ICAEW celebrates 125 years of business excellence

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2005 with a broad range of activities that will roll out throughout the year.

2005 may prove to be a landmark year for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in terms of possible consolidation, but it also marks a major anniversary of one of the oldest and most respected bodies that has led the accountancy profession for well over a century.

The 125th anniversary programme has been designed to combine the Institute's more traditional public service and technical research agendas with an international dimension.

Two of the key themes of the celebrations include International Debate and Thought Leadership Research.

International Debate

With globalisation having a significant impact on the role of all professional bodies, the ICAEW is currently increasing its international influence and reputation by forging new global partnerships.

As part of the 125 programme, a series of international conferences is planned in 2005, to be held in Brussels, London, Hong Kong and New York. The meetings will focus on today's rapidly changing commercial and regulatory environments and will start with the Brussels event on 4-5 April focusing on global capital markets.

The conferences will reflect the Institute's drive towards promoting the highest quality standards in financial regulation and governance, coupled with maintaining its 'gold standard' of education and training in the international arena.

Thought Leadership Research

As a thought leader in accounting and business, the ICAEW has an enviable record of delivering high quality research for both the profession and the wider business community.

Its Centre for Business Performance is planning four new reports in the series 'Information for Better Markets' as part of the 125th anniversary programme. The reports will look at: Information for Markets and Society; Measurement in Financial Reporting; Developments in New Reporting Models; and Reporting with Integrity.

An associated conference later in the year will enable leading authorities to review the state of knowledge on issues such as corporate disclosure, the cost of capital, and sustainability reporting before an audience of accountants in practice and business, regulators, policy-makers and academic experts.

Student activities

To commemorate this very special milestone in the Institute's history, ICAEW students are also being invited to describe their vision of the business world in 2030, the Institute's 150th anniversary year. A selection of their comments will be buried in a time-capsule at Chartered Accountants' Hall in London for retrieval as part of the Institute's 150th celebrations. We invite our Malaysian ACA students to take part.

125 website

Details of all other 125th anniversary activities and key themes can be found at www.icaew.co.uk/125 which will provide regular updates about all elements of the programme.