Voting opens for the 2022 ICAS Council elections and AGM business
Voting for the ICAS Council elections and AGM business is now open, with all Members encouraged to get involved, make their selections and help shape the future of ICAS.
Your nominations are in and voting opened on Monday 4 April for the four contested Open seats in the ICAS Council elections. Members are also asked to vote on the 2022 ICAS AGM resolutions.
Who will I be voting for?
The Open Seat positions
Six nominations were received from the membership for the four ICAS Council Open seat vacancies. You can choose your preferred four from the following six candidates:
- Lyndsay Browne CA
- Kenneth Croarkin CA CPA (USA)
- David Cruickshank CA
- Jonny Jacobs CA
- Colin Kerr CA
- Jim Robertson CA
Meet the candidates
Follow the links below to learn more about the six candidates, including their professional biographies and what they view as this election's three key issues for ICAS, its Members and CA Students.
Lyndsay Browne CA
Lyndsay's three key issues
Key Issue 1:
ICAS will need to support Members navigating the consequences of geopolitical events and the knock-on implications for business, including but not limited to: inflation, reduced globalisation and increased 'regionalisation', supply-chain risk, sanctions and increased cyber threat.
Key Issue 2:
ICAS should continue to advocate and promote 'responsible business' as a strategic imperative, encouraging Members to positively influence business behaviour and decisions. Businesses that take into account the interests of all stakeholders (employees, investors, suppliers, communities and the environment) create a platform for sustainable value creation.
Key Issue 3:
A key challenge will be the rapidly changing landscape in terms of digitisation, AI and data and the business opportunities and challenges these present. The productivity gains and insights come at a cost, both to business and society, which needs to be carefully considered.
Lyndsay's statement and professional biography
Lyndsay was appointed to the Capita plc Board in 2019 as an Employee Non-Executive Director, following a highly competitive process to bring increased diversity to the Board and amplify the voice of the company’s 55,000 employees in decision making.
Also serving on the Remuneration Committee and attending the Audit and Risk Committee, she has directly influenced strategic decisions, entity level risk management, corporate purpose and balancing the needs and interests of multiple stakeholders.
After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in Glasgow in 1996, Lyndsay spent 3 years with KPMG in Bermuda working in the insurance and reinsurance sector. She returned to the U.K. in 1999 and has held senior Finance roles in Airtours and Capita plc, based in the North-West of England. She has considerable experience delivering complex transformation, M&A, financial control assessment and improvement and client partnering.
An advocate for Board diversity, Lyndsay was invited to address the All-Parliamentary Group on Corporate Governance in the House of Lords in 2020 and was interviewed by the FRC to inform their S172 guidance.
With two grown-up children, Lyndsay enjoys family holidays, long walks with the dog and is proud to have completed a Snowdon midnight challenge for The Alzheimers Society.
"I confirm I would be willing to serve Council if elected."
Kenneth Croarkin CA CPA (USA)
Kenneth's three key issues
Key Issue 1:
Engagement with and representation of Members both within and outside of Scotland, as ICAS continues to evolve as a global body. Providing Members with support and networking opportunities.
Key Issue 2:
Promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion by giving all Members the opportunity to succeed and be welcomed, regardless of background, through strong thought leadership and concrete actions that build on the strong existing commitment of ICAS.
Key Issue 3:
The education of new trainee CAs and continuing education for existing Members, so that the relevance of the qualification is maintained and ICAS continues to lead at the forefront of changes as the world of accounting continues to evolve with the use of technology.
Kenneth's statement and professional biography
I confirm my willingness to serve on Council should I be fortunate enough to be elected.
I am a graduate of the University of Dundee and started my career with what was then Kidsons Impey in Glasgow, moving to PwC on qualification. I began my career there serving the insurance industry, eventually moving with PwC to the USA.
I am now based in the New York City area with my wife and two teenage children and am a partner at EisnerAmper LLP, a top 20 US firm, where I lead the insurance industry practice and provide audit and consulting services.
I also joined the Members Board of ICAS last year, am a board member representing ICAS on Chartered Accountants Worldwide USA and am a member of the New York area ICAS committee.
I am grateful for the opportunities that my CA qualification has given me and, if elected, I plan to work to ensure that future and current generations of CAs are well served by ICAS with Members receiving high value for their subscriptions.
Watch Kenneth's election video
David Cruickshank CA
David's three key issues
Key Issue 1:
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Education and training are the lifeblood of ICAS and define our relevance and value to our Members and society at large. With changing business, professional and regulatory requirements, change will be a constant and we have to anticipate this and lead from the front.
Key Issue 2:
REGULATION
ICAS is both regulated and a regulator as a result of our education, training and examination functions and our oversight of professional activities. Standards and expectations are increasing all the time and this is an area where all ICAS Members would expect us to be leaders.
Key Issue 3:
POLICY
ICAS input into policy formulation is highly valued in Scotland, the UK and globally. We have a strong but always carefully calibrated voice on regulatory and policy matters which our Members contribute to widely and value when they see ICAS inputs helping to shape important decisions.
David's statement and professional biography
I am standing for re-election to Council having served one term. I became the Chair of ICAS Qualifications Board just over two years ago and we have overseen huge change in that period: dealing with the consequences of Covid-19; our enhanced syllabus; our new Executive Director of Learning, and all against a background of continuous regulatory and business change.
I am passionate about our qualification and the value it brings to individuals and society at large and the special opportunities it can provide to talented young people regardless of their background. It would be an honour to serve a second term when I can continue to contribute to the development of our qualification through what I expect to be a period of further significant change as well as to the success and good governance of ICAS in the priority areas I’ve highlighted but also more generally.
I qualified with ICAS in 1982 in my firm’s Edinburgh office, which I joined on graduation from the University of Edinburgh. I was with Deloitte for over 40 years, specialising in advising large corporates. I led the tax practice for 8 years, was Chairman in the UK for 8 years and finally I was our firm’s Global Chairman for 4 years.
I am now a non-executive director of Jupiter Fund Management plc and I chair the boards of two charities, Education & Employers in the UK and Social Progress Imperative in the US. I am also a trustee of the ICAS Foundation.
Jonny Jacobs CA
Jonny's three key issues
Key Issue 1:
Digital evolution: Continuing the shift to be a digitally enabled Institute operating in the "new normal" in an authentic fashion. Staying at the forefront of future innovation. How does ICAS respond to deliver value? What does that mean for how ICAS trains CA Students, supports Members and the wider profession?
Key Issue 2:
Sustainable and relevant product and services: How does ICAS continue to evolve and add value, be it responding to audit quality, evolve with trends (AI, robotics, automation), partnerships and linking this clearly to the strategy. Also focusing on the delivery mechanism of exams and the qualification itself.
Key Issue 3:
Value proposition for new generations: How does the qualification maintain relevance for new generations who demand a different type of leadership and a member body to personally affiliate with. Deliver clear value for a thriving and growing membership, who demand more across EDI, wellbeing, sustainability and ESG.
Jonny's statement and professional biography
Jonny is a strong business leader and has experience managing large revenue and cost portfolios, negotiations, crisis management, and organisational re-designs across listed, private, and PE backed businesses.
Jonny is currently a Finance Director at Starbucks, and prior to this Head of Food Finance at M&S Foods. Before that he spent eight years at international snacking brand Pladis with most recent roles including Strategy & Transformation Director and interim CFO for North America. He trained with KPMG and qualified as a CA in 2006.
Jonny believes in purpose-driven leadership and has a passion for wellbeing, EDI and sustainability agendas in business. His passion to drive change is championed through his many roles across non-exec platforms including a Trustee of the Mental Health Foundation, Non-Exec of Mental Health at Work, One Young World Ambassador, Goalkeeper of the Bill & Malinda Gates Foundation, and One Young Chartered Accountant of the Year 2017.
“Should the application be successful, it would be privilege to serve ICAS and its Members. I hold any privileged position with a huge sense of responsibility and hopefully that has been demonstrated by my commitment to ICAS following my position as One Young CA in 2017 and in support of the Mental Fitness in Business strategy. It has been truly humbling to be considered and involved in all my activities with this great institution. At your service, Jonny.”
Colin Kerr CA
Colin's three key issues
Key Issue 1:
I am concerned at the potential conflict of interest with the level of subscription income that is dependent on the Big Four firms in London. I'd want to understand more about that and look at ways of mitigating that risk.
Key Issue 2:
Strategically, ICAS has aspirations to be a voice at an international level. The skills are certainly there, as is the vision. However, is ICAS really prepared to make the financial investment necessary to make this a reality?
Key Issue 3:
To me, as a committee member over several years, ICAS has struggled to communicate quickly and effectively with its Members. Communication has to be fast and relevant, otherwise - increasingly - younger members will look elsewhere and ICAS risks becoming irrelevant.
Colin's statement and professional biography
I am a Scot, working in London, having qualified with Deloitte Haskins & Sells in Glasgow.
My ICAS involvement goes back to 2008, when I joined the Ethics Committee for five years. Later, I joined the Charities Panel and became Chair in 2018. As Chair, I also sit as a member of the ICAS Policy Leadership Board.
