Help maintain and support high standards by volunteering with the ICAS regulatory committees
If you are in general practice please consider applying to one of the regulatory committees, as it is vital that those who are regulated are also involved - it’s not simply a job for someone else!
Member oversight of standards
A core function of ICAS is the maintaining of standards. There is a regulation team in ICAS of nearly 20 staff and most members in practice will have met the monitoring teams. The outcome of each monitoring visit is reported to the Authorisation Committee, which comprises of both CAs and lay members, and is responsible for all licencing.
As a member body ICAS needs to have member oversight and governance of its functions, as well as lay members to represent the public interest. With this in mind, the Authorisation Committee is seeking new members, as is the Investigation Committee.
If you are in general practice please consider applying to one of the Regulatory Committees (Authorisations or Investigations), as it is vital that those who are regulated are also involved - it’s not simply a job for someone else! There is usually room for people joining as there is not a set size of committee and rotation is important. The normal term of office for a Committee member is an initial three-year period with a possible extension for a further three years.
Vice President Karen Scholes, who used to convene the Authorisation Committee, is a strong advocate of participating in the regulatory committees and says ‘we all need to take responsibility for our standards in practice and that includes being members of the regulatory committees’.
Karen adds ‘I found that there’s such a great deal to be learnt from the regulatory committees – and it enabled me to better manage my practice and to understand common concerns in practice.’
The role of the Authorisation Committee
The Authorisation Committee is responsible for licensing members and firms in relation to general practice and other regulated services (audit, insolvency). In doing so, it considers licence applications, as well as reports from regulatory monitoring visits. It meets six times a year, and has various licensing powers, including the power to withdraw licences in the most serious cases.
The role of the Investigation Committee
The Investigation Committee is responsible for investigating and determining complaints against members, firms, students, and affiliates. While the full Committee meets four times a year, most of the cases are determined by sub-committee. Where complaints are upheld, the Committee can propose consent orders, including financial penalties.
You can read more about the work of regulation at ICAS on the website - Regulation
We are looking for CAs from all sizes of firm who have:
- Experience of working in general practice.
- Experience of being regulated.
- An interest in ‘giving back’ to ICAS and maintaining high professional standards.
- A desire to work collaboratively with ICAS employees, other CAs, and lay members.
- An ability to analyse reports, contribute to discussions, and make decisions which have an important impact on fellow CAs.
- Reasonable availability to contribute.
While these positions are not renumerated, reasonable travel expenses will be paid for in-person meetings.
How to apply
If you are interested and would like to apply then please either contact us for a discussion, or send your CV and a short covering letter to Graeme Percival, at connect@icas.com.
