Your ICAS Office Bearer team outline their plans for 2023/24

Your newly appointed President, Deputy President and Vice President set out their visions for the year ahead. Watch their videos to hear from the team on their key areas of focus and how they aim to support ICAS members.

Clive Bellingham CA has taken over as President for 2023/24 and will be supported in his role by new Deputy President Alison Cornwell CA and new Vice President Karen Scholes CA.

In their videos, the Office Bearers share their priorities for the coming year and outline the ways that they’ll support members, students and the profession.

“Our new strategy is our roadmap for delivering an exciting and ambitious future for ICAS and our members.” - ICAS President, Clive Bellingham CA

Clive explains that a key focus over the next year in his new role as President, along with his fellow Office Bearers, will be to support ICAS with implementing the new strategy, ‘ICAS 2030: Together, we will…’.

“Our strategy will help us respond to extraordinary times, and to meet the evolving needs of our members, firms and students.

“As part of this new strategy, our clients and students will see a new learning platform which is being rolled out from this summer and a new syllabus introduced throughout the next 12 to 24 months. This process will have a lasting impact on our profession and will maintain the position of ICAS as the leading educator for our profession.

“We’ll lead on key sustainability issues. We’ll embrace our net zero future and place equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of everything we do. We’ll drive social change in the profession.”

Clive also highlights the importance of social mobility and widening access to the profession.

“It’s vital that we provide pathways into the profession that make a career in accountancy a possibility for anyone who dreams of it and has the ambition. In return, we will learn from them and they will safeguard the future of our profession.

“They are the CAs of tomorrow who will operate with the highest standards of ethical leadership, acting in the public interest and being a force for good, boldly championing environmental and social responsibility.”

Hear more from Clive in his video:

Connect with Clive on LinkedIn.

“Our world is changing at an ever-increasing pace and we need to continue to develop to remain relevant and valued.”- ICAS Deputy President, Alison Cornwell CA

Alison echoes Clive when she explains that she'll focus on supporting the strategy which will deliver an exciting future for ICAS.

“I want to focus on our ‘raison d être’ as embodied in the recently published ICAS 2030 strategy.”

“Over the last 12 months the ICAS Council and the Exec team have been developing a plan that will deliver an exciting future for ICAS.”

“We’ve redefined learning through an enhanced CA syllabus. We’ve restructured and improved the approach to learning. We’re enhancing our student and member experience, from logbooks to regulation portals to new webinars, courses and networking opportunities.

“We’ve developed a range of ways to promote ethical leadership and public trust in the profession, including through excellence in regulation, and all of this will be delivered with sustainability at our core.”

Following her year as Vice President, when she raised £25,000 for the ICAS Foundation, Alison sets out her ambition to raise even more funds as Deputy President in 2023.

“The ICAS Foundation is an incredible organisation which increases access to the profession, and last year I was delighted to raise £25,500, recruit mentors and build awareness by cycling 1,000 miles across Britain in 9 days.

“While that was fantastic, we want to develop this further and so this year we’re launching ‘The Foundation 25’ where we want to recruit 25 volunteer CAs, including me, to raise £1,000 each. You can take on any personal challenge of your choice from now to 31 December.

“If you would like to volunteer, please send me a direct message on LinkedIn. Details will also be published on social media in the coming weeks.”

Hear more from Alison in her video:

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

“It is very important that ICAS continue their engagement with members in practice.”- ICAS Vice President, Karen Scholes CA

This year’s new member of the Office Bearer team is Karen Scholes CA who takes on the role of Vice President. Karen outlines her intent to talk with as many members as possible, particularly those in practice and working in small and medium-sized firms.

“In 2024, ICAS will introduce a new enhanced CA syllabus. With additional electives and alternative pathways, the syllabus will keep pace with advances in tech, data and sustainability and deliver flexible learning opportunities, equipping the next generation with relevant skills and enabling greater access to the profession.

“The rejuvenation of the CA qualification will be a game changer for many small and medium-sized practices, allowing them to attract the highest caliber of young talent.”

Karen also shared her commitment to support the ICAS Foundation during her year as Vice President.

“ICAS also plan to drive social mobility, supporting talent from less-advantaged backgrounds to enter the profession. My second theme is to help grow the reach and capability of the ICAS Foundation, our charity which supports young people from disadvantaged communities.

“The ICAS Foundation offers support in the form of bursaries and grants, helping to make sure that the accountancy profession is open to all.”

Hear more from Karen in her video:

Connect with Karen on LinkedIn.