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

Championing Unique Perspectives: Cole Agbede CA

Championing Unique Perspectives
  • LinkedIn (opens new window)
  • Twitter (opens new window)
By Katie Mitchell, ICAS

25 October 2022

Cole Agbede CA shares his perspective on the importance of EDI in the accountancy profession, the influence that firms have on the wider business world and how we can all play our parts to ignite change.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement that spread across the globe after the murder of George Floyd in 2022, a group of MBA students came together to initiate change at their school. Cole Agbede CA co-founded The Black in Business Club at London Business School, where he was one of eleven black professionals in his graduating class of 500.


What opportunities for creating a more inclusive accountancy profession do you see from forming the Black in Business Club?

It’s kind of a mix of ideas and job opportunities. We knew that by driving change at The London Business School (LBS), we could drive change in the business world too. One of the ambitions we had when we set up Black in Business was to change the mentality around having Black societies - for allies and Black people to feel comfortable in Black spaces, talking about Black history, learning about what it means to be Black.

I think the creation of the club makes LBS more attractive to Black talent. We’ve done the work with the school to ensure that recruitment is more geared towards Black talent. The hope is there will now be more Black accountants who will finish the programme and return to work better equipped and more senior, creating a diverse workforce with a stronger position to influence inclusion.


Why do you feel diversity is so important in accounting, and do you feel the profession is ahead or behind when it comes to EDI?

Professional bodies and regulators, such as ICAS, have an influence factor over their members and firms, and the wider business world. They have a material influence on the conduct of the business world. It's important because they can drive the behaviour of accountants, and non-accountants, so for them to put EDI at the forefront of what they do and all their communications and events that they run, that will have an impact on the wider business world. So, no doubt, they have a pivotal place.

At an organisational level, what practical steps do you think firms can take to ensure they act as allies and ensure real action is achieved?

The first thing would be a level of acceptance of individual employees and their lived experiences. [As a Black man] the rational thought process, based on my lived experiences and what we see in society, is that the person I’m speaking to could be biased. They could be racist. And so that is something that I will always have to think about as an added layer that someone that isn't Black wouldn't have to think about.

The CEO saying they want change isn’t enough. What really matters is the everyday employees. They need to be the ones that are brought into the idea of recruitment, retention, and progression of Black talent.

“Sometimes I think companies are always trying to show you how much progress they've made, and I don't think we're at that stage yet. We should be focused on what still needs to be done.”

I think in terms of real action, it can be broken down into three pillars. Awareness, opportunity and community.

I think within awareness there needs to be initiatives that are a mix of events and communications, where the organisation is consistently sharing that they are aware that some of these issues exist. Then using that as a mechanism to change mindsets and behaviours - no longer pretending that this isn't an issue. Once you have that baseline, it then becomes easier to change some of the interactions around the topic.

I think around opportunity, it's something as simple as how recruiters think about diversity in recruitment. Recently, recruiters have rightly been focused on improving gender equality, and I’m not sure that message is going across in terms of hiring more minorities, which is an initiative firms need to take more seriously.

Regarding community, it needs to be easier for Black professionals within these organisations to come together and support each other, such as through the creation of a Black Network. The initiative will be around removing that taboo of having Black people come together on a regular basis, and actually having the firm find ways to support that, whether that's providing facilities or providing funding. These are all opportunities around creating a voice for positive change


Marking Black History Month

ICAS is marking Black History Month by sharing stories from incredible CAs throughout the month. Read more about the diverse experiences and perspectives Black CAs have gained from working to create a better and more inclusive accountancy profession and society.


Be part of the change

Join us on 31 October from 12:30 to 1:30pm for an insightful discussion with Clive Bellingham CA, Kudzai Zendera CA, Tosin Ajay CA and Temi Labor CA and Marta Philips CA. They will reveal insights that all CAs can action as allies and share the lessons they have learned as advocates for equality when building inclusive businesses and enterprises.

Speakers will also reveal details of the ICAS Black Member Network, launching this month, which will help deliver change by actioning the ambitions of ICAS’ Black Talent Action Plan.

Register now


Get in touch if you would like to share your story and join the conversation on social media with #UniquePerspectives.

Read more about topics covering diversity, equality and inclusion within our Championing Unique Perspectives series.

Diana Muendo tile

Diana Muendo CA: A creative approach to diversity

By Andrew Harbison, ICAS

26 January 2021

Aisha Ghani tile

Aisha Ghani CA: My return to work journey

By ICAS

30 March 2021

2023-03-MarksElectrical 2023-03-MarksElectrical
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: