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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
‘An unforgettable experience’
Alison Cornwell CA looks back on her presidential term, a year of AI, ATOs and another major first for ICAS
This is my final column as ICAS President. My year-long term came to an end at the April AGM, but before I go I want to take this last opportunity to reflect on what has been an unforgettable experience.
In May last year I hosted my first event as President. The venue was Edinburgh Castle, which was quite a way to start! The occasion was made even more memorable by the presence of one of our guests, Primrose Scott CA, who, in 1994, became the first female President of ICAS. Primrose may be 85, but she is still as sharp as a tack. When she heard that the event would be hosted by another female President she made a huge effort to come along.
As the current President has the honour of choosing who sits at the top table at the Annual Dinner, I was delighted to invite Primrose to be one of my guests for what was one of my final official duties.
During the dinner I was interviewed by the TV presenter, Kaye Adams. I was keen to highlight the process I undertook during my presidential year for my employer to become an authorised training office (ATO) for ICAS. As regular readers of this column will know, I charted that journey in these pages.
I wanted to show how straightforward it is to make your workplace an ATO and to explain why a non-accounting firm would benefit from taking on a trainee CA.
Traditionally, most ICAS students have undertaken their training in practice. However, our groundbreaking new syllabus, which includes modules on topics such as data analytics and sustainability, combined with the new flexible delivery model, means it now makes perfect sense for businesses in industry to take on a CA trainee, too.
“I wanted to show how straightforward it is to make your workplace an ATO, and to explain why a non-accounting firm would benefit from taking on a trainee CA”
During the past year we’ve seen big accounting firms adopt AI into their working practices. This has led some people – including Jeremy Hunt – to question whether accountancy has a real future. You won’t be surprised to hear we emphatically disagree – and you can read Bruce Cartwright CA’s response to the former Chancellor here.
Ours is a profession that has always adapted to change. I remember starting my traineeship with Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) and working in an office with 200 employees, a typing pool and three computers which were locked away in what was called the “computer audit room”.
When I started auditing, we used paper audit files and a paper checklist. Much of that is now computerised and automated, enabling auditors to focus on other value-added activities. The same principle applies to AI.
Clearly, there are huge ethical and regulatory questions in play, but in its most basic form AI will automate routine tasks and enable us to focus our thinking on the opportunities and the risks that our businesses, or those of a client, may face.
Again, ICAS has been playing an important thought leadership role in these areas through its AI working group and its ongoing Shaping the Profession initiative. I’m looking forward to watching these continue to evolve.
Not surviving, but thriving
If you want evidence that chartered accountancy is thriving, you only have to look at the recent ICAS Admission Ceremony. We had 760 new admissions in April, approximately half of whom attended the ceremony in Edinburgh in person along with their families and friends.
I’ve written before about how much I enjoy the ceremony, so to have the privilege of handing the scrolls to each graduate and congratulating them on their achievements was another thrill that comes with being President.
Some people have asked me whether the one-year term provides sufficient time to do everything that you set out to achieve. The answer is yes, because we work as a team of three office bearers – meaning that I had served a total of three years by the end of my presidential term, moving from Vice President to Deputy President and ultimately to President.
In addition to becoming a real life ATO case study, I have enjoyed supporting ICAS’ annual Sustainability Summit – being a panellist in 2024 and introducing the event in 2025. This is very important work and a flagship event of which ICAS should be proud.
So it’s been a busy but very fulfilling year supporting, and supported by, the ICAS team and Council members, with numerous highlights including member events, governance meetings, chairing Council meetings, Admission Ceremony, CA Summit, Sustainability Summit, Shaping the Profession, AI working group and new syllabus strategy launch, and supporting the wonderful work of the ICAS Foundation and ICAS Cares.
In particular I have enjoyed invaluable support from my fellow office bearers, Karen Scholes CA and David Cruickshank CA, and I would like to thank them for their wise counsel and good humour throughout.
Karen is from practice, David was Global Chair of Deloitte and I am from industry. Our individual career experiences provided a great balance, which will be maintained through the introduction of Jonny Jacobs CA, Group FD at Holland & Barrett, as our new Vice President. And Karen succeeding me marks another milestone for ICAS – the first time we have had successive female presidents.
Karen built up Scholes Chartered Accountants from a small family firm in Orkney to one with four offices across Scotland. She succeeds me at a time when we are anticipating regulatory changes. She will be a strong voice for the profession and for smaller businesses in general. I have no doubt she will be a phenomenal President.
And lastly, I can promise Karen one thing – that she will have a year to remember.
