Institutes - Temp head for ICA members

The English ICA has appointed a temporary head of one its key directorates as it continues to struggle to fill key posts in the secretariat.

Michael Hockney, a non-accountant marketing and communications expert, has been appointed acting director of the new members directorate on a six-month contract. The institute has spent more than six months searching for a head for the directorate which is the key to its efforts to get closer to members.

Speaking to Accountancy Age in May, English ICA president Dame Sheila Masters described the post as a ‘key appointment’ and said the institute would not make an appointment ‘just for the sake of it’. Hockney’s arrival will ease the pressure on secretary-general John Collier who has been shouldering responsibility for the new directorate in addition to his normal duties.

The institute said Hockney’s appointment reflected the need to ‘complete the team of executive directors to take forward the development of the new strategy’. Vacancies still exist for the four heads of technical, member liaison, faculties and member services, who will all report to Hockney.

Hockney has spent the last four years as a management consultant to the army, advising on issues as diverse as recruitment and communications.

He has also worked for the Home Office, Channel Four and Christian Aid.

Two other non-accountants have already been appointed as directors of its new professional standards and education and training directorates.