Accountants vote in favour of trans-Tasman Institute

Media statement 1 November

Accountants vote in favour of trans-Tasman Institute

Members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia (ICAA) and the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the proposal to amalgamate and create One New Institute.

Members of both Institutes voted throughout October on the proposal to create a single trans-Tasman Chartered Accountants Institute. The following results have been independently scrutinised and are confirmed:

• ICAA – 37,423 (61.5%) members voted. 77.95% voted for the proposal

• NZICA - 16,876 (58.7%) members voted. 69.61% voted for the proposal

“The voter turnout is very high and exceeded what we’d hoped for – it provides a clear mandate for change. Together with my counterpart Tim Gullifer and on behalf of both Institutes I’d like to thank our members for engaging with this process and voting,” says NZICA Board Chair Graham Crombie FCA.

“This proposal has been almost two years in the making and we’ve been discussing it with members for over a year. We’re pleased that members on both sides of the Tasman have seen the benefits that forming a New Institute together can produce.”

ICAA President and Board Chair Tim Gullifer FCA says this is a momentous and exciting day for the Accounting profession in this part of the world and has been watched with interest around the world.

“In a global environment we need to stay ahead and the New Institute will give us the scale and strength we need on the world stage. The New Institute will sit comfortably alongside the other pre-eminent bodies on the world stage – AICPA in the United States, ICAEW in the United Kingdom and the recently formed CICPA in Canada.

“It is fantastic that our members have had the foresight and the courage to do something very few professional bodies around the world have done and join together across borders to better serve their members.”

Before transition to the New Institute is complete the necessary changes to the NZICA Act and Royal Charter in Australia must be secured. These are expected to be complete by April next year.

ENDS

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