Foulds lashes out at Layhe
Criticism of CIMA president's U-turn comes as CIPFA rejects three-body union. Lawrie Holmes reports
ACCA president Michael Foulds has attacked CIMA president Peter Layhe for making a U-turn on rationalisation talks.
The attack came as CIPFA rejected ACCA’s proposal for a merger between the three bodies.
Foulds criticised Layhe for pulling back from proposed rationalisation talks with ACCA and called his decision ‘disturbing and disappointing- as well as difficult to understand’. But he also urged Layhe to reconsider meeting in September. He said: ‘For my part, and that of ACCA’s council, the door to talks is very firmly open.’
Layhe wrote in an open letter to Foulds last week that ACCA misunderstood the attitude of CIMA’s own proposal for two separate bodies representing regulated and non-regulated members.
Layhe added in his letter: ‘You clearly demonstrate your unwillingness to participate on that debate in any terms other than your own. In these circumstances, I see no useful purpose in continuing this debate.’
Foulds also wrote to CIPFA president Margaret Pratt, urging ‘positive and constructive’ discussions with the focus on the ‘best interests of our members, the profession and the public’.
CIPFA said it remained positive about rationalisation, but not about ACCA’s ‘megaphone diplomacy’ tactics. A CIPFA spokesman said that less than 20% of 200 to 300 members that had responded to a letter from Pratt had expressed support for the proposals. He said a full ballot of members would be conducted in September.
David Adams, CIPFA’s chief executive said: ‘We expect our membership survey in September to confirm CIPFA members’ support for rationalisation.’