North East Young Chartered Accountants' Group

Business confidence remains in negative territory but there is ground for modest optimism

The latest ICAEW UK Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) shows that while business confidence remains in negative territory there is ground for modest optimism as sales and profit growth show some improvement.

Key findings this quarter

• The Confidence Index improves but remains negative, up from -8 in Q3 to -3.4 this quarter.
• Overall sales growth remains steady but slow. Export sales growth is still weak though gently improving.
• A slowdown in input price inflation and moderation in wage growth are generating modest improvements in profits.
• Employment continues to grow, backed by similar modest increases in spending on staff development.
• Low levels of business confidence and high levels of spare capacity are holding down significant increases in investment.
• Regulatory requirements and the availability of non-management skills are presenting increasing challenges to businesses

Join us for our BCM Breakfast Briefing with Bank of England on 6 December 2017

Join us on 6 December 2017 in Newcastle to hear more from Keith Proudfoot, ICAEW Director on the latest ICAEW BCM findings and an “off the record” update from the Bank of England.

Our breakfast briefing will provide an overview of business confidence and the latest economic forecasts can provide valuable insights into how a rapidly changing economy is affecting business in the North East and the rest of the UK.

Presentations will be followed by discussions of the findings and implications for businesses. As well as answering questions, presenters will be keen to hear your views about business conditions in your area.

Buisness confidence – Keith Proudfoot, ICAEW Regional Director will talk about the latest findings from the quarterly ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) will give an indication of the overall direction of the economy, what is driving change and highlights the key concerns of UK.

The UK economy – Mauricio Armellini, Bank of England Agent for North East will then provide an ‘off-the-record’ update on the current economic climate based on the Bank of England’s latest forecasts. This session will examine the most recent economic data as well as the prospects for growth and inflation over the near-term.

Breakfast will be available from 07:45hrs, the presentation and discussion will commence at 08:00hrs.

Pre-booking is required to attend – read more details and book your place on the BCM Breakfast Briefing with Bank of England here.

The view on Q4 BCM from ICAEW in London

Michael Izza, ICAEW Chief Executive, said: “While businesses are struggling to be confident in the current environment, there are reasons to be more optimistic. Businesses are controlling costs and there is finally some improvement, though small, in export sales growth.

The IT, Construction and Business Services sector are all modestly positive. Even the retail sector has seen an improvement in confidence – albeit still in negative territory.

These findings highlight the cliff edge that the UK economy is on at the moment. The recent interest rate rise was not unexpected but any sudden shocks from the Chancellor at the Autumn Budget could have a serious impact.

Businesses to some extent know that uncertainty is to be expected due to Brexit but they must again see good reason to invest in technology, training and development, as well as new products and services to help drive economic growth in 2018 and beyond.”

Improvement in key financial indicators

Export sales are slowly improving with growth of 3.5% and 3.9% expected in the next 12 months as the fall in sterling finally begins to reflect in more selling.

Sales volume growth now stands at 4.4% compared to 3.7% the year before and input cost inflation has flattened off and is expected to fall to 1.7% in 2018.

Wage growth remains steady at 1.9% as companies control costs despite planning on increasing headcount by 1.8% in the year ahead.

Staff development, research and development budgets and capital investment growth have all increased moderately. Although not spectacular, the findings are more positive than previously.

Regulatory requirements and skill shortages becoming a greater challenge

Among challenges to an organisation’s performance, regulatory requirements are concerning an increasing number of companies.

This reflects various regulations introduced this year such as the Apprenticeship Levy, Gender Pay Reporting and forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The availability of non-management skills is also becoming a greater challenge than 12 months ago (24%) compared to management skills (16%), perhaps reflecting the impact of Brexit on migration.

Regional and sector variations in confidence levels

The IT(+7.8), Energy(+4.4), Construction(+3.6) and Business Services (+1.5) sectors all had positive confidence levels.

