The CPAA recently held its Annual General Meeting at the Bolton Wanderers Stadium. The team’s motto is ‘Supera Moras’ meaning to ‘Overcome Delays’, which fits the theme of our meeting well, given that this was an opportunity to focus on new developments within the organisation, some exciting changes afoot, and our aims for the year ahead.
It was a really successful meeting; all motions on the ballot passed, the turnout was 22.4%, and it was good to meet existing and new members. For those unable to attend, or those keen for a recap, below is a summary of the discussions and decisions made at the 2023 AGM.
Changes to our board
Firstly, we must extend our thanks to Gordon Spence and David Jackson who have retired from representing the CPAA at board level. At the beginning of this year, Gordon decided to retire from practice and his CPAA role, having been a part of the organisation since 1998, playing an integral role in shaping the Scottish branch and the Association as a whole. We are most grateful to Gordon and David for their service and support – and we are sure our members extend the same gratitude.
Secondly, a warm welcome to Cathy Lee and Harpreet Sohal, who have been elected as our new Trustees and board members. Harpreet was co-opted earlier this year and was re-elected at the AGM. She said of her appointment, “I’m looking forward to joining the existing Trustees to help develop the Association. It’s a particularly existing time to join the board as CPAA starts its rebrand and looks to grow its recognition within the sector.”
New look and feel
As part of our efforts to grow the CPAA, we have adopted a new brand and logo. The former design was over a decade old and needed to visually represent today’s CPAA in a fresher and more modern manner. We have been phasing in the use of the new logo this year in our marketing, and members will receive an email with details on how to access the new logo. We would ask you to use this logo within your practice documents and websites and replace the old logo.
Our new website is set to launch and the Association is excited at its potential, and hope you will be too. The previous site had been operational since 2016 and needed a refresh. The new website will be home to new and up-to-date content, and look and feel more reflective of the modern, professional and approachable organisation that we are. We are completing the final steps to set the website live and ensure it functions as it should, and will share further details on email soon.
Education and knowledge
Committed to raising and maintaining professional standards, at the AGM we announced the development of a Level 5 qualification next year. This will supplement our Level 3 and 4 qualifications, and it will be a practical focused qualification. We will bring you up to speed with all of the details as we develop this new qualification.
Not content with delivering a new CPAA website, we will also launch a new CPAA dedicated news website (www.cpaanews.com). This will replace our quarterly Practising Accountant magazine with more timely articles that will hopefully become an informative and important resource.
CPAA is also redeveloping its AML support product for members. This is different to AMLCC and consists of a guide, along with a large collection of templates that members can access and adapt to their practice. This new offering is designed to help members develop and maintain robust compliance systems.
All eyes on the future
Our accounts reflect healthy finances and show that the CPAA is in good shape for future investment in marketing, education, CPD and general recognition. All of these areas will help serve our members well and help future-proof the Association by enhancing our reputation and attracting new members so that we can continue to grow and thrive.
We will continue to act in the best interest of our members, working proactively to collaborate with UK government agencies, regulators, lenders, business, employers and other professional accountancy bodies – with the intention of engaging, informing and influencing. Examples of this currently include our involvement HMRC’s review of regulating the accountancy profession and our response to the consultation on AML reform. We continue to attend Agent Support Group meetings and welcome any issues that members would like us to raise with HMRC and other professional bodies – please get in touch.