CA magazine: December 2022/January 2023
By Sarah Speirs, ICAS Executive Director of Member Engagement and Communication
8 December 2022
As we move into the new year, the reimagining of workplaces and management strategies is set to continue against a backdrop of ongoing uncertainty.
In the final edition of CA magazine for 2022, we consider what the leadership landscape will look like in 2023. We speak to experts, coaches and leading CAs about how leaders can respond to the challenges and opportunities presented, whilst equipping themselves with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate their organisations through the days and months ahead.
"We won’t make a drama out of a crisis” promised a famous advertising line from the 1980s. The slogan, created for Scottish insurers Commercial Union, crossed over into everyday parlance. Reflecting on recent events, it immediately came to mind because it’s a wonderfully succinct way to describe the work of CAs.
In the third quarter of 2021, the UK’s Business Confidence Index stood at +47, as recovery from the pandemic was under way and rising inflation something of a niche concern. The country was open for business again and predictions that the end of the furlough scheme would prompt a surge in unemployment failed to materialise. But the warning signs were there. Events were escalating on the Ukraine-Russia border, and the pandemic meant resetting supply chains.
We’re still grappling with Brexit. The comings and goings at No 10 were unparalleled and we lost an enduring national icon with the death of HM the Queen – it’s been a big year!
During such a time, every organisation needs its cool heads – people who won’t make a drama out of a crisis.
In this issue, we speak to three CAs in the hospitality sector, which has endured some of the fiercest headwinds since the first lockdown. Their personal accounts demonstrate how they are successfully guiding their organisations through an extraordinarily difficult period. And what the CA qualification does is to provide the foundations for making the right decisions for the business as a whole.
Meanwhile, ICAS President Indy Singh Hothi CA looks ahead to 2023. While making predictions can be a fruitless undertaking, next year may well see CAs become more important than ever as organisations try to manage the many challenges that lie ahead.
Enjoy the issue.
Visit the Finance + Leadership hub