Irish members of the Association of Chartered Certified Accounts (ACCA) will meet in Dublin on Wednesday to voice "discontent" with their professional organisation.
A few hundred of its 3,000 Irish members are expected to attend. A smaller meeting, attended by two representatives from the organisation's London headquarters last April failed to satisfy many of Irish members.
A core group of up to 20 Irish members of the international accountancy body are behind next week's meeting. They believe the association is less responsive to the changing Irish business and accountancy environment than other autonomous Irish accountancy bodies such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CPA).
One source said that if discussions between the ICAI and the CPA led to an eventual merger of the two organisations, it could have serious implications for ACCA members. "We should at least have a discussion as to the effect on the ACCA if the merger goes ahead." He said that in the event of a merger, it might be possible to provide a one-off opportunity for ACCA members to transfer to the new body.
The source said the group to which he belonged had difficulties with the ACCA, not all of which he wanted to air in the media. He said the organisation had recently passed a resolution where motions for the a.g.m., under the any-other-business category, had to be submitted 15 months in advance.
"In the last number of years there has been huge change in Ireland affecting accountants and auditors and... having a huge bureaucratic entity with rules such as the 15-month rule is just not the way to go," he said.
"Irish members [of the ACCA] feel that there should be an Irish entity that would be affiliated to the international entity," said the source. It was unlikely the international group would agree to such a development, he said.
The source said members were also concerned about the make-up of ACCA regulatory committees which, he said, differed from such committees in other professional bodies in that they had a majority of lay members. Hearings concerning Irish members involve UK or Northern Ireland lay members sitting on the committee even though they might not be knowledgeable of the Irish scene.
