A Message from the Editors November 2021

Viresh Paul president of the London Society of Chartered Accountants discusses the November issue of London Accountant.

November 2021

Coming on the heels of the Climate Change theme of our last issue, the chosen theme for this month’s issue of the London Accountant may seem like the same thing but when you read the contributions we received for the articles in this issue you will immediately see that Chartered Accountants have the capacity and are able to change the world in more than one way.

This theme sprung to my mind when I spoke at our 150th anniversary celebrations in April this year and acknowledged that once Covid was over we would need to work very hard at making things better and in changing the world we have accepted as normal all these years. That was borne from the work that accountants had been doing making genuine differences to the lives of our clients and our employers by pulling all the stops in providing collaborative support and assistance beyond anything anybody had encountered until then. We saw the NHS providing the medical care and attention which was matched in many ways by the loving care and attention that the members of our profession provided to the business small and large not just in this country but around the world. Whether it was grappling with furlough or calculations of that nature or seeking funding in a world that had suddenly stopped spinning to providing guidance for the very survival of businesses; our profession certainly rose to the occasion.

You will read in this issue different views from members of the ICAEW to Chartered Accountants representing other institutes (principally Ireland and Australia/New Zealand) as well as future chartered accountants or current students as well as practising accountants.

This is also a special issue for one other reason. While most of our readers will be reading this in an electronic format some of you – at least those who are attending the Pan Accountancy Lunch at the Mansion House on 5 November – will be holding a hard copy in your hands. We have gone to the expense of a limited print run for distribution on the day and may well do so again but in the main we believe that as part of our contribution to Climate Change and the UN sustainability goals there is no point in cutting down more trees than necessary to get this valuable and (I hope) inspirational and thought provoking magazine to the members of the London District Society of Chartered Accountants.

What makes this issue unique is that the team is common but the views are so diverse it’s so interesting that I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading them much as we did.

By. Viresh Paul, President London Society of Chartered Accountants