So much for the ICAEW taking on board my advice to make peace with ICAS.
The Scotsman reports that:
"Eric Anstee, chief executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW), told The Scotsman that, despite his members narrowly voting not to merge with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants (CIPFA) this week, he plans to go ahead with an application to the Privy Council to drop "England and Wales" from its title.
The move has infuriated accountants in Scotland, whose governing body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland (ICAS), has already protested to the council about the move, with the support of the First Minister, Jack McConnell, angry it contravenes the convention that accounting bodies must carry a national name in their title."
In my view, not only is this pig headed and arrogant policy going to further worsen our relationship with ICAS, at a time when we should be making peace with them; the public argument between the two professional bodies, and negative publicity that this will attract, will irreparably damage the reputation and brand value of the ICAEW.
If anyone on the executive or council of the ICAEW has any sense, they will stop this now.
What is all the fuss about upsetting the ICAS.
ReplyDeleteThey are minnows who have no international footprint of their own. If it was not for the CCAB, they would not be heard on the international stage at all.
Ken (this really is my last post),
ReplyDeleteICAS really shouldn't worry at all. ICAEW members can deal with any spoilt child of their own.
In the unbelievable event that they could not; The Privy Council could and would.
Eric probably has an 'n' month/year rolling employment contract; doubtless he is positioning himself for a huge termination settlement. However, since is CEO, he has constructively dismissed himself. He should not receive even one penny in compensation.
mike buxton
ReplyDeleteYou are forgetting:
only minority 15% believe Eric is scum.
29% think he is gift of God.
56% could not care less.
Anon 11.32,
ReplyDeleteas I have said in other posts, only ICAS can call itself THE ICA as it is the senior body. No wonder they can't stand ICAEW with attitudes like yours to the fore.
Eric is no fool. His idea of a name change now is to make the next merger proposal easier. The Institute name would not be a distraction.
ReplyDeleteI would not doubt that the CIPFA and ICAEW merger be brought back to the table in a year time.
With 65.7% voting for, the next vote is almost a gaurantee that it will get over the 66.7%
The ICAS have the opportunity to change their name to ICA, but have decided that their Scottish history is important to them and wish to keep this geographical element. I have no problem with that, they are welcome to it. They are inward looking with no ambition. Who cares a jot what they say (except Sir David their one star man).
ReplyDeleteICAEW are blessed with a forward thinking CEO and Council and see the geographical tag as unnecessary with its inclusive consolidation philosophy. In proposing the ICA name to the Privy Council they are not doing anything illegal.
Let them get on with it. If it gets refused our leaders will reassess the situation.
If ICAS is such a dignified and respectable institute that it pretends to be, then it should not engage in a public row ICAEW.
ReplyDeleteA dignified person would let the matter proceed and make his objection at the right time and to the right person. Instead ICAS are running to MPs, the press and other institutes. This is extremely unprofessional and ungentlemanly.
.... and ICAEW's council is a model of decent behaviour?
ReplyDeleteIf ICAS are as insignificant as some believe then they have done the right thing asking for help when threatened by a big bully!
ICAEW already changed their name.....if you do a search, you will find their first page is name Institute of Chartered Accountants
ReplyDeleteAnon 2.18am - Good point.
ReplyDeleteKen - this is all getting out of hand, now Google are on the ICAEW Council's side. We must act quickly and set up an action group and petition Google to remove this violation from their search results.
Anon 2.18,
ReplyDeleteI have seen your Institute describe itself as The ICA on many occasions. It comes across as arrogant and puts peoples backs up.
That attitude, and some postings I have seen on this and other sites, makes you as popular as Man Utd are in Liverpool (hang on, does that mean Eric Anstee is your Alex Ferguson????)
Sorry to sound rude, but I just wanted to tell it from an outsider's point of view.
what a plank
ReplyDelete"as I have said in other posts, only ICAS can call itself THE ICA as it is the senior body"
what has senior got to do with a name
Anon,
ReplyDeletesenior: THE FA as opposed to The Scottish/Welsh/any other FA because the English got in first.
Same principle.
If you can't be mature enough to post without personal insults I suggest you try MSN or some other board.
well i could understand it if they weren't icas and just ica, but they are not, if iceaw wanted to add icaews then i could understand
ReplyDeleteSo surly on that basis only icas members should be considered chartered ?
and all iceaw, cima, cipfa, acca and iai just be accountants
isn't this just the kind of borrish snobbery that accountants are tring to escape being labeled with.