ICAS ICAS logo

Quicklinks

  1. About Us

    Find out about who we are and what we do here at ICAS.

  2. Find a CA

    Search our directory of individual CAs and Member organisations by name, location and professional criteria.

  3. CA Magazine

    View the latest issues of the dedicated magazine for ICAS Chartered Accountants.

  4. Contact Us

    Get in touch with ICAS by phone, email or post, with dedicated contacts for Members, Students and firms.

Login
  • Annual renewal
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Find a CA
  1. About us
    1. Governance
  2. Members
    1. Become a member
    2. Newly qualified
    3. Manage my membership
    4. Benefits of membership
    5. Careers support
    6. Mentoring
    7. CA Wellbeing
    8. More for Members
    9. Area networks
    10. International communities
    11. Get involved
    12. Top Young CAs
    13. Career breaks
    14. ICAS podcast
    15. Newly admitted members 2022
    16. Newly admitted members 2023
  3. CA Students
    1. Student information
    2. Student resources
    3. Learning requirements
    4. Learning updates
    5. Learning blog
    6. Totum Pro | Student discount card
    7. CA Student wellbeing
  4. Become a CA
    1. How to become a CA
    2. Routes to becoming a CA
    3. CA Stories
    4. Find a training agreement
    5. Why become a CA
    6. Qualification information
    7. University exemptions
  5. Employers
    1. Become an Authorised Training Office
    2. Resources for Authorised Training Offices
    3. Professional entry
    4. Apprenticeships
  6. Find a CA
  7. ICAS events
    1. CA Summit
  8. CA magazine
  9. Insight
    1. Finance + Trust
    2. Finance + Technology
    3. Finance + EDI
    4. Finance + Mental Fitness
    5. Finance + Leadership
    6. Finance + Sustainability
  10. Professional resources
    1. Anti-money laundering
    2. Audit and assurance
    3. Brexit
    4. Business and governance
    5. Charities
    6. Coronavirus
    7. Corporate and financial reporting
    8. Cyber security
    9. Ethics
    10. Insolvency
    11. ICAS Research
    12. Pensions
    13. Practice
    14. Public sector
    15. Sustainability
    16. Tax
  11. CPD - professional development
    1. CPD courses and qualifications
    2. CPD news and updates
    3. CPD support and advice
  12. Regulation
    1. Complaints and sanctions
    2. Regulatory authorisations
    3. Guidance and help sheets
    4. Regulatory monitoring
  13. CA jobs
    1. CA jobs partner: Rutherford Cross
    2. Resources for your job search
    3. Advertise with CA jobs
    4. Hays | A Trusted ICAS CA Jobs Partner
    5. Azets | What's your ambition?
  14. Work at ICAS
    1. Business centres
    2. Meet our team
    3. Benefits
    4. Vacancies
    5. Imagine your career at ICAS
  15. Contact us
    1. Technical and regulation queries
    2. ICAS logo request

Do you have the right business communication skills?

Business communications
  • LinkedIn (opens new window)
  • Twitter (opens new window)
By Alex Burden, Professional Development Editor

29 March 2019

Key points:

  • The right communication skills are vital to good business practice.
  • Written and spoken communications should be clear, concise and correct.
  • Finance jargon can muddy the waters and make your message less effective.

How businesses communicate has been brought to the forefront in recent years as the desire for transparency increases - but are you equipped with the right communication skills?

It was recently revealed that the Bank of England had fined The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ over ‘poor communication’ when they did not tell BoE about an enforcement action.

The Prudential Regulation Authority declared that Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFJ) had failed “to be open and cooperative with the watchdog”, and fined them £26.77 million.

"We expect all firms to be open and straightforward in their dealings with the PRA. Where firms fall short of this expectation, we will enforce it," Sam Woods, BoE deputy governor and PRA chief executive, said in a statement on Thursday.

As a result, MUFJ announced that they would improve information controls and intra-group communication on regulatory matters.

Grant Thornton have also added to the debate by exploring the correct ways in which companies should communicate with external parties.

Martin Kneale, their Isle of Man director said: “Corporate information is becoming more opaque and difficult to comprehend due to the sheer volume of information being released. Clear communication is essential and that should not be forgotten in the bid to become more transparent.

The key to effective transparency is to strike a balance between holding back vital information and swamping investors with too much detail.

“This phenomenon is not confined to the US. Research by Grant Thornton on the FTSE 350 shows that the average annual report comes in at 300,000 words, half of which is typically historical financial data.

“It illustrates that companies are struggling to apply the materiality concept, the accounting principle that says trivial matters are to be disregarded and important matters are to be disclosed.

“Greater transparency usually just means more volume. The key to effective transparency is to strike a balance between holding back vital information and swamping investors with too much detail.

“Providing a huge bank of data effectively says “Here it is – now get on with it”. This isn’t the way you would treat customers so why treat investors like this?”

But what is good communication?

The ability to present engaging and influencing information, as well as improving listening skills is essential for any individual or business to succeed – if your message can’t be discerned amongst a jumble of words, then it will not hit home, just as withholding information can ruin a reputation or relationship. It may even result in large fines!

The key attributes of any great business report are:

  • Clarity – anyone should be able to understand your main points.
  • Concise – overwriting hides essential information within a mire of words.
  • Correct – withholding information or stretching the truth can open a business up to fines and regulatory consequences, not to mention diminishing trust in the business.
  • Cause – do you understand the purpose of the report? This should form the basis of your report structure and restrict the opportunity to deviate into a verbose territory.

How can I learn these skills?

ICAS offers a range of Professional Development resources, including in-house and external training courses and online learning to provide a range of professional and business skills.

Find out more

Five steps to reinvention and development

Five steps to reinvent yourself for increased job satisfaction

By Alex Burden, Professional Development

18 December 2018

Why your career plans need leadership coaching with the ICAS Executive Coaching Programme

Have you considered the benefits of executive coaching for your career? Book your place today on the ICAS Executive Coaching…

ICAS logo

Footer links

  • Contact us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Privacy notice
  • CA magazine

Connect with ICAS

  • Facebook (opens new window) Facebook Icon
  • Twitter (opens new window) Twitter Icon
  • LinkedIn (opens new window) LinkedIn Icon
  • Instagram (opens new window) Instagram Icon

ICAS is a member of the following bodies

  • Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (opens new window) Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies logo
  • Chartered Accountants Worldwide (opens new window) Chartered Accountants Worldwide logo
  • Global Accounting Alliance (opens new window) Global Accounting Alliance
  • International Federation of Accountants (opens new window) IFAC
  • Access Accountancy (opens new window) Access Acountancy

Charities

  • ICAS Foundation (opens new window) ICAS Foundation
  • SCABA (opens new window) scaba

Accreditations

  • ISO 9001 - RGB (opens new window)
© ICAS 2022

The mark and designation “CA” is a registered trade mark of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), and is available for use in the UK and EU only to members of ICAS. If you are not a member of ICAS, you should not use the “CA” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to accountancy, tax or insolvency services. The mark and designation “Chartered Accountant” is a registered trade mark of ICAS, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Chartered Accountants Ireland. If you are not a member of one of these organisations, you should not use the “Chartered Accountant” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to these services. Further restrictions on the use of these marks also apply where you are a member.

ICAS logo

Our cookie policy

ICAS.com uses cookies which are essential for our website to work. We would also like to use analytical cookies to help us improve our website and your user experience. Any data collected is anonymised. Please have a look at the further information in our cookie policy and confirm if you are happy for us to use analytical cookies: