ICAEW president: We must adapt to add to our heritage

ICAEW’S new president for 2016/17, Hilary Lindsay, has pledged to focus on adaptability and inclusivity, and emphasised that to be effective and successful the profession must continually adapt.

In a keynote speech at the President’s lunch at Chartered Accountants’ Hall yesterday, Lindsay said: “We should be proud of our heritage, however as a profession we must also continually find new ways to adapt. We have to respond to the growing trend of big data, of technology taking on more of the compliance work. We need to adapt, to find new and different ways of adding value. By doing this individually and collectively, we can help shape the future of  ICAEW and add to our heritage.”

Lindsay began her career in a four-partner practice in the North-West of England. While seeking advice from ICAEW on how to start her own practice, she was recruited as a practice adviser. She eventually joined ICAEW’s commercial division and was later responsible for their district societies and member services.

She is an award-winning lecturer on finance and management for the Open University Business School.  She was President of AAT (The Association of Accounting Technicians) in 2011-12 and has been a member of ICAEW Council for over a decade.

Lindsay added: “I may not have had a typical career, but there is no such thing as a typical ICAEW chartered accountant. We all take a unique path, and I am pleased by how many different routes there now are to our qualification – the qualification is evolving to meet today’s needs. We recognise that all our 145,000 members are different, all special. However, we all share the same values, we have all bought in the same ethical code and we can all make a difference and contribute to the future of our profession.”

She is ICAEW’s second female president and will lead ICAEW until June 2017, when she will hand over to new deputy president, Nick Parker.