Postcard from Edinburgh—Where the Accounting Profession Was Born

By Mary Ellen Oliverio

An unexpected pleasure while in Edinburgh in May was a visit to the home of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), which received its Royal Charter in 1854, making it the oldest professional accounting organization in existence. During my visit, I hoped to learn the ICAS’s views on the new structure of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), formerly the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), as part of a paper I would be presenting in Aberdeen later that week. Before leaving New York, I had found nothing on the subject on the ICAS website (www.icas.org.uk).

On a Monday morning, a colleague and I arrived at the Haymarket Yards building that ICAS moved into last September after 125 years at the same Queen Street location. Even without an appointment, I was greeted graciously by the receptionist. I explained my interest in the Institute’s views on the new IASB structure. Soon I was conversing with James E. Barbour, ICAS’s assistant director of accounting and auditing, who referred me to an ICAS paper on international accounting harmonization that dealt with problems to be overcome as the new structure is implemented.

Barbour also talked to us about the ICAS’s structure and activities. The Institute’s 26-member council and its committees, which comprise about 10% of its 14,000 members, carry out functions in four broad areas: education, professional standards, technical services, and member services. Approximately 61% of ICAS members are in Scotland, 24% are elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and the remaining 15% are overseas.

After our conversation, we spent time in the library, which extends lending privileges to members and students. The reference materials are available to anyone, and there are photocopying and faxing facilities. A collection of antiquarian books on accountancy from 1594 to 1930 is maintained by the ICAS but held in the National Library of Scotland; access is permitted under the rules of the National Library.

It was a pleasure to visit the oldest professional accounting association in what may well be the newest building occupied by a national accounting body. The ICAS seems well positioned to face the challenges of this new century.

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