ICAS Insights: In conversation with the ICAS Office Bearers

Catch up on the ICAS Insights: In conversation with the ICAS Office Bearers webinar. ICAS CEO, Bruce Cartwright, speaks to our three ICAS Office Bearers about the CA Agenda.

Focusing on the three CA Agenda themes of Talent, Trust and Technology, our speakers shared their thoughts in a ‘Three-T’ discussion, giving us all food for thought.

With the on-going coronavirus crisis, it is more important than ever for ICAS to focus on trust. Our President, Catherine Burnet CA, shares her thoughts on the crisis of trust and what ICAS can do to restore trust in the profession.

Deputy President, Bruce Pritchard, argues that talent is where it all begins and is what’s needed to deal with an unexpected crisis. Bruce also shares his thoughts on what ICAS can do to ensure we recruit the talent the profession needs and how our syllabus can ensure we equip CAs to deal with what’s meeting them in the workplace.

We also hear from Vice President, Indy Hothi, on what COVID-19 means for ICAS and technology, how ICAS has used it to engage with our members and how technology is benefiting the profession.

About the speakers:

Catherine Burnet CA, ICAS President

Catherine is the Regional Chair for KPMG in Scotland and recently appointed as our new President of ICAS for 2020/21.Catherine’s career at KPMG spans more than 20 years and she has held roles in Edinburgh, London and the United States. Catherine is also a member of the Financial Services Advisory Board to Scottish Government.

Catherine trained as a CA with KPMG in Edinburgh, qualifying in 1997. She became a partner at KPMG in 2009 and subsequently spent two years in KPMG US working on global banking clients. After returning to Scotland in 2011, Catherine led the KPMG Financial Services team and became Regional Chair of KPMG Scotland in 2016.

Catherine has been involved with ICAS since 2011, first as Chair of the Audit Committee, then Chair of Oversight Board. She has also been a member of the ICAS Council since 2011 and served as Vice president (2018/19) and Deputy President (2019/20).

Bruce Pritchard CA, ICAS Deputy President

Bruce Pritchard is the Chief Operating Officer - International of Liminal BioSciences. He has spent over two decades working in the life sciences and pharmaceutical industry. Bruce has more than thirteen years’ experience with Liminal and has held a number of senior global positions across the organisation.

Prior to being appointed COO in 2014, Bruce was the Group CFO, a role he had held since 2008. Bruce brings a proven track record of success in strategic acquisitions and in raising debt and equity finance. As well as being a chartered accountant, Bruce also brought to the role many years of experience in general management and operations. Prior to joining Liminal, Bruce worked as a senior director for CV Therapeutics, a NASDAQ listed biopharmaceutical company.

Bruce is a graduate of Heriot-Watt University where he gained a BA in Accountancy and Computer Science. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.

He is an experienced Trustee, non-executive director and audit committee chair.

Indy Hothi CA, ICAS Vice President

Indy is the co-founder of Upside Projects, a consultancy and venture builder which provides strategic advice on digital transformation, innovation and sustainability to public and private sector clients. Prior to Upside Projects, Indy was a senior economist with EY in London. He worked across a number of high-profile economic impact studies which influenced public policy and included clients such as the Premier League and Rugby World Cup.

Through his passion for social and humanitarian causes, Indy was a trustee of Khalsa Aid International, a charity which provides humanitarian aid in disaster areas and civil conflict zones. His work has led him to the frontline on a number of projects including Iraq, DR Congo, Lebanon, Nepal and Haiti.

Indy was recognised as One Young CA in 2015 and joined ICAS Council in 2016, representing the England and Wales area and supporting engagement with under 35s and the broader London community (through the London Area Network).