Members are at the center of what we do. Our first Members’ Engagement Day on 2 October was the culmination of 2 years of enhancing members’ interaction.

On this day exclusively dedicated to our members, we brought together key people in the European profession that otherwise would not meet : 12 Expert Group (vice) chairs, 20 Expert Group members, over 30 Members’ CEOs & Presidents, more than 25 member body staff and external speakers. For the first time, they had the opportunity to engage in cross-cutting discussions, share key information and give input on our work under a new and interactive format. 

3 streams organised how we debated key issues affecting the profession: 

• Learn and debate through presentations / panels
• Input gathering to share ideas
• Inspiring projects to hear from our member bodies

1 – Learn & Debate 

Sustainable Finance

Caroline Wellemans (Deputy Head of Unit, DG FISMA) spoke about how the EU is moving towards sustainable finance and how growth needs to take into account environmental, social and governance matters. She stressed that the issue goes beyond the environment and that better and more reliable corporate information is needed.

First climate-neutral continent – ambition @EU_Commission on #sustainability is high, global platforms in #sustainablefinance are also vital. Important, urgent and interesting topic presented by Caroline Wellemans @AccountancyEU pic.twitter.com/THwn7uOp2H — Sanna Alakare (@SannaAlakare) October 2, 2019

EC project on green bonds

Corporate Governance as a driver of a sustainable economy

Michele Casò

Andrew Hobbs, (Partner, EY) and Michele Casò from our Corporate Governance Task Force, led this break out session on our thought-leadership initiative on corporate governance and the role it can play in bringing about a sustainable economy. The discussion revolved around this project’s origins and accountants’ strategic importance in this area.

Our Cogito publication Corporate Governance as a driver of a sustainable economy suggests 10 actions for boards and policymakers/regulators to help accelerate transforming the economy. Send your thoughts and opinions on how corporate governance needs to evolve to [email protected] by 1 Nov 2019.

IAASB consultation on audit of less complex entities & how to best serve SMEs’ audit needs

Participants exchanged ideas on the IAASB consultation and our reponse to it. The discussion, introduced by Kai Morten Hagen (Vice-Chair on SME Audit) and our Deputy-President Myles Thompson, also focused on the role that Accountancy Europe and other stakeholders should play in the debate, and how to engage with the IAASB.

Kai Morten Hagen member of the @IAASB_News informs the @AccountancyEU members day about the LCE project. pic.twitter.com/2sjrTxPHMF — Jan Thijs Drupsteen (@JanThDrupsteen) October 2, 2019

Is a separate set of audit standards for less complex entities the solution? Great debate in the #accountancyeurope Engagement Day workshop with members and expert groups. — Florin Toma (@FTomaM1973) October 2, 2019

UK audit reform initiatives

Philip Johnson (Council member and Chairman of Policy Leadership Board, ICAS) focused on the latest intelligence regarding the audit market proposals of the UK government and market competition authority, the reform of the UK oversight body, and the review into the scope and purpose of the audit.

2 – Input Gathering

James Barbour

Tax & ethics: where is the ethical bar on tax services

What approach should Accountancy Europe take in the tax avoidance debate? Jens Poll, our Vice-President, James Barbour (Director – Policy Leadership, ICAS) and Dave Reubzaet (Director of Tax Strategy & Responsible tax, PwC) debated this through answering questions such as What role should ethics play in the tax system? Should tax advisors and accountants consider the ethics of the advice that they provide?

Extending the scope of audit

David Herbinet  (Vice-Chair of Accountancy Europe Audit and Assurance Policy Group) presented how the scope of audit could be extended based on their countries’ experiences. Members also shared their views on how the scope of audit could be extended, and on using data analytics & digitalisation to enable and drive audit quality.

Paul Gisby, Johan Barros

Evolving needs of SME & how the accountancy profession can help

Johan Barros & Paul Gisby (Manager and Senior Manager, Accountancy Europe) led this interactive session on Accountancy Europe’s SME strategy. It looks into future risks and challenges that European SMEs are facing, including cyber-risks, access to finance, supply-chain requirements, sustainability, technology and regulatory challenges. Participants contributed their ideas on how to move this strategic agenda forward.

Mark Vaessen

Cogito project on the future of corporate reporting standard setting

Mark Vaessen, our Vice-President and Neil Stevenson (Director, Audit & Risk Advisory, Deloitte) shared the work done by our Task force working on the future of corporate reporting standard setting. They discussed its preliminary ideas and asked participants’ additional insights on connecting financial and non-financial information reporting standards.

3 -Inspiring Projects

This third stream focused on our member bodies’ inspiring projects and enabled participants to learn from each other experiences.

Attracting youngsters & future skills

The young generation is crucial for the future of the profession. Adela Vila (Director, ICJCE, Spain)  and Tom Vile Jensen (Director, FSR, Danemark) presented their institutes projects Auditor for a Day and Skills for the Future.

Adela Vila – ICJCE, Tom Vile Jensen – FSR

Public perceptions & need for change

In the face of change, we must all adapt. Melanie Sack (Chief Operations Officer, IDW, Germany) presented the institute’s successful campaign to redefine its mission and the role and relevance of auditors. Robert Mul, (Director of Public Trust, NBA, Netherlands) shared the experience of NBA going under a global structural transformation to better serve their members.

Robert Mul – NBA, Melanie Sack – IDW

What’s next?

The feedback for this first edition has been truly positive and we are already discussing when the next one will take place. Stay tuned and check out Members’ News and the Insider, our newsletters for members’ only!

Delighted to be invited to @AccountancyEU’s member engagement conference in Brussels today. Great example of European cooperation – looking forward to the next one @Brian_Keegan @CharteredAccIrl pic.twitter.com/qN87cdRJhi — Akriti (@akritigupta_) October 2, 2019