It’s that time of year again, the blossom is out in Scotland and so ICAS held its AGM last week. Firstly, I want to congratulate David Cruickshank CA on becoming our new President. Jonny Jacobs CA steps up to Deputy President, while our newest office bearer, Elizabeth Gammie CA, fills his shoes as Vice President. 

Anyone who knows our three office bearers will be aware of just how passionate they all are about ICAS and the profession. They will all be brilliant in their new roles. 

David appears in this issue, introducing the top 35 CA Rising Stars 2026, for which he was one of the judges. We delve into why each of the 35 was nominated and why the judges selected them from the many entries we received.

As David writes, “You get a real sense of the pace of change across business and professional life right now – the fastest I’ve ever seen. The entries almost read like a Financial Times feature outlining how the profession is being transformed.”

The category winners and overall winner will be announced on 4 June at the Meet the President event in London. You can find more details here.

While the profession’s pace of change is unprecedented, one constant has always been that trust is fundamental to ICAS. That’s one of the reasons why we chose to interview three CAs who have worked with, and/or been inspired by, the great documentarian and naturalist Sir David Attenborough – regularly named in polls as the UK’s most trusted individual – who turns 100 this month. The interviews also highlight how the CA qualification provided a foundation and an entry point for each to pursue their passions.

We also speak to two CAs who are inspirational figures in their own right. Victoria Peddie Bell CA is about to take on the World’s Toughest Row across the Pacific Ocean. Part of her motivation is to prove that turning 50 is no barrier to ambition.

Jordan Groody CA was one of the CA Rising Stars 2025. She is a self-starter, a business owner, a Cambridge master’s student, a mentor and an angel investor. And thanks to her work on financial education with WOW – Women of the World, she recently met Queen Camilla, not to mention Helen ‘the Queen’ Mirren. You can get an insight into the key moments in her career journey.

We also look ahead to the ICAS Practice Conference, featuring three of the speakers who will host sessions at the event, including one who attempted to start his own ‘100% AI’ accounting firm, then concluded it was a terrible idea and that we need accountants more than ever. Another told us that accountants need to have more conversations and think about where they can provide the insights of human intelligence.

Enjoy the issue.

Sarah Chisnall, Editor in Chief
linkedin.com/in/sarah-chisnall

Register here for the ICAS Practice Conference