SUPPORT RESOLUTION 8

Rather than removing the censorship of the in-house magazine or creating internet bulletin boards to enable members to express their views and call the leadership to account, some in the ACCA hierarchy have actively encouraged two motions that will silence members. Both resolution seek to prevent any EGMs. EGMs are only called when members are unable to call the leadership to account.

Resolution 6 calls An increase in the EGM threshold to 0.5% of the membership. At the 1999 figures this will need signatures of 360 members. Resolution 7 calls for an increase in the EGM threshold to 1% of the membership.

Now let us look at the facts.

ACCA claims that it has 72,000 members in 140 countries. What it does not tell members is that only 10 countries have more than 500 members. ACCA's presence in mainly in the UK, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the West Indies (a collection of 20 Islands). More than 120 countries have 100 or less ACCA members. ACCA officials are thwarting the debate by concealing the global composition of membership.

So what are these members to do when they have a grievance? Is it fair that ACCA  members cannot requisition an EGM when all ACCA mmebers in a country sign for it?

In addition,  how many people in the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia (all with major ACCA membership) know 720 ACCA members?

Cost is always raised by anyone seeking to silence ACCA members. The most expensive EGM was called in 1995 by ACCA council to abandon the ACCA name. It cost £600,000 and was a failure. Eventually, under pressure from UK MPs, the Privy Council refused to grant the ACCA application for name change.

The leadership complains about costs but it had no difficulty in wasting

• £300,000 on a hostile take-over of CIMA and CIPFA.
• £15 million since 1979 on the membership of the Joint Disciplinary Scheme (JDS) even though hardly any ACCA member has been subjected to its operations.
• £200,000 wasted on television programme making.
• £50,000 per annum spent by taking officeholders' spouses on overseas travels. There are also many other cases of waste explained on this web site.

Resolutions 6 and 7 will only succeed in disenfranchising members. They will not constrain the leadership. They will send a signal that the non-UK members are not to be permitted to air their views. They will sow the seeds which will eventually result in the break-up of the Association.

SUPPORT RESOLUTION 8

VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTION 6 AND 7