Speaking at his inaugural lunch, ICAEW president Arthur Bailey pointed out that  members currently advise 1.5m businesses in the UK, which is a third of all businesses, and said it was important that the profession continued to respond to changes in the way business is conducted.

Bailey highlighted two ICAEW initiatives to be launched this year. The first, which will start later this month, is a project called Tomorrow’s Practice, looking at how practice will change over the next few years. This will be followed by a focused Tax Assembly initiative to rethink tax for the 21st century.

Work on AuditFutures, the project to ensure quality and integrity across the audit profession, will continue and the institute will also be publishing its manifesto for the UK elections in 2015 based on analysis of what businesses want and need from government. 

Bailey also pledged to focus on encouraging young people of all backgrounds into chartered accountancy, after being inspired by his own start as a school-leaver in a local firm where he was mentored by senior staff.

‘Young people are the ones who are going to take this wonderful profession and the ICAEW forward. That is why I’ll be focusing on what we are doing to increase access into chartered accountancy. I’m also pleased to see chartered accountancy go back to its roots, with ICAEW offering apprenticeships and new ways to train with authorised training principals,’ Bailey said.

After qualifying in 1969, Bailey became a partner at Donald Bates & Co in Stoke, leading the firm into a merger with Bentley Jennison (now part of Baker Tilly) in 1989. A member of the ICAEW council since 1998, Bailey has held various positions at the institute. He is currently a consultant with Begbies Traynor Group and Kingston Smith and holds various non-executive director roles. 

Bailey will lead ICAEW until June 2015, when he will hand over to new deputy president, Andrew Ratcliffe. University finance lecturer, Hilary Lindsay, becomes vice president.