Future perfect

Authur Bailey the new President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales [ICAEW] displayed remarkable combination of humility, passion and commitment when he declared on CNN:

“I see my election as putting something back.  After all the profession has been good to me over the years.  I have a great passion for the younger generation – and not just through my own children and grandchildren – and a desire to see young people come into our profession who are going to be the leaders of the future, who are going to take this wonderful profession and ICAEW forward.  So I am focusing on what we are doing for young people, on opportunities and social mobility.  I think BASE (Business, Accounting and Skills Education, an ICAEW game that teaches business skills to 16 to 19 year old students) is one of the best initiatives we’ve taken on for many years.”

On Bloomberg television, he was the embodiment of frankness:

“What we are doing at the Institute now reminds me of when I first started because as articled clerks, we were all articled to an individual.  And last year ICAEW changed the rules to allow individuals, provided they are ICAEW members, to train students again; they don’t have to be an ICAEW-registered firm.  I think we lost our way a few years back when graduate-only became the norm.  It’s interesting how things go round in circles and here we are back again where an individual ICAEW member can take responsibility for a student.  Now there are so many different opportunities for people to come into the profession.”

It was on Vatican Radio/TV that he won huge accolade for his forthrightness and clarity of vision.

“We can all learn from Pope Francis I.  Primarily we are a member organization.  We are here because of and for the benefit of members.  So I intend to meet as many members as possible because I feel it is a line of communication we should be undertaking.  We can take a cue from the Pope.  Whenever I go out to meet members, my approach is very much,” I’m not here to talk to you.  It’s your opportunity to talk to me.  I want to hear from you.  It’s your opportunity to talk to me.  I want to hear from you in your practice and your business.  What are the issues for you?  How can we be of help?  Can we do more?  Can we do better?”

Like the Pope, the new President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales is very down to earth.

Equally down to earth is Ian Morrison, the founder of “My Accountant Friend” which he started in 2009 with only a prayer and a handful of clients.  Now, his clients’ list is bulging and has escalated to over 1,000 in Britain.  It is a boutique-style tax specialist service for sole traders and contractors.  His focus is on financial statements, corporate and personal tax as well as book-keeping.

He has become a huge star on NBC’s Good Morning America” where he made full disclosure of the secret of his amazing success:

“Word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool a business could hope to have.  Once you’ve secured one happy customer, your reputation grows and grows and before you know it, you are working for all their friends and workmates too.  Treating employees well is a priority.”

Clearly, the influence of Pope Francis I is all pervasive and contagious/infectious.  It has prompted Phillip Blond who heads the think-tank Res-Puplica (no direct link with the Vatican) to declare on Vatican Radio/TV:

“Enough is enough.  We want the banking sector to affirm a bankers’ oath similar to doctors’ Hippocratic Oath to exhibit a duty of care above and beyond what is required by law.  As countless scandals demonstrate, virtue is absent from our (British) institutions.  Britain’s bankers lack a sense of ethics and the institutions they work for lack a clearly defined social purpose.  In order for us to have the banks we desperately need and the country deserves, bankers must recognize the good, do good and be good.  The bankers’ oath represents a remarkable opportunity to fulfil their proper moral and economic purpose and finally place bankers on the road to absolution (redemption).”

THE BANKERS’ OATH

“I swear to fulfil, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will do my utmost to behave in a manner that prioritizes the needs of customers.  It will be my first duty to provide an exemplary quality of service to my customers and to exhibit a duty of care above and beyond what is required by law.

I will apply myself to ensuring that the work that I perform is in line with values that engender the responsible creation of value.  It is my duty to conduct my business in an ethical manner and to ensure that my actions impact positively on the wellbeing of people both inside and outside my enterprise.

I will confront profligacy and impropriety wherever I encounter it, for the conduct of bankers can have dramatic consequence for society.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to the financial security and wellbeing of my customers, their families and the communities they reside in.

If I do not violate this oath, may I benefit from the prosperity that comes from serving customers well.  May I always act as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy that comes from supporting the needs of society.

This oath I make freely, and upon my honour.”

On BBC’s Radio 4’s Today programme, Lord Myners could barely contain his fury and rage following the publication of his damning report on the Co-op Group (Banking):

“The Co-op has lost half its net worth, accumulated over 150 years, in the last four years.  We are talking of about £3.5 billion of erosion of wealth.  This makes it one of the great business calamities.  And it has been led by a board totally unable, because of lack of experience, to hold the executive to account.  Its governance structure was manifestly dysfunctional.”

Russian television has devoted prime time to giving full and extensive coverage to a group of Russian lawmakers who have proposed the banning of the “Big Four” global accounting firms – Deloitte; KPMG; PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC); and Ernst & Young as well as two of the world’s largest consulting groups – Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey from the country.

The lawmakers, through Yevgeny Fyodorov a deputy for the pro-Kremlin party, United Russia have distributed free T-shirts and baseball caps to protest against foreign legal entities and individuals who should be prohibited from conducting audits as well as providing legal and adversory services.

The lawmakers issued a press statement that has gone viral:

“These foreign audit and consulting firms are working under orders of their government and could cause real damage to the Russian state by purposefully giving out bad advice.

These companies have an obligation to follow their government.  They have the motivation, and are under orders to create the optimum conditions for the deterioration of life in Russia and of the Russian economy.”

On Al Jazeera, Tony Cates the UK Head of Audit at KPMG was on “BREAKING NEWS”

Headline:“AUDITORS MUST NOW BE TRUSTED TO BARK LOUDER”

“The global financial crisis has resulted in some painful lessons.  One of them is that the audit profession needs to bark more loudly.  Our capital markets rely on accounts they can trust.  But which company disclosures matter most?  Is it the explanations of longer-term financial viability, ethical supply chain processes, regulatory or tax compliance?  As the leader of a “Big 4” audit practice, I am willing and able to provide these forms of assurance if they can help restore trust in business.

Independent auditors already have an important part to play in challenging boards.  But there could be a valuable role in ensuring a company’s reports and other corporate communications are meaningful documents that give shareholders and the public insight into a company’s historic performance, its business activities and plans for the future.”

There has been a groundswell of attention on corporate transparency.  Shareholders are becoming more activist, and regulators have an appetite for improving the legal framework.  This sets the scene for auditors and company directors to drive through change.”

J.K Randle