Last week the Gibraltar Society of Chartered and Certified Accountancy Bodies held their annual dinner with a very strong sense that the profession has an increasingly important role in the finance centre and the economy itself.
The current president Edgar Lavarello explained what the Society is about and where it wants to go in the context of Gibraltar’s development.
When and why did accountants decide to have a Society?
The Accountants Society was set up in 1982 by, at the time, a handful of accounts working in Gibraltar.
The first president of the Society was Richard Hooper. Three of the founder members, Francis Isola, Jimmy Galliano and Arthur Clinton will be known by many of your readers and they were made Honorary Members of the Society earlier this year.
At that first meeting it was decided to adopt the name Gibraltar Society of Chartered and Certified Accountancy Bodies. Quite a mouthful but a good choice of names as it abbreviates to GSCCAB and in the UK, CCAB stands for the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies.
The main reason for creating such a society was to promote the roll of accountants locally as well as to provide a forum through which accountants could meet, share their problems and talk as one voice.
Over the last few years the Society has been involved in organising training courses for its members, commenting on draft financial legislation whenever asked to do so and promoting the views of accountants with respect to taxation, financial services, companies legislation and other such matters.
Who can join the GSCCAB?
Any person qualified under one of the United Kingdom Chartered or Certified accountancy bodies and who is working or has a practice in Gibraltar can join.
Are you connected in any way to any of the UK Institutes?
Not really. The only thing that connects us is the fact that all of our members are members of a UK Institute.
The UK institutes however all form part of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (“CCABâ€) and they know we exist. We are in constant contact with them and they provide us with support where necessary. We report to them twice a year and we receive a training grant from them. We are the first point of contact for any UK qualified accounting moving to Gibraltar.
How many members does the GSCCAB currently have?
There are currently 147 members. Of those only about 50 are auditors, registered with the Auditors Registration Board. Of the rest, about half are working in practice and the other half are in industry.
How is the Society run?
The Society has an executive committee which is made up of myself as president, Jose Julio Pisharello as deputy president, three executive members and a secretary / treasurer.
The Society is run on a day to day basis by the secretary / treasurer, who handles subscriptions, new members, the website and general queries.
The president with the assistance of the deputy president represents the Society at meetings and functions as well as on the Auditors Registration Board.
The three executive members each act as a contact with each of the three subcommittees, those being “taxationâ€, “technical†and “trainingâ€.
What is the Auditors Registration Board?
The ARB is the body which registers auditors in Gibraltar. All auditors are registered under the Auditors Registration Ordinance.
The Board is made up of five members; the chairman who is Marcus Killick, the Financial Services Commissioner; myself and Jose Julio as president and deputy president of the Society; Nick Keeling as the lawyer; and Tyrone Vinet from the Financial Services Commission as the secretary.
We have to abide by the Regulations which govern the Board but we are given some freedom in the way that the Board is run.
What does the ARB work entail?
When necessary, when an accountant wishes to be registered as an auditor they have to submit their application to the Board. If the applicant meets all of the legal requirements the Board will then pass the application on to the Approvals Committee.
The Committee is made up of three members, one of whom must be a lawyer and the other two are usually accountants, one from practice and the other from industry. The candidate must prove to the Committee that they have the appropriate level of local knowledge in order to be able to practice in Gibraltar. They can do this either by proving that they have been working in an audit practice in Gibraltar or by sitting an exam with specific questions on relevant Gibraltar legislation.
The ARB is also responsible for maintaining the Register and will remove anyone who does not pay their annual fee or who is no longer fit to be an auditor.
Do accountants and auditors in Gibraltar have the same standards and regulations as in the UK?
The majority of accountants and auditors in Gibraltar are members of one of the UK Institutes, and our Institute membership requires us to comply with the rules and standards issued by the UK Institute.
Because all of the GSCCAB members must also be members of UK Institutes the local Society promotes and encourages members to follow UK or International standards.
There has been a lot of talk recently over UK versus International standards, what’s going on?
In Gibraltar we have in the past followed UK standards as we are all (or the vast majority) UK trained.
However there is currently a move by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) member states to harmonise accounting and auditing standards worldwide. In the UK this is being done on a two tier system; PLC’s will convert this year whilst all other companies have the option of converging over the next three years. In Gibraltar we have recently seen new legislation enabling any company that wishes to do so, to follow International Accounting Standards.
The Society will at its General Meeting to be held at 13th December, approve the adoption of International Ethical and Auditing Standards. We believe that the members will vote overwhelmingly in favour of this proposal as there are little differences between UK and International Ethical and Auditing Standards.
With respect to International Accounting Standards (“IASâ€), the situation here is slightly more complex as there are at present some major differences between UK and International Accounting Standards. Because local legislation currently gives the directors of a company the choice of Accounting Standards, and private companies in the UK also have a choice, the executive committee is of the opinion that we should not interfere and leave things here as they are.
It is important to note that the issue will become academical as the UK is following a convergence process with IASs so that by around 2008 there will be little difference between UK standards and IASs.
What do you see as the major threats or opportunities for accountants in Gibraltar?
At the moment I do not see that there are many threats, so long as the Finance Centre continues to do well, accountants will do well.
However the demand for accountants is such that the audit firms who have historically trained many of the accountants in Gibraltar are finding it hard to recruit and train accountants fast enough.
The opportunities for newly qualified accountants in Gibraltar have always been good but never as good as this. There are enormous opportunities out there, greater than ever before. Qualifying as an accountant does not mean that you have to work as an auditor or with an audit firm for all of your life. Once you qualify there are ample opportunities to work in industry.
In recent years insurance companies and internet gaming companies have recruited almost as actively as the audit firms, you only have to look through the pages of the Chronicle (see also ‘Employment Offered’ in Gibraltar Online Classifieds) to see new jobs for accountants being advertised every week.
And what do you see as the major threats or opportunities for the finance centre?
Where shall I begin?
First of all we need to ensure that we have the basic products and rules in place to attract inward investment. This includes an appropriate tax and regulatory environment.
With respect to tax, we have made the best of the current situation where the Gibraltar Governmentis waiting the outcome of the EU decision on Regional Selectivity. When the Government win this argument, we will be able to amend our current tax system to make it as attractive as possible to invest in Gibraltar whilst at the same time ensuring that the Government takes its fair share of the profits generated by these companies in Gibraltar.
I believe that the majority of players in the finance centre agree that they have to contribute to the local tax system, but at the same time the level of taxation must be competitive. Tax is a cost to these companies, and just like any other cost, such as accommodation, employment or regulation, companies will shop around.
With respect to the regulatory environment the Financial Services Commission have a hard balancing act to accomplish. They have to be tough enough to ensure that the investor feels safe investing in Gibraltar and through Gibraltar licensed companies, whilst at the same time not being so inflexible so as to discourage business from coming to Gibraltar. I believe that as auditors we understand the Financial Services Commission quite well as we have similar objectives, those of ensuring that our clients (or licensees) comply with the rules.
Another opportunity not directly connected to the Finance Centre but which nevertheless will effect almost every company working in it must be an airport deal. Without going into the politics of what would be a good or bad deal for Gibraltar or the Gibraltarians (there are already plenty of politicians to decide that), there is no doubt in my mind that a deal would be good for business as a whole. But I understand that this can not be achieved at any cost.
From The Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801
Related Links:
Gibraltar Society of Chartered and Certified Accountancy Bodies
Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies
Auditors Registration Board
Financial Services Commission (FSC)
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development)
International Ethical and Auditing Standards
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Accountancy and Employment Opportunities - See ‘Employment Offered’ in Gibraltar Online Classifieds
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