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Insights

Pulling together opinion, analysis, interviews and features on the profession along with a focus on the key issues affecting accountancy and the world of business.

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Insights Special

Trust in organisations

We unpack the building blocks of trust, and how organisations build, maintain or rebuild trust.
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Latest news

Urgency: time to build sustainability into economic decisions
  • Article
  • 14 Jun 2021
With COP26 on climate and COP15 on biodiversity around the corner, and time running out to take action, there is little wonder that significant G7 time was committed to these topics. But was there enough real commitment behind the conversation?
Disclosure of distributable reserves: a welcome but complex challenge
  • Article
  • 14 Jun 2021
The government’s reform of the UK’s corporate governance regime includes potential new requirements for large companies to disclose information on distributable reserves - a proposal that comes with a unique set of challenges.
Pandemic may continue to mask economic impact of Brexit
  • Article
  • 14 Jun 2021
ICAEW members have expressed concern that ongoing Brexit issues are being masked by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and are calling for a more granular understanding of the economic forces at play to help organisations mitigate its effect.
Age discrimination claims soar in the wake of lockdown
  • Article
  • 14 Jun 2021
New research shows the number of age discrimination complaints taken to employment tribunals during the last year rose 74% as workers in their 50s and 60s suffer a challenging time in the labour market.

Latest tax news

SEISS grants and tax return processing
  • Article
  • 14 Jun 2021
HMRC reports that it has been unable to automatically process a significant number of 2020/21 self assessment tax returns because of apparent inconsistencies in the reporting of SEISS grants. ICAEW’s Tax Faculty explains how to avoid the problem.
HMRC relaunches the agent dedicated line
  • Article
  • 11 Jun 2021
HMRC is restoring priority access to the ADL from Monday 14 June 2021 and committed to call waiting times of less than 10 minutes. However, the ADL will not handle certain types of calls where digital alternatives are available.
Tax news in brief
  • Article
  • 09 Jun 2021
Highlights from the broader tax news week ending 9 June, which includes: May CJRS claim deadline reminder; more support on tax reliefs on moving goods temporarily in and out of GB and NI; small change to SDLT exceptional circumstances guidance; and updated guidance on loss carry back claims.
OTS to look at impact of moving tax year end
  • Article
  • 08 Jun 2021
The Office for Tax Simplification has confirmed it is reviewing the benefits, costs and implications of moving the UK’s tax year end from 5 April. While the review will focus on a move to 31 March, it will also consider 31 December.

When Chartered Accountants Save the World

The world is changing – and so is the role of chartered accountants. Our major new content series explores how chartered accountants are helping to tackle some of the most urgent social challenges within the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and considers how the profession could do even more in the future. Are you ready?

Two business professionals walking side by side
It’s time for chartered accountants to save the world
  • Article
  • 30 Apr 2021
Chartered accountants must understand their unique role in making a sustainable future happen, argues Peter Bakker, CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Peter Margaritis, author of ‘The Accidental Accountant’
Don’t make accounting a foreign language
  • Article
  • 30 Apr 2021
As chartered accountants increasingly help colleagues or clients, they must to learn to become better communicators, argues Peter Margaritis, author of ‘The Accidental Accountant’.
Three people sitting at a news desk
How chartered accountants can help to safeguard trust in society
  • Article
  • 30 Apr 2021
Crumbling levels of trust in data and information is a part of a drop in trust more generally. Learn how chartered accountants will be called on to help, now and in the future.
Ed Humpherson
Shaping the public’s trust in data and information
  • Article
  • 30 Apr 2021
Ed Humpherson holds the UK government to account for the data that it publishes. He argues that chartered accountants have a key role to play.
Woman in teal jacket
The goals that represent the most urgent challenges facing humanity
  • Article
  • 30 Apr 2021
We look at how chartered accountants are addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and how the profession could be impacted by them.
Tracy Staines, Inspector General, The Global Fund
Trust in data has helped us raise $45bn to tackle global epidemics
  • Article
  • 30 Apr 2021
Tracy Staines, Inspector General at The Global Fund, has built on her core accountancy skills to ensure huge amounts of money are spent appropriately where they’re needed most.

The Crisis of Trust in Data and Information

We consider the role that chartered accountants play in safeguarding data and information that is accurate and objective.

4 ways for chartered accountants to stop criminal activity in their organisation

Chartered accountants can help to spot and prevent fraud from taking place. We examine a real case of a business that discovered its chief financial officer had been falsifying accounts. The real case of a chief financial officer who tried to manipulate his company's financial position to support its share price, and 4 ways that chartered accountants can help to stop similar criminal activity in their organisation. 

Business rescue

A house being built
Business rescue: the painful reality of a CVA
  • Article
  • 09 Apr 2021
Managing director of Perfection Alloys, Fraser Dick, speaks about how hard decisions and empathy from his insolvency practitioner helped his business successfully weather insolvency.
Two hands in silhouette
Insolvency: growing fatigue among ailing businesses?
  • Article
  • 08 Apr 2021
While formal insolvency numbers are lower now than they were pre-Covid, the statistics may be masking many businesses on the brink and many more whose business owners will question whether it’s worth carrying on as the year continues.
Cup of coffee
Insolvency in an atypical recession
  • Article
  • 06 Apr 2021
According to Greg Palfrey of Smith & Williamson, we’ll see waves of insolvency this year as sector by sector, businesses feel the pinch.
People shaking hands
Business rescue: don’t wait and see before seeking help
  • Article
  • 31 Mar 2021
We’re at a pivotal point as we start the transition out of lockdown. Now is the time to engage with professional advisers, including restructuring and insolvency practitioners.