With Christmas imminent, the sentiment of the Retail sector improved from -23.4 in Q3 to -8.9 in Q4.

Regionally, confidence in Wales and the South West has rallied but London remains the most pessimistic region at -7.8. The capital has been below the UK average in all but one quarter since the EU Referendum.

Read more about BCM and download the report

You can read more about the key findings from Q4 2017 here.

And you can download the full report here – Q4 2017 ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor report.

 

 

About the ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor

The Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) survey began 2003. 1,000 ICAEW Chartered Accountants responded to a telephone survey from 2 August to 20 October 2017.

Businesses were categorised in terms of size (no. of employees), region and industry sector. Regional classification used was ONS Government Office Regions.

The BCM survey covers over 1% of economic activity both for the UK as a whole and for different UK regions. This assures our data captures accurately the mood of UK senior business professionals.

About Northern Society of Chartered Accountants

Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NorSCA) represents ICAEW members working in business and the finance profession across the North East of England, Teesside, Northern Yorkshire and Cumbria. We have been assisting businesses in the north of England and producing chartered accountants for over 130 years.

 

More

Artificial intelligence and the future of accountancy

In a recent ICAEW report Artificial intelligence and the future of accountancy, Kirstin Gillon, from ICAEW’s IT Faculty, looks at the rise of artificial intelligence, its impact on the accountancy profession and how it can be utilised by accountants.

Artificial intelligence technology

Artificial intelligence systems can be very powerful and are improving quickly. They provide outputs that can be extremely accurate, replacing and, in some cases, far superseding human efforts. However, they do not replicate human intelligence.

We need to recognise the strengths and limits of this different form of intelligence, and build understanding of the best ways for humans and computers to work together.

ICAEW has an AI ‘bot’

ICAEW has started exploring the use of artificial intelligence to improve existing services for its members and other audiences.

You can now have a conversation with the ICAEW AI assistant. It’s trained to answer questions on the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of accountancy, and can also tell you a little about ICAEW, general AI questions and about itself.

It’s in Beta mode at the moment and all interactions will help ICAEW improve its machine learning capabilities. The process of developing this bot, and the data gathered through interactions, is intended to provide increased learning and understanding in this relatively new digital platform.

Please leave feedback on your experience of ICAEW’s AI assistant on icaew.com.

Artificial intelligence and accountancy

Although artificial intelligence techniques such as machine learning are not new, and the pace of change is fast, widespread adoption in business and accounting is still in early stages. To build a positive vision of the future, we need to develop a deep understanding of how artificial intelligence can solve accounting and business problems, the practical challenges and the skills accountants need to work alongside intelligent systems.

ICAEW has long-standing expertise in technology-related issues, drawing on the experience across many aspects of business, finance and accounting, and will focus on building understanding of the practical use of artificial intelligence across business and accounting activities today and in the near future.

Watch the recording of IT Faculty’s event Artificial intelligence – what does it mean for the future of accountancy?, in which artificial intelligence expert Professor Moshe Vardi discusses the growth of artificial intelligence and its impact on the accounting profession.

Download the full report

You can download the full report on artificial intelligence and the future of accountancy here.

You can read more about AI on icaew.com.

About Northern Society of Chartered Accountants

Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NorSCA) represents ICAEW members working in business and the finance profession across the North East of England, Teesside, Northern Yorkshire and Cumbria. We have been assisting businesses in the north of England and producing chartered accountants for over 130 years.

More

TSCA Netwalking

Join TSCA for a 5 mile ‘walk whilst you talk’ in our first Netwalking event.

Hopefully the late British Summer will be kind to us, as we enjoy the views from the Osmotherly/Swainby circular walk, whilst conserving enough energy to relax and network with fellow ICAEW members, and let’s not forget the option of a cold beverage after we finish the route.

Join TSCA members, friends and family for a social walk followed by some refreshments.

Walkers should wear/bring appropriate clothing (cool / warm / waterproof) it is British summertime so anything could happen.

