the accountancy profession as a force for good in national life and the wider world. I am therefore delighted that Alan has been appointed as my successor and I know that the vision and the energy he brings to this role will ensure that ICAEW does not rest on its laurels.”

 

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KPMG Fined £21M For Being "Exceptionally Bad"

 

Another day, another fine for a Big Four auditor.

KPMG has been slapped with a record £21 million fine by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) over its botched auditing of Carillion, the construction company that went spectacularly bust in 2018.

The FRC said that KPMG's audits of Carillion were "exceptionally bad" and that the firm had failed to "discharge its professional duties properly".

The fine is the latest blow to KPMG, which has been under increasing scrutiny in recent years over its auditing practices. The firm has been fined a number of times for audit failings, including a £14.4 million fine last year for misleading the FRC during spot checks on its audit of Carillion.

The Carillion collapse was one of the biggest corporate failures in British history. The company went bust with debts of almost £7 billion, leaving thousands of workers and suppliers out of pocket.

A public inquiry into the collapse found that KPMG's audits of Carillion were "deeply flawed" and that the firm had failed to spot a number of red flags, such as the company's aggressive accounting practices and its over reliance on debt.

The FRC's latest fine is a welcome sign that the regulator is taking a tougher stance on audit failings. However, it is clear that the Big Four auditors still have a long way to go to improve their standards.

This is just the latest in a string of audit failings by the Big Four. It is clear that these firms need to do much more to improve their standards.

Here's what needs to happen:

• The FRC needs to be given more powers to hold auditors to account. This could include the power to impose larger fines and to disqualify individuals from working as auditors.
• The Big Four auditors need to be split up. This would create more competition in the audit market and would make it more difficult for the Big Four auditors to collude.
• There needs to be more transparency in the audit process. This could involve requiring auditors to publish more detailed reports on their audits and to give shareholders a greater say in the appointment of auditors.

Only by taking these steps can we restore confidence in the audit profession and protect investors from audit failings.

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Go Woke, Go Broke - UN Sustainable Development Goals

 

For reasons best known to itself, the ICAEW has waded into geopolitics in the form of an open letter to the UK government on the subject of the UN sustainable development goals.

These goals will achieve nothing, other than bankrupt the Western nations who are foolish enough to impose them on their unwilling and increasingly ignored/put upon taxpayers.

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The Merger That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Amazed that, based on the importance of a two-thirds majority vote requirement of both ICAEW and CIPFA members, the latest announcement has been made. A merger in all but name, and apparently without a vote. #icaew #cipfa https://t.co/3zauziNp2F

— Kevin Reed (@Goonerreed) September 11, 2023

As Kevin Reed correctly points out, this is a merger in all but name.

Why are the ICAEW and CIPFA so reluctant to use the word "merger"?

The answer is because they know they would have to ask their members to vote on it!

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CIPFA and ICAEW Fast-track Pathway To Dual Membership - Merger By The Backdoor

 

Today's announcement by CIPFA and the ICAEW of a fast-track pathway to dual membership has raised eyebrows among some in the accountancy profession. Some see it as a positive development, as it will allow accountants to move more freely between the public and private sectors. Others, however, are more sceptical, and believe that it is simply a backdoor to a merger between the two bodies.

There are a number of reasons why this scepticism is justified. First, the two bodies have been working more closely together in recent years. In 2021, they signed a memorandum of understanding to "explore opportunities for closer collaboration". This collaboration has included sharing resources and expertise, and working together on joint initiatives.

Second, the fast-track pathway to dual membership is not the only way that accountants can move between the two bodies. CIPFA members with less than five years' experience can already apply to join ICAEW through the Pathways to Membership programme. And ICAEW members with less than five years' experience can already apply to join CIPFA through the Fast Track Route.

So why did CIPFA and ICAEW feel the need to create a new fast-track pathway? 

One possibility is that they are simply trying to make it easier for accountants to move between the two bodies. However, it is also possible that they are laying the groundwork for a merger which would dilute the ICAEW brand.

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Insolvency Service Raps ICAEW Over Banned Member

 

The Insolvency Service has reprimanded the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) for its failure to monitor a banned member who stole nearly £4 million in estate assets.

The banned member, who was not named in the Insolvency Service's report, was convicted of fraud in 2017 and banned from practician as an insolvency practitioner for 15 years. However, the ICAEW did not take any steps to monitor the member after his conviction, and he was able to continue to practice as an insolvency practitioner under a different name.

The Insolvency Service found that the ICAEW's failure to monitor the banned member was "a serious lapse in professional conduct" and that the institute had "failed to protect the public interest." The ICAEW has been ordered to pay £10,000 in costs to the Insolvency Service.

In a statement, the ICAEW said that it "deeply regrets" the lapse in professional conduct and that it has "taken steps to ensure that this does not happen again." The institute said that it has "strengthened its monitoring procedures" and that it is "committed to protecting the public interest."

The ICAEW's failure to monitor the banned member is a serious lapse in judgement and it is clear that the institute needs to do more to protect the public interest. The Insolvency Service's reprimand is a wake-up call for the ICAEW and it is essential that the institute takes steps to ensure that this does not happen again.

In the meantime, the public should be aware of the risks associated with working with an ICAEW member who has been banned from practicing. If you are considering hiring an ICAEW member, you can check their status on the ICAEW's website.

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KPMG and PwC Get a Scolding From The FRC

 

Two of the world's largest accounting firms, KPMG and PwC, have been fined by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) for their audits of Eddie Stobart Logistics.

KPMG was fined £877,500 for its 2017 audit of the lorry company, and also fined one of its former partners, Nicola Quayle, £45,000. PwC was fined £1.9 million for its 2018 audit of Eddie Stobart.

The FRC found that both audits had failed to meet certain requirements, including gathering enough relevant and appropriate evidence regarding the services provided by Eddie Stobart during certain transactions. This prevented them from attributing the revenue generated by those services and recognising it upfront in the financial year.

In a statement, KPMG said it "accepted the findings of the FRC and has taken steps to improve its audit processes". 

PwC said that it "is committed to high quality audits and takes the findings of the FRC seriously." The firm said that it has "implemented a number of actions to address the issues identified" and that it is "confident that our audits meet the highest standards."

The sanctions against KPMG and PwC are the latest in a series of fines and reprimands that have been handed down to the Big Four firms in recent years. In May 2022, KPMG was fined £14.4 million for its audit of Rolls-Royce.

The FRC's actions are a sign that it is taking a tougher stance on audit quality. The regulator has said that it wants to see the Big Four firms "raise their game" and improve the quality of their audits.

The sanctions against KPMG and PwC will also have a knock-on effect on the companies that they audit. Investors and other stakeholders will be more likely to question the reliability of the financial statements of companies that are audited by these firms.

This could lead to higher costs for companies, as they may need to invest more in their internal controls and risk management systems. It could also make it more difficult for companies to raise capital from investors.

The sanctions against KPMG and PwC are a reminder that the audit function is vital to the financial markets. Investors and other stakeholders rely on auditors to provide an independent and objective assessment of a company's financial statements.

When audits fail to meet the required standards, it can have a significant impact on the markets and the businesses that are affected. The FRC's actions are a step in the right direction to ensure that the Big Four firms take their audit responsibilities seriously.

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A Year of Influence - #ICAEWROAR

 

See the figures that shapes our yearly #ICAEWROAR accountancy influencer ranking.

Ken Frost, @ken_frost, took a spot among the top 10 with topics including #tax, #insurance, #HMRC

— ICAEW (@ICAEW) June 21, 2023

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