ACCA members already get poor services whilst their fees continue to increase. AABA can reveal that ACCA will be making additional contributions to finance the new UK regulatory body, The Accountancy Foundation. At AGM's, in response to a question from Prem Sikka, ACCA's leadership said that the total cost of the regulatory system would be between £100,000 and £200,000 per annum.

AABA can now reveal that the estimated cost for the next two year would be £2.6 million and £2.7 million. This is even before the system has got off the ground - a ten fold increase. AABA believes that the actual figure would be around £5 million per annum. ACCA has not told the membership, but it had agreed to pay 28% of the cost. In contrast, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) had restricted its contribution to £38,000 per annum for the next five years.

 The Foundation represents an additional layer of regulators. So ACCA members will need to pay more for no additional service or improvements.

The Accountancy Foundation is exclusively a UK affair. It has no relevance to the ACCA's non-UK members, who form a majority of the membership. They will be paying more for no benefit at all. The new regulatory structure is primarily designed to regulate accountants in public practice. Therefore, it has little relevance to the non practicing ACCA members . Yet their pockets will also be picked.

ACCA members have not been asked to approve this additional cost. And it does not end there.  As The Foundation kicks in, it will need more money and ACCA will be expected to pay more. There has clearly been a major failure in political calculations.

The ICAEW is also having to pay more. Its next annual accounts will announce a major financial deficit. Its publishing arm has been sold to cushion the blow. Its chief executive,  former KPMG partner John Collier,  has resigned and is leaving immediately . Will anyone at ACCA be resigning for miscalculation?  ACCA members should call for the resignation of the leadership as it is leading members into financial mire with no tangible benefits.