We also intend, for those walkers who are interested, to have a drink together after the walk at the Black Horse, Swainby. If you would like to stay on for some food please book a table directly with the Black Horse itself on +44 (0) 1642 700 436 and indicate when you are booking that you are with the accountants walking group.

Registration is from 16:00 for the walk to start at 16:15.

Cost

The event is free to attend but pre-booking is requried to secure your place.

Bookings close 12 September 2017
Event enquiries
Contact: Jerome Bury

    01642 660 300
    [email protected]

More

CABA returning to the North

Following on from the hugely successful CABA seminar that was held in Newcastle in December 2015, CABA will once again be returning to the region on 27 July 2016. Lucy Whitehall will present a seminar on “An Introduction to Mindfulness”

What is the course about?

Mindfulness is everywhere at the moment but is it as good as its positive press?

During this session you’ll explore the concept of mindfulness and how using it can enable you to become more aware of your thoughts and feelings so that instead of being overwhelmed by them, you’re better able to manage them. You’ll examine the foundations of mindfulness, the empirical evidence behind it and its many applications in everyday life. You’ll also have the opportunity to try out a number of mindfulness strategies and with regular practice you’ll be able to:

• Improve your mental and physical health
• Manage stress
• Enhance wellbeing
• Reduce anxiety
• Increase emotional intelligence
• Improve mental clarity and focus
• Reduce emotional reactivity
• Improve relationships at home and at work

What will you get out of it?

This course will enable you to understand how mindfulness techniques can improve your ability to cope with stress in the workplace or at home, manage anxiety or depression or improve your concentration, energy levels and enjoyment of life.

After completing this course you will be able to

• Identify and define what mindfulness is and isn’t
• Recognise how practicing mindfulness can make positive changes to the way our brain works
• Identify the empirically supported benefits of mindfulness
• Utilise mindfulness to reduce stress, increase wellbeing , manage emotions and enhance performance
• Recognise how mindfulness can be incorporated into everyday simple activities
• Identify mindfulness practices for personal issues that you’d like to work on
• Create a mindfulness action plan

About the speaker

Lucy is an expert HR Consultant, combining a wealth of experience in employee wellbeing, HR projects, HR business partnering and employee engagement environments. With extensive knowledge of PMI, Occupational Health and employee assistance programmes, Lucy provides advice and consultation to HR Directors, CEOs and Boards on best practice employee wellbeing and engagement methodologies and techniques. Lucy delivers inspiring training and specialises in Mindfulness, Resilience, Emotional Intelligence and other aspects of personal effectiveness, her coaching style of delivery encourages confidence and creates an animated, open and honest training environment that delegates feel secure in. Lucy has a special interest in business psychology and neuroscience and is dedicated to a holistic approach to personal wellbeing.

Booking

To book your place, visit our events page. Places are limited and allocated on a first come first served basis for members of NEYCAG and NCASS. There is no charge for this event.

About CABA

Chartered Accountants’ Benevolent Association (CABA) provides advice and practical support to current and former ICAEW chartered accountants and their families.

For further information about CABA, visit caba.org.uk For more information about courses, visit caba.org.uk/courses

For advice and information call 01788 556 366 or chat to an advisor online 24 hours a day. CABA provides a 24 hour UK helpline for counselling and legal advice. Should you require this, please call 0800 107 6163.

About NEYCAG and Northern Society

NEYCAG is the North East Young Chartered Accountants’ Group part of the Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NorSCA) which represents 4,000 ICAEW members and ACA students working in business and the finance profession across the North East of England, Teesside, northern Yorkshire and Cumbria. We have been assisting businesses in the north of England and producing chartered accountants for over 130 years. Our members are part of a worldwide network of 144,000 ICAEW Chartered Accountants who help people do business with confidence.

More

NEYCAG and NCASS Bowling Evening

NEYCAG and NCASS held a joint bowling evening at Lane 7 on 9th March.