Insights specials

A listing of one-off Insights specials that focus on a particular subject, interviewing the key people, identifying developing trends and examining the underlying issues.

The Dasgupta Review
  • 20 May 2021
In 2019, the UK was the first major government to commission a review into the economics of declining biodiversity. We speak to the team behind the review to find out what it means for business and the profession.
Trust in organisations
  • 17 May 2021
Questions around public trust in companies, trust in the profession, trust in charities, and trust in government arise time and again. Here we unpack the building blocks of trust, and how organisations build, maintain or rebuild trust.
Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance
  • 13 May 2021
'Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance’ is the BEIS white paper that sets out proposals on strengthening the UK’s corporate governance framework and the way companies are audited. This is where we share with you ICAEW’s views on the consultation, explore what restoring trust means, and share information on the reform agenda.
Mental health and wellbeing
  • 11 May 2021
There is now a far greater understanding that we should look after our mental health in the same way that we care for our physical health. We accept that it can fluctuate from good to poor throughout an individual's lifetime and that there are actions we can take to improve our mental wellbeing.

Top videos

What the Dasgupta Review means for business and accountancy

Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta sat down with ICAEW to talk about his review into the economics of biodiversity and his hopes for the future.

Navigating a pandemic through data visualisation

What the COVID-19 crisis can tell us about visualising data effectively.

The opinions expressed by external guest speakers in interviews or other publications included on this website are, by their nature, those of the speaker. They are not necessarily fully endorsed by the ICAEW or purport to reflect the official policies and views of the ICAEW or its members.

Top podcast episodes

The City of London at dusk
Implications for the finance sector
  • Podcast
  • 03 Jun 2021
Philippa Kelly speaks with Thomas Viegas, economic advisor to the Dasgupta Review, about the implications for the finance sector.
Covid-19 crisis with a legacy
COVID-19 – crisis with a legacy
  • Podcast
  • 24 Jul 2020
A global pandemic has meant business needs to rise to the challenges that have developed and find a way forward through the storm. It also given us the opportunity to press reset and build businesses for a new, more sustainable economy. But where do we start? Economist Anna Leach and futurist Susan Cox-Smith look at how companies are weathering the storm, and the lessons they can share.
$3.6tr – corruption, cronyism and capitalism
$3.6tr – corruption, cronyism and capitalism
  • Podcast
  • 10 Mar 2020
$3.6tr – corruption, cronyism and capitalism
12 trillion icon
$12 trillion – profiting from the planet
  • Podcast
  • 05 Nov 2019
How will the sustainable development goals benefit business?

Top charts of the week

Chart of the week: UK inflation
  • Article
  • 20 May 2021
This week’s chart takes a look at UK inflation following news that the annual rate of inflation more than doubled in April to 1.5%, more than twice the 0.7% reported for the previous month.
Chart of the week: UK monthly GDP
  • Article
  • 13 May 2021
This week’s chart takes a look at the rebound in UK gross domestic product in March 2021, despite the country remaining in lockdown.
Chart of the week: G7 economies
  • Article
  • 06 May 2021
Our chart this week illustrates how in representing more than half of the world economy, decisions taken by the G7 can have a significant impact on the entire planet.
Chart of the week: The debt of G7 nations
  • Article
  • 29 Apr 2021
This week’s chart looks at how the pandemic has driven government debt levels higher, a topic that will be on the agenda at the G7 summit in Cornwall in six weeks’ time.

Top Infographics

5 key areas of the BEIS White Paper

5 key areas of the BEIS White Paper

This chart reflects the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA)’s significant new powers and the expanded director and auditor duties being proposed in the BEIS White Paper.

It shows at a glance the main areas the White Paper addresses, from establishing ARGA to improving the reliability of audits.

Insights by topic

CEO and President's insights
  • Listing
  • 03 Aug 2020
View an archive of blogs from ICAEW CEO, Michael Izza, and from past ICAEW presidents.
Climate hub Climate change, or the climate emergency is an issue that is defining our time. Are you professionally ready to mitigate the risk and maximise the opportunity of climate change?
Coronavirus (COVID-19) hub Coronavirus is not just a world health emergency; it is an economic one too. The economic impacts are plain to see and emergency provisions are being made worldwide in an attempt to support individuals, business and anyone who advises them. ICAEW is monitoring the situation closely and collating resources as conditions unfold.
Brexit – impact on ICAEW members ICAEW's Brexit hub highlights a range of resources to help you prepare for the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. ICAEW is working to ensure that business and the profession is able to work as seamlessly as possible in the public interest across Europe and beyond.
COVID-19: global recovery Recovery from the worldwide economic crisis brought about by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will be piece-meal but informed by initiatives from around the world. While national government schemes will continue to support business and practice during the immediate crisis, international action will help shape the recovery. Here we track those regional, national and supra-national activities.
Student Insights Interviews, guides and features giving you fresh insights, innovative ideas and an inside look at the lives and careers of ICAEW students and members. No matter what stage you’re at in your journey with us, you’ll find content to suit you.
Regulation ICAEW protects the public interest by making sure our firms, members, students and affiliates maintain the highest standards of professional competency and conduct.
Sponsored content Hear what our partners are saying on topical issues impacting the accountancy profession.

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