Message from our President

I’m sure you’ll agree that recent years have been extremely challenging for us all, not only individually but also collectively as a profession. Yet despite the challenges of global recession and domestic uncertainty, the exceptional voluntary and charity work of our members goes on apace. I firmly believe chartered accountants take their social responsibilities very seriously and lead the way in contributing generously and in giving their time to thousands of benevolent causes up and down the island and beyond. If we can do so much good working on our own, imagine what 21,000 chartered accountants could achieve by working together – one institute, for one goal, on one day of action?

It was this thought that motivated me to propose a Charity Day of Action for all chartered accountants as one of the key initiatives of my tenure as President. The initiative will take place on Friday 20th April 2012and aims to harness the compassion, energy and generosity of our membership in one cohesive direction, for an excellent cause. Our endeavours will have the added effect of raising the profile of our qualification and helping to restore pride in our profession. And perhaps there will be the additional bonus of losing a few pounds into the bargain!

Our Charity Partners

Whilst members overseas are free to choose their own local charity and means of fund raising, in Ireland, the Institute has partnered with the Irish Heart Foundation and Northern Ireland Chest, Heart & Stroke. Heart disease is the biggest cause of fatality on this island: 14,300 people die annually from cardiovascular disease. Yet a combination of better health education and good old fashioned exercise can improve our chances significantly. Like me, you probably know some family member or friend who has suffered from a condition associated with heart disease. I believe that our choice of charities reflects the critical importance of tackling this debilitating and fatal condition. Both charities work in partnership across Ireland whereby, like our own Institute, they have all-island reach.

What’s happening?

All members in every part of the island and overseas (and students, Institute staff, relatives - indeed everyone is welcome) are encouraged to get active for one afternoon on 20th April to raise sponsorship funds for our charity partners. I recognise it is a difficult time to fundraise and for that reason we are not proposing one single financial target per member. Rather, we will suggest a range of fund-raising levels you might aspire to and will look to recognise your endeavours publicly and tangibly.

It’s also up to you as to how you engage – you can run, walk or cycle for whatever distances that will challenge you. Indeed, you can come up with something more inventive or strenuous if you wish. For example, already one member has suggested taking part in a one mile open sea swimming race as a way to raise funds. He’s clearly much fitter than me (which would not be hard)! We will have one meeting point in each of our district locations in Ireland – Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Sligo - but beyond these centres we are asking you to organise your own walk/run/cycle and will provide guidance and suggested routes, rather than a series of fully organised events.

I see this initiative as a fantastic opportunity to get to know fellow members in our towns or wider communities with whom we may otherwise have little interaction. And of course it’s a great reason to get fit and active, while raising much-needed funds for our partner charities.

Save the Date and get active!

The Charity Day will be officially launched in on 10th January, and at that stage I would encourage you to register and start raising sponsorship for our worthy charities. Meanwhile, could you just save the date – 20th April 2012 - in your diaries? You may even wish to start getting a little fitter in preparation and to encourage and support you, we plan to issue a regular e-newsletter which will contain routes and paths to follow and suggestions for some light exercise.

In planning our charity day we want to ensure our members are centrally involved from the start – this is your day, after all. Austin Slattery (Charity Day Committee Chair) and I look forward to providing you with more information about the events planned over the coming months.