Entitled to protection?

摘要

I recently led a sub-committee of district society council members in a project to identify the key concerns of members both in business and in practice. Unsurprisingly, one of the biggest concerns of smaller practitioners was that unqualified accountants should be able to use the term 'accountant' and practise without having undertaken any of the training or professional development that is usually expected of those in a profession. We need to get movement on this issue and I was pleased to see that institute CEO Michael Izza has it firmly on the radar of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB). It was also good to hear that recent developments in Ireland may well lead to a new precedent we can use with the government to get this issue back on the table (see Accountancy, September, p100).