The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has, in response to web page 8 of its 2022 annual report that has simply been revealed, 166,397 members. I’m one in every of them and have been for 40 years now.

That is the revenue assertion from the annual report:

The road I’ve highlighted is the one I need to focus on.

As I’ve talked about earlier than on this web site, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales receives the fines paid by its members and corporations underneath what known as the Monetary Reporting Council Accountancy Scheme, about which it says:

The FRC will begin an investigation right into a Member or a Member Agency if:

• the case raises or seems to boost necessary points affecting the general public curiosity within the UK; and
• there are affordable grounds to suspect that there might have been Misconduct.

The choice to analyze is made by the Board or its Conduct Committee. Public curiosity issues as as to if to begin an investigation embody (however will not be restricted to):

• the affect on a big variety of folks within the UK;
• the loss / potential lack of vital sums of cash;
• whether or not the conduct undermines confidence in monetary reporting or company governance within the UK.

In different phrases, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales earnings from fines on its most wayward members whose work is more likely to have introduced the occupation into disrepute. In 2022 its complete internet revenue got here from this supply. And every member benefitted by £89 consequently.

I’ve beforehand requested the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales concerning the ethics of this association and so they have by no means given me an enough reply.

So, I ask once more, why ought to chartered accountants profit from the prices that their very own failings impose upon society? I want I might reply that. I believe that nobody can fairly achieve this.

Replace at 16.30 on 27 April 2023:

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has responded to this weblog submit, saying:

Till fairly just lately, many audit-related investigations undertaken by the FRC had been funded by the mechanism set out within the Accountancy Scheme established by the regulator in 2004. Any cash acquired by ICAEW from fines levied by the FRC in circumstances carried out underneath this association has not been used to offset our operational expenditure however has been allotted to our strategic reserves and it helps our wider dedication to serve the general public curiosity, as required by the phrases of our Royal Constitution.

Audit-related investigations by the FRC at the moment are normally carried out underneath its Audit Enforcement Process, launched in 2016, by which all fines move to HM Treasury.

I’ve issues about this assertion however to discover the problems that they provide rise to I want entry to an archive of their accounts, which does (reasonably oddly) not appear to be out there on their web site. I’ve requested information and I’m assured I can be equipped with it. I’ll withhold additional remark till then.