Good foot forward (COPY) (COPY) (COPY) (COPY) (COPY)
Chris Good CA’s candour about his recovery from a mental health crisis offers a signal lesson for the profession, says President Clive Bellingham CA
At your service
Serving on an ICAS committee means playing an enhanced role in accountancy, broadening your professional horizons and possibly pursuing a passion project. So what’s stopping you, asks President Alison Cornwell CA
ICAS held two events to mark this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) – one in Edinburgh and the other, which I hosted, in London. As part of my introduction, I emphasised the importance of networking. I also encouraged more women to join ICAS boards, panels and committees, something which is valuable both to ICAS and to those who serve.
The London event was themed Building Careers and Financial Freedom and it was great to see so many members socialising during the post-event drinks. The audience was relatively young, including many CAs who had qualified fairly recently, so it was a good opportunity to share examples of some of the things I’ve done in my career, while stressing the benefits of an active involvement with ICAS.
I thought back to an event ICAS held almost two years ago at the Sky Garden in London. At the time I was recruiting fellow CAs to participate in the Foundation 25 initiative, for which 25 members each took on a challenge to collectively raise £25,000 for the ICAS Foundation.
I met one of those participants again at the IWD event. Not only was she interested in joining one of our boards or committees, she was also seriously contemplating applying to stand for a seat on ICAS Council. All because, she said, becoming more involved in ICAS had opened her eyes to the opportunity and given her more confidence – which was fantastic to hear.
Membership of an ICAS board or committee typically runs for a three-year term, with an opportunity to stand for a second and final term of three years. The rotation system means there will always be new people coming in. It’s healthy to have new blood – it brings fresh ideas and diversity of thought.
“Serving with ICAS can be a first foray into the non-executive world, a safe place to experiment and learn, and a great vantage point from which to observe how other people do things”
One of the attractions of volunteering for ICAS is that the committees comprise people from a range of sectors and levels of seniority. You meet people who work in different parts of the country, or even overseas. What you hear and learn from them may help you to see your own professional life from new angles. The people you meet become part of your professional network and sometimes your social circle.
Serving with ICAS can also be seen as a first foray into the non-executive world, but in an environment that is probably more nurturing and supportive than a corporate boardroom; a safe place to experiment and learn and a great vantage point from which to observe how other people do things.
Committee work is also significantly more convenient than it once was. In the old days, attendance was always in person, which stifled the ability of some people to join because they weren’t based near Edinburgh. The shift towards video meetings means that’s now a thing of the past. So although most committees target having at least one face-to-face meeting with everybody in the same room every year, other meetings in the cycle are hybrid or fully online.
One of ICAS’ many committees focuses on sustainability, and I will be giving the introduction at this year’s ICAS Sustainability Summit in London on 23 April. You can read more about the event here, as well as an interview with keynote speaker Sally Duckworth, who last year was appointed Chair of the new UK Sustainability Disclosure Technical Advisory Committee.
This will be our third such summit. Certain topics come and go, but this event has already become an anchor in our calendar. It’s clear from my conversations with members and professional peers that others are looking to bodies such as ICAS to be a leading voice in the sustainability space.
It’s a subject that people are – rightly – passionate about, as was reflected by the numbers attending the 2024 Sustainability Summit in Edinburgh.
Even though politicians and governments are rowing back on commitments, there are huge ESG-related regulatory and reporting requirements. These are not going away! However, applied properly, a focus on ESG can help businesses create value through improved employee morale and retention (one great example of which can be found in this month’s feature on GrowUp Farms), and increased customer engagement and loyalty.
Speaking from experience, I believe embedding ESG into your organisation is something for which the CFO should be responsible. And, while sustainability enjoys a heightened awareness, the ICAS Sustainability Committee and the annual summit have been instrumental in driving home just how pivotal a role CAs can – and should – play.
Learn more about joining ICAS’ committees, boards and panels
linkedin.com/in/alison-cornwell-ca
Active service
Serving on an ICAS committee means playing an enhanced role in the profession, broadening your professional horizons and possibly pursuing a passion project. So what’s stopping you, asks President Alison Cornwell CA
ICAS held two events to mark this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) – one in Edinburgh and the other, which I hosted, in London. As part of my introduction, I emphasised the importance of networking. I also encouraged more women to join ICAS boards, panels and committees, something which is valuable both to ICAS and to those who serve.
The London event was themed Building Careers and Financial Freedom and it was great to see so many members socialising during the post-event drinks. The audience was relatively young, including many CAs who had qualified fairly recently, so it was a good opportunity to share examples of some of the things I’ve done in my career, while stressing the benefits of an active involvement with ICAS.
I thought back to an event ICAS held almost two years ago at the Sky Garden in London. At the time I was recruiting fellow CAs to participate in the Foundation 25 initiative, for which 25 members each took on a challenge to collectively raise £25,000 for the ICAS Foundation.
I met one of those participants again at the IWD event. Not only was she interested in joining one of our boards or committees, she was also seriously contemplating applying to stand for a seat on ICAS Council. All because, she said, becoming more involved in ICAS had opened her eyes to the opportunity and given her more confidence – which was fantastic to hear.
Membership of an ICAS board or committee typically runs for a three-year term, with an opportunity to stand for a second and final term of three years. The rotation system means there will always be new people coming in. It’s healthy to have new blood – it brings fresh ideas and diversity of thought.
“Serving with ICAS can be a first foray into the non-executive world, a safe place to experiment and learn, and a great vantage point from which to observe how other people do things”
One of the attractions of volunteering for ICAS is that the committees comprise people from a range of sectors and levels of seniority. You meet people who work in different parts of the country, or even overseas. What you hear and learn from them may help you to see your own professional life from new angles. The people you meet become part of your professional network and sometimes your social circle.
Serving with ICAS can also be seen as a first foray into the non-executive world, but in an environment that is probably more nurturing and supportive than a corporate boardroom; a safe place to experiment and learn and a great vantage point from which to observe how other people do things.
Committee work is also significantly more convenient than it once was. In the old days, attendance was always in person, which stifled the ability of some people to join because they weren’t based near Edinburgh. The shift towards video meetings means that’s now a thing of the past. So although most committees target having at least one face-to-face meeting with everybody in the same room every year, other meetings in the cycle are hybrid or fully online.
One of ICAS’ many committees focuses on sustainability, and I will be giving the introduction at this year’s ICAS Sustainability Summit in London on 23 April. You can read more about the event here, as well as an interview with keynote speaker Sally Duckworth, who last year was appointed Chair of the new UK Sustainability Disclosure Technical Advisory Committee.
This will be our third such summit. Certain topics come and go, but this event has already become an anchor in our calendar. It’s clear from my conversations with members and professional peers that others are looking to bodies such as ICAS to be a leading voice in the sustainability space.
It’s a subject that people are – rightly – passionate about, as was reflected by the numbers attending the 2024 Sustainability Summit in Edinburgh.
Even though politicians and governments are rowing back on commitments, there are huge ESG-related regulatory and reporting requirements. These are not going away! However, applied properly, a focus on ESG can help businesses create value through improved employee morale and retention (one great example of which can be found in this month’s feature on GrowUp Farms), and increased customer engagement and loyalty.
Speaking from experience, I believe embedding ESG into your organisation is something for which the CFO should be responsible. And, while sustainability enjoys a heightened awareness, the ICAS Sustainability Committee and the annual summit have been instrumental in driving home just how pivotal a role CAs can – and should – play.
Learn more about joining ICAS’ committees, boards and panels
linkedin.com/in/alison-cornwell-ca
Built with Shorthand