What have they done for us?

Croydon President Andrew McKenzie Smart recalls the Monty Python ‘Romans’ sketch to ask what ICAEW does for us. Quite a lot, it turns out.

February 2019

I have been Croydon District Society President for three of the past four years, and surprised at the lack of involvement by many in the activities of the local District Society and with the head office. It often feels like the scene from Monty Python’s Life of Brian film, but replacing the Romans with the ICAEW teams in the “what have the Romans done for us” sketch. ICAEW markets the events that are occurring, with little interest or involvement of members in our area either in the activities occurring at a national or local level.

Having outsourced the technical CPD events, our local District Society plans a quarterly series of evening seminars covering issues such as Brexit, as well as soft skills areas in conjunction with CABA.

In 2017, we ran a couple of non-political events that dispelled some of the myths surrounding the Brexit debate. This year we plan to run a follow-up event to set out how Brexit affects the south London business community. This will include details regarding the transitional arrangements and the likely overall impact on south London business.

In December 2018 we ran a CABA-related soft skills event, ‘Building Resilience’, an interactive session which provided coping mechanisms for the delegates. Surprisingly, given its proximity to the tax return deadline, there was a wide range of other issues that the delegates were concerned about. These ranged from ICAEW exams to impending retirement. Having successfully run non-technical events with CABA, we will be providing similar events in future.

ICAEW itself is not inactive, either. There are many laudable initiatives that it undertakes at national level. Paul Aplin, ICAEW President, often proclaims the wonderful work undertaken.

In particular, he highlights the ICAEW Foundation. Its objective is that developing countries need to have strong, reliable financial experts at their core. In effect, such economies need chartered accountants.

We will be showing the Foundation’s video at the forthcoming President’s Reception on 14 March 2019, where we will also be rewarding the prizewinning graduates in our ranks and setting out how they can get involved with ICAEW activities. Find out more about the Reception and book your place.

So, like the debt we owe the Romans, there is much which you can assist with at ICAEW. I can only confirm that being involved either nationally or locally is very rewarding. If you would like further information regarding the planned activities we have in Croydon then please contact Debbie Antony.

Andrew McKenzie-Smart is President of ICAEW Chartered Accountants Croydon

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