21 February 2002
CIMA today welcomed the Accountancy Foundation’s publication of 'Protecting the public interest' as a timely and positive contribution to the debate about how best to secure and maintain public confidence in the accountancy profession.
Charles Tilley, CIMA Chief Executive, said: 'It is healthy to see a debate about what constitutes the public interest at the early stages of independent regulation of the accountancy profession. Public confidence is vital and CIMA is committed to developing public understanding of the role of the accountancy profession.'
He added: 'We look forward to working within the new regulatory structure. We shall now be responding to the consultation document on behalf of our members and in due course, this response will be in the public domain. We welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate at a time of heightened interest in the profession.'
Regarding the debate about the independence of auditors, Charles Tilley added: 'Chartered Management Accountants hold senior positions in global business. Whilst not part of the 'auditing profession', they are the prime customers of those offering audit services. As such, CIMA is keen to review the issues surrounding the independence of auditors and is forming a working party to make recommendations by early summer.'
CIMA also welcomes the imminent production of baseline data about the profession, which will be built in to the work of the Foundation and used by the professional bodies.
He added: 'It is right and proper that the public should have an accurate profile of the profession, and trends and developments will inform the work of the Foundation. CIMA is committed to monitoring and improving equality of access to, and the delivery of services from, the accounting profession.'
In the area of continuing professional development, Tilley said: 'Practitioners need to be up to date, and need to be able to prove that they are up to date. CIMA has ambitious plans to develop both policies and products in this area. Above all, we will be working collaboratively with other UK professional bodies to ensure that we make sound, evidence-based decisions and set broad-based principles that operate throughout the profession. This is vital to ensure that customers of the profession are assured of the highest standards in the delivery of services.'
If you would like more information please contact Lottie Muir
Phone: +44 (0)208 849 2407
Email: lottie.muir@cimaglobal.com
