Inside ICAS: July 2021 update from the Office Bearer team
An update from the Office Bearer team on what’s been happening at ICAS over the past month.
President Bruce Pritchard CA, Deputy President Indy Hothi CA and Vice President Clive Bellingham CA bring you a monthly round-up of ICAS news.
Bruce Pritchard CA, ICAS President
“As part of our mental fitness pledge – Healthy minds start here – ICAS has launched a new Student Assistance Programme. This service, provided by Health Assured, offers wellbeing services to all of our Students, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including access to counsellors and guidance to aid physical and mental health.”
Indy Hothi CA, ICAS Deputy President
“In July we launched The London Episode, developed with the London Area Network, offering exclusive opportunities for Members in the City aged 35 and under to hear directly from the biggest and brightest thought leaders of today. The first 'episode' – AI and tomorrow's world of work - how to future proof your business and your career – is on Thursday 19 August with Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE.”
Clive Bellingham CA, ICAS Vice President
“We are celebrating Chartered Accountants who play a leading role in committing to net zero in a new partnership with Chartered Accountants Ireland and ICAEW. Our joint campaign to find 1,000 Chartered Accountants who have signed up to net zero launched this month. Find out how to get involved and submit your application.”
Other news and updates
ICAS responded to the BEIS consultation ‘Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance’ and set out the essential elements of reform in a response published in July. We also hosted a dinner with the Heads of Audit of the ‘Big Four’ Firms to discuss the BEIS consultation proposals, and the role that ICAS and Firms can play to promote the future attractiveness of the audit profession.
Our webinars over the last month included a joint event with ACCA, ICAEW and CFA Society (UK) - How can good disclosure enable the green finance agenda? The event was one of a series to mark the first anniversary of the launch of the Green Finance Education Charter and to coincide with London Climate Action Week. Experts and insightful speakers explored how good disclosures can enable the green finance agenda, discussed whether disclosures are driving the necessary change, and examined the challenges in building the capacity and skills required to achieve the agenda.
We were pleased to see ICAS pass the first stage audit for achieving ISO 9001 accreditation this month. Passing this first stage audit demonstrates ICAS' commitment to being truly customer centric by embedding quality management throughout the organisation.
During July, ICAS urged the UK Government to improve tax administration in ten key areas when we issued the report, Tomorrow's Tax Administration. It calls for basic tax administration which works properly for everyone who has to engage with it, and increased resources for HMRC and funding to tackle patchy digital systems. The publication of the report generated extensive press coverage and a number of invitations to discuss the report.
That’s all for this month’s round-up. Look out for next month’s update towards the end of August.
