Everyone knows that ACCA’s in-house magazine ‘Accounting & Business’ is poor value for money. It contains plenty of photos of the self-appointed leadership but little news and analysis of substance. The magazine is heavily censored and does not contain any critical comments on the ACCA’s governance and lack of democracy.

The ICAEW’s magazine Accountancy makes a profit for the Institute. So much so that it recently sold the magazine for a multi-million profit. If ACCA provided a decent product, it might also be read and might also break-even or possible make a profit. Most people rarely read it, a fact that must worry the few advertisers who advertise in it. Yet ACCA members’ monies are forced to subsidise the magazine.

In contrast, during 2001, ACCA members subsidised the magazine to the tune of £758,000 (the subsidy for 2000 was also £758,000). For the four years of its existence, the magazine has received a subsidy of nearly £3 million, another way the ACCA management picks members’ pockets.