The event allowed students and recently qualified chartered accountants to network in an informal environment.

Dawn O’Neill of E&Y Newcastle said “I had a lovely evening at the NCASS/NEYCAG bowling event. Though my team may have been disappointed by my bowling ability, it was a great opportunity to do some informal networking and it would be brilliant to see even more new faces at similar events in the future.”

NEYCAG and NCASS would like to thank Michael Page for supporting the event.

 

 

About NCASS and NEYCAG

NCASS (Northern Chartered Accountant Students’ Society) is the official body that represents ACA students under ICAEW training contracts in the Northern Society area in the North East of England and Cumbria. We have been supporting student chartered accountants across northern England since 1896.
The society is run by ACA student volunteers for ACA students and, space permitting, new committee members are always welcome.

NEYCAG is the North East Young Chartered Accountants’ Group part of the Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NorSCA) which represents 4,000 ICAEW members and ACA students working in business and the finance profession across the North East of England, Teesside, northern Yorkshire and Cumbria. We have been assisting businesses in the north of England and producing chartered accountants for over 130 years. Our members are part of a worldwide network of 144,000 ICAEW Chartered Accountants who help people do business with confidence.

 

More

How to develop your personal brand

NCASS and NEYCAG hosted their first joint event for the year on Wednesday 9th December. This was an event with CABA and guest speaker Meg Burton who provided an insight on “How to develop your personal brand”; what can you do now to stand out from the crowd?!

“I thoroughly enjoyed the seminar hosted by NCASS and took a lot of valuable insight from it. I have started using many of the tools gained to aid in developing my personal brand.” – Marc Breeze, Tait Walker
The event was followed by a chicken wing challenge of which was very intense but the spice levels were kept to a minimal!

Sound like something you would have liked to attend? We are in the process of organizing another event with CABA in the New Year so stay tuned!

About NEYCAG and Northern Society

NEYCAG is the North East Young Chartered Accountants’ Group part of the Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NorSCA) which represents 4,000 ICAEW members and ACA students working in business and the finance profession across the North East of England, Teesside, northern Yorkshire and Cumbria. We have been assisting businesses in the north of England and producing chartered accountants for over 130 years. Our members are part of a worldwide network of 144,000 ICAEW Chartered Accountants who help people do business with confidence.

 

More

New UK GAAP – six tips for helping your clients negotiate the new regime

Stephanie Henshaw, Chair of the ICAEW Financial Reporting Faculty Board and technical partner at Francis Clark will highlight some practical issues about working with clients as they convert to FRS 102.

07:45     Registration and breakfast served

08:00     Welcome and Introductions

08:05     Seminar commences

09:20     Q&A

09:30     Close

Cost

This event is free to attend, but pre-booking is required.

More

Prior Pursglove College students win Teesside BASE heat

Business-savvy students from Prior Pursglove College beat off competition from 10 other local teams to win the Teesside heat of ICAEW’s National Business and Accounting competition, BASE on 25 March 2015. 

Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough impressed the judges in the heat held at Durham University’s Queen’s Campus, Stockton-on-Tees and will go on to represent the north east at the national final which takes place in Birmingham in June.

This was one of 46 heats attracting over 3,000 students in more than 500 competing teams nationwide.

BASE links schools, students and employers to develop employability skills and provide an insight into what a career in accountancy, business and finance might be like.

Assuming the role of ICAEW Chartered Accountants, the students had 2 hours to analyse a business situation, before presenting their ideas to a panel of top business professionals. The students completed the competition under their own direction but each team was also supported by a member of Northern Society of Chartered Accountants who acted as their mentor.

Keith Proudfoot, ICAEW Regional Director Northern & Scotland, said: “We were really impressed with the team’s performance and shrewd thinking. These budding business advisers looked beyond the numbers, and demonstrated an excellent instinct for business and, importantly ethics, to give well-rounded advice. I suspect I’ll be seeing more of these young people in leading roles in the future.”

