ICAEW Council Elections 2023 FAQs

Any member with a registered address in an election constituency as of the Qualifying Date is eligible to stand, vote and nominate a candidate in the election.

The Qualifying Date for 2023 Council elections was 3 October 2022. Your election constituency is specified in ‘My Details’ on your member profile. Members were encouraged to check their member profile under ‘My Details’ before the Qualifying Date.

• Check that you are eligible to stand. Is there a Council vacancy in your constituency and do you have a 10-year clean ICAEW disciplinary record? If you are, read the guidance to understand the role and what’s required of Council members.
• Submit a candidate statement using the template on online nomination site Login to the ICAEW
• Your candidate statement will be reviewed to check eligibility. Usually this is confirmed within 2 working days, and your name will appear as a provisional candidate on the election portal
• Once you are confirmed as a provisional candidate, 5 ICEAW members from your constituency must nominate you. Nominators do this via the election portal.
• Your candidate statement and 5 nominations must be received by Noon GMT 6 December.

• 13 December - The Election Conduct Committee meets to review candidates’ statements
• 16 December – Provisional Candidates will be notified of the next steps. Where the number of candidates does not exceed the number of constituency vacancies, the Election is uncontested and candidates will be deemed to be elected. Where there are more candidates than vacancies, an election will be contested by ballot.
• 6 February 10 am GMT – online candidate briefing for members involved in contest elections
• 7 February - Voting papers issued
• 23 February - Voting closes
• 3 March – election results announced
• 6/7 June – ICAEW AGM and Council meeting.

You can complete your application via the online nomination system from 2 November 2022 at icaew.com/councilelections.

All candidates must submit a candidate statement in the standard template available on the nominations site. You are advised to complete all sections of the template. If you leave a section blank, it will appear as such in your final statement. There is no word limit, but brevity is advised to keep the statement effective and focused.

When we receive a candidate’s application the Governance Team reviews it to make sure it’s been completed. The candidate’s disciplinary record is also checked.

Subject to these stages being completed satisfactorily, a candidate’s application becomes a Provisional Candidate. The candidate will be notified of this and nominators will be able to nominate the candidate.

The ICAEW Nominating Committee will meet after the closure of the Nominations Process and will review each candidacy. For further information, on conflicts of interest, please review the ‘Declaration of Interest Policy’.

Current Office Holders cannot nominate a candidate in the elections.

The returning officer must not accept any nomination which:

• is incomplete or which is received after the deadline for nominations.
• in the opinion of the Nominating Committee, represents a potential for conflict of interest to the extent that, in managing this conflict, the member may be unable to fulfil the role of Council member to the standard that would be reasonably expected by the members

The Governance Team will check all nominations to ensure candidates belong to the constituency where they wish to contest elections. A disciplinary check will be conducted to ensure there are no adverse findings in the last 10 years that might disqualify the member from joining Council. Once, this check is complete, the candidate’s name will appear on the nomination site to members in the constituency and they are deemed to be a Provisional Candidate.

Your candidacy will be confirmed in full once Nominating Committee have reviewed and approved your application in full. We will email you to confirm that you are an Approved Candidate.

Candidates need five nominators. The nominators must be full ICAEW members and their registered address must be in the same constituency as the nominee at the Qualifying Date (3 October 2022).

Nominators can register their support via the online nomination system once the Governance Team has satisfactorily completed an initial review of the candidate’s statement to ensure it’s been completed and the candidate’s disciplinary record checked, ie once the candidate is confirmed as a Provisional Candidate.

The Governance Team will let candidates know when this stage is completed. Nominators will need their membership number and password to access the system. The deadline for nominations is Noon GMT 6 December 2022.

The completed application should be received by the Chief Executive’s Office by 12 noon GMT on 6 December 2022.

• Candidates may start campaigning only after close of nominations and once they have received written confirmation from ICAEW that they are an Approved Candidate in a contested election in their constituency.
• Your candidate statement offers a provision to include URL for your LinkedIn profile. You can also campaign through short videos uploaded on compatible sites such as Vimeo or YouTube. Candidates are personally responsible for the information they provide and must ensure their videos are compliant with the election regulations and are protected through appropriate security settings.
• The Chief Executive’s Office can provide some guidance but cannot produce or host additional campaign material for candidates. The Returning Officer may refuse to allow any material that is considered unsuitable for use in the campaign. Please familiarise yourselves with the Election Regulations before undertaking any campaigning activity.
• You cannot request or use a contact list you may have received as part of your current and ongoing engagement with ICAEW to canvass members in your area. You are welcome to approach your personal contacts and colleagues who may by ICAEW members, whilst ensuring you comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). If in doubt, please seek advice from the Chief Executive’s Office.
• Candidates may campaign for support via social media and other communication channels. You can use your personal LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or other social media to promote yourself within your constituency. You can also post within ICAEW LinkedIn groups you are a member of. You are encouraged to network and let members know you are standing for Council and your key objectives.
• ICAEW will promote the elections on ICAEW.com, email and social media, and at regional events once the voting opens. Candidates are encouraged to signpost members in their constituencies to these channels to read their candidate statements which are designed to provide more information in support of the candidate.
• Candidates may promote themselves at ICAEW events, as long as they do not do so as part of delivering a speech in a formal capacity.
• Candidates can directly approach any publications that are not owned or managed by ICAEW as part of campaigning.
• You may approach the ICAEW Regional teams to promote your candidature through their newsletters to members. The Regional teams will provide a fair and impartial service to all candidates.
• For member communication plans outside the UK, please contact Lucy Paget.
• Council members act collectively on behalf of their constituents. You are advised to avoid personal manifestos or single issue campaigns. At all times, please ensure your campaign does not flout the election regulations, is in good taste and reflects the ICAEW values and Code of Ethics.

For constituencies that go to ballot, voting will open at 12 Noon GMT on 07 February 2023. Members eligible to vote will receive a voting email.

You will be able to vote online from 12 Noon GMT on 07 February to 12 Noon GMT

Voting closes at 12pm (noon) GMT 23 February 2023

ICAEW will confirm results of the election to candidates by email.  Results will also be published on ICAEW.com/councilelections on 3 March 2023.