Get involved with ICAS
From mentoring to volunteering with charities and our boards, committees and Area Networks, there are many ways to get involved, promote the CA profession, boost your career and help others.
We actively encourage Members to get involved in a range of activities with ICAS, fellow CAs, and external organisations including charities such as the ICAS Foundation.
Doing so might strengthen your skills base, widen your network or count toward your continuing professional development. There are opportunities to play a role in the governance of ICAS, promote the CA qualification and help nurture the next generation of Chartered Accountants. Additionally, charitable roles allow an opportunity to ‘give something back’, work to the benefit of wider society and boost your self esteem.
Ways to get involved:
- Join an ICAS board or committee - view the latest opportunities
- Connect with your local ICAS Area Network
- Volunteer with a charity
- Peer-to-peer mentoring
- Assist the ICAS Foundation
Get involved with an ICAS board, committee or panel
ICAS is governed by Council, which in turn delegates certain responsibilities to a range of boards and committees whose remit covers governance and operations, qualifications, ethics and policy leadership. In addition, our specialist panels and boards consider matters such as taxation, pensions and charities. The composition of all these bodies reflects our diversity, is often broad and varied, aims to capitalise on the expertise that exists across Council and, where permitted by the constitution of the body, the wider ICAS membership. In some cases, lay (non-CA) members are also included.
Getting involved with any of these boards, committees or panels can be a great way to add new insights, skills and expertise to your portfolio and can be a fantastic networking opportunity. Furthermore, you’ll be playing an active hand in shaping the future of both ICAS and the CA profession.
The following position is currently open for application:
Being on Members Board has given me an opportunity to influence ICAS’ priorities, contribute my own ideas and have a direct influence on the experiences of the entire ICAS membership.
Sobhan Afzal CA
Learn more about the various ICAS boards and committees
Get involved with your ICAS Area Network
The 23,000 members of ICAS form an international business community that spans industries and continents, so that wherever you call home, you’re never far from a CA connection. Our local Area Networks are just one of the many ways we foster those bonds between our members. There are Area Networks the length and breadth of the UK and all around the globe, from Aberdeen to Auckland.
Getting involved with your Area Network allows you to help shape its many activities, including a calendar of events, activities and networking opportunities. You'll also act as a direct link link between your local CAs and ICAS itself, sharing details of the latest initiatives and feeding back with your members’ priorities and opinions.
Get involved as a charity volunteer
Whilst charities’ objectives don’t revolve around sales and profit, they must still be run in a business-like manner, and every extra penny that’s saved can be used to benefit their cause.
Getting involved with a charity, by providing your accounting, business or management services on a pro-bono basis, is an additional way for ICAS members to make great use of their qualification and experience. Not only will you be making a positive difference and giving back to wider society, you’ll be widening and strengthening your portfolio of expertise and your professional network into the bargain.
Get involved as a career mentor
Getting involved as a career mentor allows you to play a hugely important role in the life and career development of the person you help. Mentoring involves motivating and empowering someone to overcome their obstacles, meet their challenges and turn ambition into success. Not only can the process be personally rewarding, professionally it can widen your network and introduce you to new challenges and working methods.
Get involved with the ICAS Foundation
The ICAS Foundation is a charitable organisation that aims to support academically talented young people from disadvantaged communities into university through the provision of mentoring and financial assistance. (links to http://www.icasfoundation.org.uk)
Getting involved with the Foundation usually involves volunteering as a mentor. You’d be working with a high-school student or undergraduate who wants to study accounting or finance. Just as with mentoring peers through CA Connect, mentoring with the ICAS Foundation can be a highly rewarding experience, and help shape the next generation of Chartered Accountants.