Icas chief enjoys 10% pay rise as membership grows

Icas chief Anton Colella is targeting global growth

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (Icas), which marks its 160th anniversary this year, said member numbers had risen by 26 per cent over the past decade. Half of those on its books are based overseas.

Anton Colella, who has been chief executive since October 2006, received a total remuneration of £353,000 for 2013, up from £319,000 the previous year. He was awarded an annual bonus of £55,000 on top of his basic salary, which swelled almost 14 per cent to £250,000.

Excluding Colella’s package, total executive pay at the Edinburgh-based organisation grew 9.6 per cent to £798,000.

Icas, formed by Royal Charter in 1854, employs about 140 people and accounts published yesterday showed pre-tax profits at the body fell 11.6 per cent to £1.25 million last year.

Colella said: “While we proudly hold on to our Scottish heritage, we increasingly see Icas making more and more of an impression on the global profession of accountancy. While the growth in membership helps strengthen the sustainability of Icas, our focus is not on becoming the biggest professional body in the world, but our ambition is to become the best.”

The organisation also said that president Brendan Nelson, the former global chairman for financial services at accounting giant KPMG, will hand over the reins later this month to his deputy, Jann Brown. She is another KPMG veteran and joined the board of Edinburgh-based oil explorer Cairn Energy as finance director in 2006, becoming managing director and chief financial officer three years ago.

Nelson, who is also a non- executive at oil major BP and Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “I have every confidence that Jann will continue the momentum that has been built up in recent years and we will further strengthen and enhance Icas’s image and reputation both nationally and internationally.”