After an eventful year we reconvene at the Bookkeepers Summit on Monday. Our recent achievements show that bookkeepers are leaders in the accounting industry and here's why the spotlight's on you next week.
One of the reasons for our existence here at ICB HQ is to ensure that no bookkeeper is an island. We know that magic happens when bookkeepers come together to collaborate and share their experiences.
Next week is Global Bookkeeping Week and our annual conference, The Bookkeepers Summit. As always we are committed to bringing this event to you on your terms so you can attend in-person, online or both. We have 46 speakers to delight and excite you but we also have hundreds of your fellow bookkeepers whom you'll have the chance to meet.
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Advisory Council and new office
It was my great delight to catch up with some of our most influential members at last month's meeting of the Advisory Council. These quarterly sessions are a place for us to sense check what we do at ICB and for our members to bring feedback and informed advice to us to ensure that we are always moving in the right direction and supporting you.
I had the pleasure of welcoming the Advisory Council (or AdCo as we call it) to our new offices at Chancery House, Chancery Lane in London. Our new offices provide a more flexible space for us that we can flex our capacity up or down depending on which members of our team want to be coming into the office on a given day, and who we need to have meetings with. I'm pleased to say there is also a sauna, but I highly doubt I'll manage to squeeze in a steam any time soon.
Accounting and Payroll apprenticeships
I'm thrilled to announce that ICB is now an approved End-Point Assessor for four different apprenticeship standards:
- Level 2 Accounts or Finance Assistant
- Level 3 Assistant Accountant
- Level 3 Payroll Administrator
- Level 5 Payroll Assistant Manager
This latest accreditation by Ofqual raisies the profile of ICB and bookkeepers and offers a government-funded route into the bookkeeping profession. If you are interested in finding out more about how apprenticeships work please call to speak to our learning team.
As a small business you can get government funding to train an apprentice in your practice. Most of the funding goes to the training provider and there will still be 5% for you to pay but you may find it saves a little bit of money compared to taking out a private course. That said, our Accredited Training Providers would love to work with you to train your teams and we have Training Link attending the Bookkeepers Summit in-person and online to talk to you about the courses they offer.
Anti-Money Laundering Update
Today we publish our annual report on ICB's Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Supervision activities. The report covers 2022/23 and is an opportunity for us to report on our ongoing efforts to ensure that our supervised members effectively mitigate the risks of money laundering and financial crime. The report demonstrates how, in the spirit of our organisational values: Purpose, Passion and Progress, we have not only upheld but also fine-tuned the robustness of our oversight. We have deepened our focus on a holistic supervisory approach, not just emphasising regulatory adherence for its own sake, but also championing the value of really knowing your client like a Certified Bookkeeper is uniquely placed to do.
It's with regret that our newly appointed Director of Professional Standards, Yvonne Rennison-Stone, had to step down from her post less than two months after joining us due to personal circumstances. However, we all know that family comes first and we wish her the very best for the coming months and beyond.
Garry Carter himself will be giving you the latest information on our AML strategy at the in-person Bookkeepers Summit. This is an unmissable session discussing HM Treasury's proposed reforms to AML Supervision and the introduction of an Authorised Corporate Service Provider registration with Companies House.
Don't risk FOMO, join us at the Bookkeepers Summit 2023 in-person or online
In-person: I can't wait to hear from inspirational entrepreneur, Sahar Hashemi, opening the in-person Bookkeepers Summit on Monday 6th and sharing her entrepreneurial journey and what she thinks bookkeepers need to do to be successful.
We'll get to hear from ICB members Lara Manton MICB, Jo Wood C.FICB PM.Dip, Laura Murphy MICB PM.Dip and Clare Kendall FICB who are doing extrordinary things with their careers and are going to help you get there too! And not only that, we have a legend of the accounting world, Will Farnell, sharing why bookkeeping is the absolute future of the industry and how to scale a bookkeeping business.
Tech day: I'm really looking forward to our first ever Tech day where our exhibitor partners are doing bookkeeper-specific demos for you all day and we're also going to hear the latest on Cyber Security which gets more relevant every day as we see scam after scam!
Virtual Summit: As usual we have an EXCESS of great sessions taking place online as we split into two tracks for the middle of the day. You can choose whether you want to 'Go Big' and hear about scaling your business from experienced ICB members Helen Bower FICB PM. Dip, Claire Allen C.FICB, and Jason Dalton MICB PM.Dip & Mark Bonney MICB. They're sharing their stories to give you a short cut to success. If you don't want to Go Big choose to 'Stay Strong' and hear from inspirational members Rebecca Williams MICB and Cheri Bartlett AICB PM. Dip on how to stay organised as a sole practitioner and lean on the ICB network to outsource.
We've also got members discussing how to use the ICB network to supercharge your career and we'll be hearing from social media and branding experts Ashley Leeds and Philippa Haynes.
To round it all off, our virtual summit features two beloved technical experts, Ian Holloway and Rebecca Benneyworth MBE giving you the low-down on the upcoming Autumn Statement and Basis Period Reform to ensure that you stay ahead of the game.
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Download the Show Guide
Download your copy of the 2023 Bookkeepers Summit Show Guide to get a feeling for all this great content and more that we're putting on for you next week. If you have yet to book your ticket it should help you decide whether you'd like to join in-person in London on Monday 6th or whether you'll just be joining us online on Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th. In-person tickets include all of the online content and you'll have on-demand access to the online sessions to watch on catch up after.
