ACCA members urged to boycott 2006 council elections

Discredit the whole process. Do not vote.

If you must vote, only vote for one candidate as multiple votes also count as votes against your favourite candidate and strengthen the proxy votes cast by officeholders.

By now ACCA members  would have received the ballot papers for the 2006 council elections. There is not a single candidate worth voting for as none sets out any programme of reforms. ACCA is living in dark ages. The best thing to do is to discredit the current rulers by refusing to participate in the sham democracy.

SHOW YOUR ANGER. DO NOT VOTE FOR COUNCIL ELECTIONS

• ACCA members are not allowed to directly elect officeholders.

• The unelected council has imposed 'costs' on all members. The CPD farce is a good example. Since the early 1990s, members in practice have been required to undertake CPD, which is an easy money maker for ACCA as it runs courses. These courses are poor value for money. CPD courses do not produce reflective practitioners. ACCA members involved in scandals have attended CPD courses. They hardly produced reflective practitioners. Now all members, even retired ones earning small amounts to supplement their pensions, have to undertake CPD. Members not doing accountancy work also have to undertake CPD to update their accounting knowledge. ACCA bureaucrats are exempt. ACCA chief executive is exempt as he is not an ACCA member. What incentives do they have to think about  the needs of ACCA members?

• In the era of one-person-one-vote, Officeholder cast hundreds of votes and effectively "appoint" council members. The cronies always get their votes. Officeholders claim to act on behalf of members but fail to disclose the names of the cronies who get their proxy votes. Even council members are not told  of this 'fix'.

• ACCA  council members have no sense of honour or integrity. At any other organisation with election turnout of 5%-8% or so all elections would be declared void. No ACCA council member has walked away from council or called for any electoral reforms. With such a continuously low turnout none have any mandate to impose 'costs' on members. They cling on to office for their own aggrandizement.

• Members cannot see minutes of council meetings.

• Fat cats have multiplied at ACCA. Members cannot vote on chief executive's salary.

• Administrators continue to multiply without any increase in services for members.

• Members' approval is not sought for any future plans. Subscriptions continue to be increased without any financial plans being put to members

• Members pockets are routinely picked to finance lavish offices and salaries.

• No internet chat room for ACCA members.

• Members are not given a List of Members.  

• Refusal to publish details of the geographical composition of its membership. Why is the rate of growth in the UK declining?

• Refusal to publish any statistics about the number of students who pass all the exams at the first or the umpteenth attempts.

• At AGMs, questions put to the leadership are rarely answered.

• The unelected leadership speaks for a lengthy time, but members are only given three minutes to speak.  "Any Other Business"  questions are not allowed.

• The official magazine is censured. It does not allow critical articles or letters but members are forced to subscribe to it. Members should boycott the magazine and demand an equivalent reduction in their fees.

• Magazine is losing more than £1 million each year. Stung by AABA disclosures ACCA no longer reveals the cost of running its useless rag.

• Hopeless policies: end of small company audits; no influence with the UK or any other government; no recognition of qualifications in North America; paying 28% of the costs of accountancy regulation in the UK even though not many ACCA members conduct audits

Discredit the whole process. Do not vote.
If you must vote, only vote for one candidate as multiple votes also count as votes against your favourite candidate and strengthen the proxy votes cast by officeholders.