Head judge Rob Tindle, Deputy President from Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NorSCA) said: “In the presentations we looked for the ethical and financial data to support the decisions. Prior Pursglove College showed excellent teamwork and role allocation in delivering a very comprehensive recommendation. The team from Northallerton College were the runners up and all teams can be rightly proud of their achievements in dealing with a very challenging business challenge.”

The BASE competition was supported by local firms including Anderson Barrowcliff LLP, Evolution LLP, National Audit Office, PD Ports, ICAEW and Tindle’s Chartered Accountants who provided professional mentors and judges.

For further information about BASE and how to participate please visit icaew.com/base.

About Northern Society

Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NorSCA) represents ICAEW members working in business and the finance profession across the North East of England, Teesside, Northern Yorkshire and Cumbria. We have been assisting businesses in the north of England and producing chartered accountants for over 130 years.

More

Northern Society Graduation & Prize-giving Event 2015

We look forward to recognising the success of all Northern Society ACA students who became exam qualified during 2014 in our annual Graduation and Prize-giving Event on Saturday 18 April 2015. The graduation event in King’s Hall, Newcastle University will be hosted by Andrew Jackson, President of Northern Society and we are delighted that we will be joined by Arthur Bailey, ICAEW President.and Geoff Ford MBE, Chairman of Ford Aerospace.

Our newly passed and prize-giving ceremony is one of the largest events for successful ICAEW students and has proved very popular in the past.

Students who have won exam prizes and those students who became exam-qualified during 2014 will be invited to attend the event with up to 3 guests. The pass list for the November 2014 Advanced Stage exams has recently been published – congratulations to all successful students.

ICAEW registered students in the Northern Society area who became exam qualified during 2014 will be contacted by email with full details. In order to secure your place, please respond to the email and RSVP to Joanne Lucking [email protected] as soon as possible. Joanne will also be able to assist should you need further information.

Northern Society of Chartered Accountants would like to thank CABA, CAPET and Newcastle University Business School for their kind support for the graduation event.

About Northern Society

The Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NorSCA) represents ICAEW members working in business and the finance profession across the North East of England, Teesside, Northern Yorkshire and Cumbria. We have been assisting businesses in the north of England and producing chartered accountants for over 130 years.

More

Former NCASS Chair talks about ICAEW Council

John Howarth, currently Chair of ICAEW Student Council, explains the benefits of members nominating themselves for election to ICAEW Council in 2015.

John is a member of Northern Society of Chartered Accountants and a past chairman of NCASS (Northern Chartered Accountant Students’ Society) and he works for the Teesside firm Anderson Barrowcliff.

John is one of the current ICAEW Council members who are featured in a short film titled ‘Why you should stand for Council’.  They talk about the importance of their role on Council and what they have got out of it on a professional and personal level.

Whilst there is no election in the Northern constituency in 2015, ICAEW members in other constituencies across the country are being urged to help shape the future of the profession by standing for ICAEW Council in the 2015 elections.

Find out more at www.icaew.com/councilelections2015

---

About ICAEW Council

The Council is ICAEW’s supreme governing body, responsible for oversight of its activities. Council agrees ICAEW’s strategy and budget, delegating day to day operation to committees and staff.
The majority of Council is elected by ICAEW members, supplemented by co-opted and ex officio members. This is to ensure that Council represents the main sectors and interests of the whole membership.
You can find out more about ICAEW governance on icaew.com.

About ICAEW Student Council

ICAEW Student Council (ISC) is the leading body for students studying the ACA. It brings together student representatives from around the world, providing a voice and a feedback mechanism for you and your thousands of fellow training students. You can find out more in the ICAEW Student Council page.

---

About Northern Society of Chartered Accountants

The Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NorSCA) represents ICAEW members working in business and the finance profession across the North East of England, Teesside, Northern Yorkshire and Cumbria. We have been assisting businesses in the north of England and producing chartered accountants for over 130 years.

More

News

Events