ICAS

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
  • Advantage
  1. About us
    1. Governance
    2. ICAS Strategy 2030
  2. Members
    1. Become a member
    2. Newly qualified
    3. Manage my membership
    4. Benefits of membership
    5. Career 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 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. Find a training agreement
    4. Why become a CA
    5. The CA qualification
    6. Accredited qualifications and exemptions
  5. Employers
    1. Train a Chartered Accountant
    2. Resources for Authorised Training Offices
    3. Professional entry
    4. Apprenticeships
    5. Learning redefined
  6. Find a CA
  7. ICAS events
    1. CA Summit
    2. Digital Practice Conference 2023
  8. CA magazine
  9. 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
    17. Vulnerable persons toolkit
    18. EDI toolkit
  10. CPD - professional development
    1. CPD - Everything you need to know
    2. CPD courses and qualifications
    3. CPD news and updates
    4. CPD support and advice
    5. Career support
  11. Regulation
    1. Complaints and sanctions
    2. Regulatory authorisations
    3. Guidance and help sheets
    4. Regulatory monitoring
    5. ICAS regulatory functions report 2022
    6. Regulation Strategy
    7. ICAS Regulation News
    8. Guidance for audit firms: ISQM(UK)1
    9. Engaging positively with a complaint
    10. What should I do if my client leaves?
    11. Changes to ICAS’ Public Practice Regulations
    12. New AML monitoring regime
  12. 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?
  13. Work at ICAS
    1. Business centres
    2. Meet our team
    3. Benefits
    4. Vacancies
    5. Imagine your career at ICAS
  14. Contact us
    1. Technical and regulation queries
    2. ICAS logo request

Personal branding and the CA

Personal Brand month header
  • LinkedIn (opens new window)
  • Twitter (opens new window)
By Andrew Harbison

4 October 2021

The CA is more than a qualification – it is a golden opportunity to boost your personal brand.

The CA is a complete qualification that equips those who achieve it with the skills to go on to work at the highest levels of accountancy, finance and business, at a charity, government body or cutting-edge tech firm.

Furthermore, for those with an entrepreneurial streak, becoming a CA provides the key skills to start and manage a successful business.

When it comes to the power of the CA, the numbers speak for themselves, with 80% of FTSE 100 company’s employing CAs and a multitude of ICAS Members working at senior levels in some of the worlds largest and most influential brands. But how can CAs work on their own personal brand and how can they make it work for them?

What is personal branding?

The organisations that many ICAS Members operate in have spent a great amount of time and money carving out their brand, making them stand apart from the competition by outwardly displaying their own values and personality, leaving a lasting impression on consumers.

These same practices can be used by a CA to help them stand out from the crowd and effectively communicate their skills, goals and values, paving the way for successful career progression.

Personal Brand Storyteller Carole Pyke, who is speaking at this year’s CA Summit, describes personal brand as a combination of an individual’s unique skillset and personality.

Carole believes that for someone to effectively craft their own brand story it must start with a strong foundation of self-belief.

She explained that “you can’t show up in a way other than how it is you think about yourself” and that building on a foundation of positive self-reflection is vital to building a strong brand story.

ICAS Members have gained a fantastic advantage to boost their personal brand by earning the right to include the CA letters after their name, proudly displaying their achievement and the varied skillset that comes with it.

Why should I work on my personal brand?

Building a strong personal brand is a way to take control of your own story and, to a certain extent, the way in which others perceive you. In basic terms, it is taking time to manage your reputation.

Working on this aspect of yourself in the context of your career can help you build connections with others in your field by displaying your expertise across your social media platforms, such as LinkedIn.

By taking a proactive approach to branding by taking some time to audit your social media presence, searching for virtual and in-person networking opportunities, and even starting your own website or blog, you will have already created the vital foundations for your personal brand to be built on.

Working on this can also help focus your career goals. Building a successful personal brand will take time, a precious resource to any professional. Identifying areas of your personal brand you want to invest your time in can provide clarity on a potential career pivot point.

How can I work on my personal brand?

Being aware of your digital footprint is vital to ensure you are telling the personal brand story that you want to tell.

Taking the time to cultivate your social media by gearing it towards the areas of your professional life that interest you can pay dividends when you are thinking about making the next move in your career.

In his interview for October’s CA magazine, Gordon White, MD of media marketing agency fatBuzz, emphasised the importance of LinkedIn as a tool to build high-value career connections.

He said: “People are starting to realise that LinkedIn is not just a networking platform – it’s the leading business publishing platform as well.”

For ICAS Members, displaying their CA designation and our new ICAS and CAW-branded LinkedIn and email banners can boost their personal brand and promote their professional credentials.

Look out for more articles and webinars this month on the ways CAs can boost their personal brand.

Two simple steps to boost your personal brand

Displaying your CA designation alongside our new ICAS and CAW-branded LinkedIn and email banners.

How to create and develop your personal professional brand

This programme will provide practical guidance in understanding how personal professional brands are created and developed.

Footer links

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

Connect with ICAS

  • TikTok (opens new window) TikTok Icon
  • Twitter (opens new window) Twitter Icon
  • LinkedIn (opens new window) LinkedIn Icon
  • Instagram (opens new window) Instagram Icon
  • Youtube (opens new window)

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
  • Women in Finance Charter (opens new window) Women in Finance Charter

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.

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: