2021-2022 President elected for ICAEW South West

In this article we will find out a bit more about Ros and what he has planned for his year in office.  

Quick facts

Name: Rosauro Aala
Current employment: Senior tutor at Accountancy Learning
Qualified: 1996 with Coopers and Lybrand in Plymouth
Hometown: Plymouth
Family: Wife and two boys aged 15 and 9
Interests: Spending time with the children, walking/cycling/kayaking, helping with the RAF Air Cadets, switching off in front of the television

Why did you put yourself forward as a district society office holder?

When I returned to the UK a few years ago I was invited to attend the South West district committee meetings and I discovered just how much the committee tries to do for the members in the district, whether the members are in practice or business, a student, young member, retired, or whatever mixture of categories members may belong.  I am so impressed by the efforts of the volunteers on the committee and wanted to do my bit.

What is your priority for the coming year as President? 

I have chosen social mobility for my term. When we talk to employers we discover that many struggle to recruit the right people. There is a clear demand for trainee accountants. But there seems to be a lack of supply in certain locations. Not enough people seem to aspire to enter our profession. There is a pool of talent out there but many have never considered being an accountant because of their social background or location. Someone from a “working class” background may have no one to talk to about what it’s like to be an accountant.  They have no frame of reference so choose not to enter our profession. This is the social mobility problem.  I thought it would be a useful theme for my year because we may be able to improve social mobility and at the same time increase the pool of aspiring accountants to help with our recruitment problems.

What do you think the society does well?

The South West district society is great at providing a variety of support mechanisms for the members in the area.

What would you like the society to do more of (if anything)? 

It would be good if we could reach out to more of our members locally.  Many simply are not aware of the support that is available locally because of the communication preferences that they choose each year when they renew their membership.  It seems a shame that we cannot help more people because we cannot let them know about what is available.

You took over from David Norris as President at the AGM. What do you think was their standout achievement / event / initiative / contribution etc this year that they will be remembered for? 

David had an unusual year because of the Covid restrictions. Nevertheless, he was still able to lead the committee well, albeit virtually, and the district continued to provide a variety of supportive activities.  Being able to connect with different people was a great achievement. More town groups, allowing small practice members to get together, have met regularly in David’s year than before.

Next May Dawn Mills will take over from you as President. If we asked them the same question about you, what would you want their answer to be?  (i.e. what do you want to be remembered for doing?)

I’d like to think that I had helped members with their long term recruitment issues by widening the pool of aspiring accountants in the district.

Office Holders for 2021 - 2022