Chief Executive's welcome

Welcome to the October issue of Accountancy Ireland. A new academic year is starting and we’re inviting a new batch of potential Chartered Accountants to learn, train and develop into future leaders with our Institute.

Promoting the profession 

Over the summer months, we’ve been busy promoting our qualification, demonstrating the wealth of opportunities open to Chartered Accountants and seeking to bring the brightest and best into our profession.

In our Open Evenings and our meetings with careers teachers and students at all levels, we’ve been quick to highlight the high quality of our education programme, the fantastic career opportunities it presents and the flexibility we offer to our students.

Enhancements to qualification 

This year, we announced a range of enhancements to our education programme, including agreements for the provision of specialisms with the Institute of Banking and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

These developments are important as they enable us to keep in step with skill-sets that both potential students, and employers, are looking for.

Growth in member and student numbers and increased gender diversity
In August, the UK’s Financial Reporting Council issued its annual Key Facts and Trends analysis. It shows that our Institute remains the largest and fastest growing professional body for accountants in Ireland, with our membership growing by 5.3% in 2017 and by almost 19% since 2013.

The study also revealed a rise in the percentage of our female membership. Women make up 41% of our overall membership, a 9% rise on our 2008 figure of 32%.

We acknowledge that we have more work to do to further grow this number, but we see the positive growth in gender diversity over the last decade as a great indicator for the future.

There was also a positive in terms of overall student numbers. Despite a drop in student numbers across the UK and Ireland, our Institute beat the trend, attaining student growth of 5% in 2017. 

Brexit 

Members should also be aware that we are very focused on Brexit and its impact on our professional qualification. It’s a priority for our members that Brexit must not affect their right to work and practice across the island of Ireland and in the UK.

We want to ensure that the Irish Chartered Accountant qualification continues to be recognised in the UK post-Brexit and similarly, that the UK qualification is recognised in the EU.

We remain dedicated to informing the wider debate around Brexit. We also continue to call for the certainty which businesses on both sides of the border need in order to prepare effectively for the new trading relationship between the UK, the EU and the Republic of Ireland.

I would recommend that members take a look at the resources and articles on the Brexit section of our website. We will continue to have a strong voice on this, and on the other business issues which matter most to our members.

Barry Dempsey
Chief Executive