Merger plans add up for accountancy bodies

Published on Tuesday 14 September 2004 12:04

THREE of the UK’s leading accountancy bodies have announced plans to merge.

The proposals would bring together the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales to create an organisation with 200,000 members and a large student base.

The new body would unify the business, practice and public sectors and aims to become the authoritative voice across the accountancy profession.

In a joint statement, the three bodies said: "Government and industry need a single overarching body with whom they can engage. A strategic amalgamation of the type proposed will produce a powerful new organisation working in the public interest with an unrivalled breadth and depth of technical expertise, enabling powerful thought leadership on business, professional and regulatory issues, as well as the highest professional standards.

"It will also mean enhanced status and a more powerful resource for members, as the benefits of consolidation are unlocked, leading to improved support as well as stronger national and international influence."

Existing members of all three bodies will be entitled to keep their current designatory letters and titles. Individual routes to qualification will be preserved during the post-consolidation transition, the groups said.

Resolutions are expected to be put to the members of all three bodies in early to mid-2005. If members agree, permission will then be sought for a new Royal Charter.

Meanwhile Des Hudson, the former chief executive of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants who left before taking his role on officially, has joined the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland in the same capacity.

Mr Hudson left the ACCA in September last year just days before he was due to officially take over from the then incumbent, Anthea Rose.