North East Young Chartered Accountants' Group

Karen’s new year message to members 4 February 2018

The following is an extract from Karen Muir’s new year message to members as published in NorSCA News. Karen is President of Northern Society of Chartered Accountants.

Karen Muir, President of Northern Society of Chartered Accountants

My year as President seems to be racing by, I am just over half way through and I am really enjoying my term of office.

Thanks to everyone who attended the Northern Society Business and Awards Dinner in October. I hope you all enjoyed it, especially our guest speaker Steph McGovern.

DSOH Conference

I attended the District Society Office Holders’ Conference in September where ICAEW outlined their current priorities.

These include:-
• Brexit – where the ICAEW is looking at ways of promoting trade and investment, supporting best international practice, reducing uncertainty and providing support to members and students;
• VAT simplification – how can the regulatory burden for members and the businesses they advise be reduced;
• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – compliance with new rules when they come into force in May 2018. Members need to evaluate whether their existing practices and procedures (and those of their clients) will meet the new standards and plan how they will address any shortcomings. There is a lot of useful information and guidance on the ICAEW website to help members prepare for this.

There is currently a Members Working Party looking at District Societies and their role in the 21st Century and how they can work more collaboratively with the ICAEW to help deliver services to members. A large part of the conference included breakout sessions where these issues were discussed with fellow office holders and the results fed back to Fiona Wilkinson (ICAEW Vice President) who is leading on this work.

There is a further DSOH conference in February where hopefully we will be brought up to date with the results of the review the Members Working Party is undertaking.

Wide range of events across Northern Society

One thing I have discovered whilst attending conferences and events with my fellow District Society Presidents is that the Northern Society is one of the more active societies in the country engaging with local members through all stages of their professional lives.

This is due to all the volunteers and members of the various committees across our region, from the students’ societies and branch committees to the retired members group.

We are always looking for ways in which we can support our members so please don’t hesitate to contact any of the officers of NorSCA and the various committees if there is something you would like to see us organise in your area.

ICAEW Director retires, we await ICAEW announcing replacement

Finally, after 17 years, our ICAEW Regional Director Keith Proudfoot retired at the end of the year.

The recruitment process for his replacement is underway but I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank him for all of the work he has done for Northern Society, our members and our business communities over the years.

I am also delighted that Keith has assumed the office of Vice President of Northern Society of Chartered Accountants. Welcome to the NorSCA Presidential Team Keith!

Karen Muir
President

About Northern Society of Chartered Accountants

Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NorSCA) 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.

Members of the Northern Society of Chartered Accountants are ICAEW Chartered Accountants. ICAEW is a world leading professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports more than 147,000 members worldwide.

As leaders in accountancy, finance and business our members have the knowledge, skills and commitment to maintain the highest professional standards and integrity. Together we contribute to the success of individuals, organisations, communities and economies around the world.