Find out more about volunteering for ICAS
‘An unforgettable experience’
Alison Cornwell CA looks back on her presidential term, a year of AI, ATOs and another major first for ICAS
This is my final column as ICAS President. My year-long term came to an end at the April AGM, but before I go I want to take this last opportunity to reflect on what has been an unforgettable experience.
In May last year I hosted my first event as President. The venue was Edinburgh Castle, which was quite a way to start! The occasion was made even more memorable by the presence of one of our guests, Primrose Scott CA, who, in 1994, became the first female President of ICAS. Primrose may be 85, but she is still as sharp as a tack. When she heard that the event would be hosted by another female President she made a huge effort to come along.
As the current President has the honour of choosing who sits at the top table at the Annual Dinner, I was delighted to invite Primrose to be one of my guests for what was one of my final official duties.
During the dinner I was interviewed by the TV presenter, Kaye Adams. I was keen to highlight the process I undertook during my presidential year for my employer to become an authorised training office (ATO) for ICAS. As regular readers of this column will know, I charted that journey in these pages.
I wanted to show how straightforward it is to make your workplace an ATO and to explain why a non-accounting firm would benefit from taking on a trainee CA.
Traditionally, most ICAS students have undertaken their training in practice. However, our groundbreaking new syllabus, which includes modules on topics such as data analytics and sustainability, combined with the new flexible delivery model, means it now makes perfect sense for businesses in industry to take on a CA trainee, too.
“I wanted to show how straightforward it is to make your workplace an ATO, and to explain why a non-accounting firm would benefit from taking on a trainee CA”
During the past year we’ve seen big accounting firms adopt AI into their working practices. This has led some people – including Jeremy Hunt – to question whether accountancy has a real future. You won’t be surprised to hear we emphatically disagree – and you can read Bruce Cartwright CA’s response to the former Chancellor here.
Ours is a profession that has always adapted to change. I remember starting my traineeship with Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) and working in an office with 200 employees, a typing pool and three computers which were locked away in what was called the “computer audit room”.
When I started auditing, we used paper audit files and a paper checklist. Much of that is now computerised and automated, enabling auditors to focus on other value-added activities. The same principle applies to AI.
Clearly, there are huge ethical and regulatory questions in play, but in its most basic form AI will automate routine tasks and enable us to focus our thinking on the opportunities and the risks that our businesses, or those of a client, may face.
Again, ICAS has been playing an important thought leadership role in these areas through its AI working group and its ongoing Shaping the Profession initiative. I’m looking forward to watching these continue to evolve.
Not surviving, but thriving
If you want evidence that chartered accountancy is thriving, you only have to look at the recent ICAS Admission Ceremony. We had 760 new admissions in April, approximately half of whom attended the ceremony in Edinburgh in person along with their families and friends.
I’ve written before about how much I enjoy the ceremony, so to have the privilege of handing the scrolls to each graduate and congratulating them on their achievements was another thrill that comes with being President.
Some people have asked me whether the one-year term provides sufficient time to do everything that you set out to achieve. The answer is yes, because we work as a team of three office bearers – meaning that I had served a total of three years by the end of my presidential term, moving from Vice President to Deputy President and ultimately to President.
In addition to becoming a real life ATO case study, I have enjoyed supporting ICAS’ annual Sustainability Summit – being a panellist in 2024 and introducing the event in 2025. This is very important work and a flagship event of which ICAS should be proud.
So it’s been a busy but very fulfilling year supporting, and supported by, the ICAS team and Council members, with numerous highlights including member events, governance meetings, chairing Council meetings, Admission Ceremony, CA Summit, Sustainability Summit, Shaping the Profession, AI working group and new syllabus strategy launch, and supporting the wonderful work of the ICAS Foundation and ICAS Cares.
In particular I have enjoyed invaluable support from my fellow office bearers, Karen Scholes CA and David Cruickshank CA, and I would like to thank them for their wise counsel and good humour throughout.
Karen is from practice, David was Global Chair of Deloitte and I am from industry. Our individual career experiences provided a great balance, which will be maintained through the introduction of Jonny Jacobs CA, Group FD at Holland & Barrett, as our new Vice President. And Karen succeeding me marks another milestone for ICAS – the first time we have had successive female presidents.
Karen built up Scholes Chartered Accountants from a small family firm in Orkney to one with four offices across Scotland. She succeeds me at a time when we are anticipating regulatory changes. She will be a strong voice for the profession and for smaller businesses in general. I have no doubt she will be a phenomenal President.
And lastly, I can promise Karen one thing – that she will have a year to remember.
Find out more about volunteering for ICAS
linkedin.com/in/alison-cornwell-ca
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