EGM - CAN ACCA REALLY JUSTIFY ITS CLAIMS OF "MISREPRESENTATION"

ACCA has claimed that the EGM requisition is based on.misrepresentations

The President writes, "It is important to correct the errors in the statement" "Ihere are too many inaccuracies for it to be possible to deal with all of them".

It we couple these high standards with the President's own Internal Auditor background we would expect there to be absolute clarity and transparency. We would also expert any rebuttal to be on matters of substance.

We felt that members should be given factual data to decide for themselves who is responsible for the misrepresentations and indeed whether ACCA:s response has concentrated on errors of substances

TEST OF ACCURACY TO BE CONSIDERED BY ACCA's MEMBERS

A simple statement on the motion was that "Two thirds of the current council have less than three years experience".

ACCA Council's  response is that "half of the current members of Council (not two thirds as suggested) have been members for less than three years". So even by this account half of the Council is emasculated and inexperienced.

So let us look at the evidence at the end of November 1999 (the date when the reformers were asked to send their statement to ACCA).

EVIDENCE

ACCA should have 36 council mmebers. But Tony Cruse resigned in disgust and Robert Jackson ws disciplined, leaving a total of 34. The average period of their stay on council is computed as follows:

17 (50%) have a total service of 24.5 years - average       1.44 years

22 (two thirds) total service of 46 years - average            2.09 years

For further analysis - see below.

The substance is ACCA'S claim to have a broadly based Council with a balance of skills.
Sadly this does not appear to stand up to close scrutiny:

Despite the wealth of experience Council have appointed two retired persons as Deputy (Moyra Kedslie) and Vice President (George Auger). They will not carry the prestige and current experience so important when they meet their opposite numbers from other accountancy bodies.

ACCA cannot identify Couricil Members "who were considered suitable candidates for IFAC' Whether or not sponsored by ACCA the choice of such persons is certainly a benchmark of quality

                                                                    TIME ON COUNCIL
                                                                    AT NOV 1999
Joined Council May 1999

ANDREWS                                                    6 MONTHS
FINCH                                                           6 MONTHS
FORSTER                                                     6 MONTHS
GOLD                                                           6 MONTHS
WONG                                                          6 MONTHS

Total time on Council                            2.5 years

Joined Council May 1998
BAILEY                                                        18 MONTHS
GUNAMAL                                                   18 MONTHS
KANKHWENDE                                           18 MONTHS
LEUNG                                                         18 MONTHS
MAIN                                                            18 MONTHS
SMITH                                                          18 MONTHS
TAYLOR                                                       18 MONTHS
YEATES                                                       18 MONTHS

TOTAL TIME ON COUNCIL             12 YEARS
 
Joined Council May 1997
BRACE                                                        30 MONTHS
CHAN                                                          30 MONTHS
KERR                                                          30 MONTHS
SAMUELS                                                   30 MONTHS

TOTAL TIME ON COUNCIL         10 YEARS

Joined Council May 1996
KEDSLIE (DEPUTY PRESIDENT)            42 MONTHS
MADDEN                                                   42 MONTHS
SOON                                                        42 MONTHS

TOTAL TIME ON COUNCIL 10.5 YEARS
 

Joined Council May 1995
NONE

Joined Council May 1994
AUGER (VICE-PRESIDENT)                    66 MONTHS
BROCKWELL (PRESIDENT)                    66 MONTHS

TOTAL TIME ON COUNCIL 11 YEARS

FOR RELATED STORIES SEE

Race for ACCA Vice-Presidentship (5 October 1999)
ACCA'S CUPBOARD IS BARE (3 October 1999)