Could it be true? The normally staid Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI), in a break with tradition, has used a woman gymnast, in an eye-catching crab position, as a launch pad for its annual conference. The theme of the conference - it is sponsored by the Ulster Bank (it supplied the picture of the gymnast) - is on flexibility which the crab is meant to symbolise.
The institute's promotion is in line with its move towards greater transparency. And the announcement last week that it is in merger talks with the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) is also a progressive move. It would have been more meaningful had the talks been with either, or both, of its main rivals - the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Certified Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). Regrettably there is little sign of that happening over the foreseeable future.
The last attempted merger of some of the institutions, originated in London, was badly handled, and ended in acrimony. Those behind the ICAI and CPA talks should ensure that that episode is not emulated. That unseemly squabble involved an aggressive merger campaign by the ACCA to woo members of two bodies - CIMA and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) - over the heads of their elected committees. The 47,000 members of CIMA were asked: "Are you satisfied that the ACCA approach is in your long-term interests?" It showed that aggression does not work. Some 86 per cent of the 15,000 replies received immediately after the poll were emphatic that they did not want the proposals to go ahead. ACCA disagreed: it based its views on its own merger plans from the three bodies.
Being a wholly-owned Irish organisation, CPA will not be looking over its shoulder at an associated group elsewhere. It is relatively small, having 2,000 members and 1,400 students. In contrast, the ICAI, the largest Irish group, has 12,000 members. Their members work in both the accountancy profession and in industry and would knit in well together. The proposed merger is designed to help reshape the enlarged body to reflect the changes in the business and regulatory environment in Ireland.
The ICAI has been trying to regain public acceptance following the findings in the Beef Tribunal and is conducting a number of inquiries into professional misconduct by its members highlighted in various tribunals. As part of its move to greater transparency it now holds disciplinary hearings in public. While CPA members have most to gain in terms of a more acceptable ICAI membership, ICAI has most to gain in public perception - it would be showing leadership in a positive move towards much needed rationalisation in the industry. Both bodies have worked closely in the past. They are members of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies in Ireland (CCABI). This speaks with one voice for the profession, but it also includes the ACCA and CIMA. The bodies also work closely on technical and taxation issues and are involved in similar training facilities. A fusion of the two would lead to economies of scale.
The ACCA and CPA have similar views on the key recommendations contained in the audit review report which calls for the establishment of an oversight board to monitor how the accountancy bodies regulate their members following auditors' failure to detect widescale DIRT evasion in the 1980s and 1990s. CPA says the proposed board is too interventionist, while ICAI claims it would create one of the toughest regulatory regimes in the world. Having similar views on a host of issues should help in the talks but a merger will only be agreed if the members of each institute vote to endorse a get-together. And the talks are likely to take some time to complete.
Flexibility appears to be an apt theme for ICAI's next annual conference, though some critics of the role of auditors could suggest it is unfortunate as too much flexibility was responsible for the non-detection of DIRT liabilities. There is no doubt that the crab is a flexible creature. It can move forward, and sideways quickly. However, it also has the ability to reverse quickly. The accountancy profession in its quest for rationalisation is peppered with reversals. It is in the interests of both bodies that this bogey is broken.