In terms of my career:
- post-qualification, I stayed with Deloittes for a further 10 years: 2 years as an audit senior in Boston (US), 4 years as an audit manager in London and 4 years as a manager in the consultancy division.
- 5 years in the City as FD of a law firm.
- 10 years as an FD in the NHS.
- 6 years as FD of a large education charity in London.
- 6 years as FD and Director of External Relations for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
- since 2019, Director of Finance and Business Performance for The Children's Trust, a large charity in London.
My motivation is to communicate effectively with CAs of all ages and professional backgrounds, with speed and with relevance, on issues that actually matter to them.
If ICAS is to continue to prosper, it has to be relevant. If elected, I would obviously bring a strong awareness of the public, charity and Third sectors, plus my strong commercial grounding from Deloittes.
My interests are music and history. My wife and I live in Bath (but my heart is in Argyllshire).
Respectfully, I ask for your consideration.
Jim Robertson CA
Jim's three key issues
Key Issue 1:
Giving existing Members value for money. That means controlling the ICAS budget carefully, growing the membership to spread fixed costs over a wider base and obtaining feedback from Members on the relevance of benefits and events. More social events for Students and Members, no matter where they live.
Key Issue 2:
Equality, diversity & inclusion. Broaden the appeal of ICAS to existing and prospective Members from all backgrounds. Make everyone feel included and valued. Help employers of finance people appreciate the business case for equality, diversity & inclusion.
Key Issue 3:
Connect ICAS internationally. Leverage existing partnerships such as AICPA in the USA and create new opportunities with other countries. Use our widening familiarity with videoconferencing and other remote-working technology to offer ALL Members the opportunity to get involved in ICAS priorities and committee work.
Jim's statement and professional biography
Jim is on the ICAS Qualifications Board and Devolved Taxes Committee. He was the inaugural chair of the ICAS Equality Diversity & Inclusion Committee and of the Scottish Tax Policy Forum, a joint venture between ICAS and the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT).
He chairs the academic board of the Advanced Diploma in International Tax of CIOT and is a member of its Climate Change and Diversity & Inclusion committees. He is a non-executive director in the Scottish Government, deputy chair of the Government's Audit Committee and sits on its Global Climate Emergency Programme Board. He is part of the GlobalScot network of Scottish Enterprise.
Internationally, Jim is a Senior Fellow of the International Tax & Investment Center, a foundation based in Washington DC which delivers education programs to tax officials in developing countries. He is a member of the UN Tax Subcommittees on Extractive Industries and on Environmental Taxation, and the OECD Policy Dialogue on Natural Resource-Based Development. He is a partner of the G100 Group of 100 Global Women Leaders.
Jim qualified with PwC in 1981 and joined Shell the same year. He had nine different roles in Shell and lived in London, The Hague, Kuala Lumpur, Aberdeen and Houston. He was a founder member of Shell’s Social Investment Network which connected staff to voluntary organizations in need of finance skills. In Shell Finance he had global responsibility for promoting professional qualifications and for communications on diversity & inclusion. He was global head of oil & gas tax in Shell for 11 years.
Uncontested seats
The following positions that were open to nominations were not contested, meaning that the candidates listed below will be appointed with effect from the AGM:
Scotland West Electoral Area
Bernard Dunn CA was the only candidate who submitted a nomination and so he has been elected unopposed.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland Electoral Area
Jason Harvie CA and Suzy Kerton CA were the only candidates who submitted nominations and so they have been elected unopposed.
Are any other matters to be voted on?
Members are also being asked to vote on 2022 ICAS AGM resolutions:
- Receive and approve the Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements, and
- Approve the appointment of the ICAS Auditor.
Full information can be found on the ICAS Mi-Voice voting site, accessed through your voting email (see further information below). You can learn more about the 2022 ICAS AGM and register for the event here.
How do I vote?
From Monday 4 April, Members will receive an email from Mi-Voice, the independent election scrutineer who is managing the voting on behalf of ICAS. The email will contain a link to the secure ICAS elections website, which will have further details of the selections that are required to be made, information on the candidates who have been nominated for election, and the all-important opportunity to vote.
Members who have elected not to receive emails from ICAS will be notified by letter and can either vote online or request a postal ballot pack.
Not received your voting email?
Voting emails will be sent to ICAS Members on 4 April 2022 from icas@mivoice.co.uk. If you don’t see the email in your inbox, please check your spam or junk mail folders, and failing that, please contact the Mi-Voice support team at support@mi-voice.com.
When does voting close?
Voting will close at 12 noon (BST) on Wednesday 27 April .
When will we know the results?
The results will be announced at the 2022 ICAS AGM on Friday 29 April.
