David Cameron’s comments about accountants yesterday in his speech on tax avoidance has created a hostile reaction from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Accountancy Live has reported: The UK accountancy profession has been left reeling by Prime Minister David Cameron’s outspoken attack on the industry. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the
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I’ve just realised that the Tax Justice Network is in the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’ Economia magazine’s top 50 global financial influencers list at number 42 (always a good number). They say: That’s OK by me. And I expect with all my colleagues.

There was a point of clear unanimity at the ICAEW New Era meeting last night (well, all bar David Gauke, I guess it’s fair to say). As Paul Taplin, a former ICAEW Tax Faculty Chair for whom I have a lot of respect put it, he warned five years ago that cuts at HMRC would lead to chaos and
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The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales – of which I am a Fellow – had a  discussion in a House of Commons committee room last night under the title ‘Business and finance: a new era?‘ There are to be four of these meetings. The titles are: Tax avoidance Re-balancing the economy Improving bank ethics
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I’ve long defined tax compliance as seeking to pay the right amount of tax (but no more) in the right place at the right time where right means that the economic substance of the transactions undertaken coincides with the place and form in which they are reported for taxation purposes. I was therefore interested to note
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My long standing blogging friend, Dennis Howlett has drawn my attention to a blog by Michael Izza, President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (of which I am a member) on the subject of aggressive tax avoidance. Izza wrote nearly a week ago: matters have been somewhat hectic for me over
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Michel Barnier, the EU Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services was in London on Friday. He met Vince Cable. I gather Vince confirmed the UK’s commitment to country-by-country reporting for the extractive industries. Then Barnier met the International Accounting Standards Board and is reported to have said: We would be particularly interested in continuing
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Nicola Smith at the TUC noted a report in the Times yesterday (I usually ignore the Times – it’s not worth the payment, unlike the FT) which referred to survey findings by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. These reported: 20 per cent of employers they surveyed reported that spending cuts have
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From the FT this morning: From Henry Banyenzaki MP. Sir, News that the European Union is to pass legally binding measures on country by country reporting for extractive companies has given a lift to transparency campaigners here (“EU closer to adopting financial reform similar to US”, March 4). The committee I chair in parliament soon
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