What is the value of
ACCA qualifications? Anyone looking at the finance directorships of
major UK companies will find that barely 1 or 2 of the top 200
positions are held by ACCA members. Many capable members are held back
from earning a decent salary because of the negative policies pursued
by the leadership.
Of course, the
Association could address this by appointing ACCA members to top jobs
within the Association. But that has not happened. In recent years, the
number of ACCA directors has mushroomed to about 15. They earn over
£100,000 each year with lavish travel, expenses and pensions. But
most of them do not hold ACCA qualifications. Some have never sat ACCA
exams but have been simply given ACCA qualifications and letters.
Remember how previous ACCA chief executive Anthea Rose, without ACCA
qualification, received salary of over £200,000 and has now
retired on a pension of £124,000.
By not appointing
ACCA members to top jobs, the leadership is effectively saying to the
outside world that ACCA itself does not value its own qualifications.
The qualifications are so bad that out of a membership of 105,000
they can't find any ACCA member suitable for the top ACCA jobs. Whist
the leadership shows contempt for ACCA qualifications, why should
anyone else give a top job to any ACCA member? Is it any wonder that
many ACCA members are stuck in comparatively poorly paid jobs. Over at
the ICAEW, the chief executive has an ICAEW qualification and so do
most of the directors.
At the 2005 AGM, AABA
Director Prem Sikka asked the President and Chief Executive to explain
the failures to appoint ACCA members to top jobs. As usual, the
question was ignored.