I was asked yesterday by one of the UK's accounting institutes if I might fill in an appraisal of their performance. I decided to do so, out of curiosity as to what they might ask.
Having not given them scores to gloat over during the questionnaire stage of this process I was then given the opportunity to provide any additional comment on my feelings about their performance, particularly with regard to their public perception. I decided to not hold back. I suggested that this Institute had failed to address issues of public concern in the following areas (with one of these having been added since submission as I reflected on this issue):
- Members working in tax havens;
- Taking any positive measures to stop members selling tax avoidance;
- A failure to create accounts that deliver information that is meaningful to the vast majority of their users, including the owners and managers of almost all small and medium size enterprises;
- Overseeing the degradation of audit until it has become an almost meaningless box ticking exercise that does not serve the public interest;
- A failure to demand the meaningful reform of Companies House so that the accounts of all limited liability enterprises are available on public record. It seems that you, like other accounting institutes, delight in hiding information from the public rather than making it available to them;
- A failure to deliver accounting standards for public interest entities that meet stakeholder needs;
- A failure to tackle green issues, and only now playing catch up;
- A failure to engage in tax reform on behalf of society at large;
- You are far too slow to tackle ethical failure by your membership;
- Discrimination still appears to be rampant within the profession and there is no indication that this is being tackled;
- You, like other institutes, appear to have failed to deliver public education on critical issues around accounting, from household budgeting, to basic taxation, to understanding the way that business works, to understanding government accounting;
- You have not demanded that the government account in a true and fair fashion for its own actions.
As I noted, I could easily add to this list. My point was that the accounting profession has a long way to go to meet reasonable expectation of them.
I signed my comment with contact details. It will be interesting to see if I get a response.
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“I was asked yesterday by one of the UK’s accounting institutes”
In order to make yourself seem more important, you make it sound as if they approached you personally.
You filled in a survey, sent to many people.
“As I noted, I could easily add to this list.”
As is your style ‘and one hundred and twenty-ninthly’
“I signed my comment with contact details. It will be interesting to see if I get a response.”
I wouldn’t hold your breath, although I’m sure eyes will role when whoever has the misfortune to look at your submission sees who has sent it in.
Sure I was asked to do a survey
I never pretended otherwise
And I chose to prioritise – which is a good thing
Will I be contacted? Up to them. They know where I am. If they’re serious why wouldn’t they?
You answer that one
Mr Cavannah, I hope that your professional roll does not involve the writing of public documents…
David, you don’t enjoy professional rolling? :=)
Judging by Mr Cavannah’s response, I’d say that one of the the other problems with the accounting profession is that its practitioners can be a bit ‘bitchy’! ?
You know, I asked someone the other day why they were studying accounting and she told that it was because there was a lot of money to be made out of helping rich people to keep all their money!!
I kid you not!
Sad, but undoubtedly true
You could also ask them what is the pay differential between their highest and lowest paid employees – 100:1, 200:1 or even more?
Also the gender balance and pay differential of females and males and any glass ceilings.
Equal opportunities policies and any ethnic breakdown of employees at different levels in the company.
I tried to cover that under one discrimination heading….sorry
No need to apologise, you are doing an excellent job and highlighted critical issues.
I, like you, am a chartered accountant who is very dismayed at my professional body but I think we must share some of the blame for letting matters get into this sorry state. Unfortunately we sole practitioners are too busy making our modest living to compete time wise with the millionaires in the big 4. Nothing more than wholesale reform – or a breakaway professional body – will cause the change that is required.
The Big Firms have undoubtedly captured the profession Noel