We’ve all heard a joke about Scotsmen and their money, haven’t we? Even Shakespeare had a dig at the ‘stingy Scots’ in Macbeth.
Every year, however, when Comic Relief comes around, the Scots dig deeper in their pockets than any of the other parts of the UK, shaming more affluent areas of the country with our unflinching willingness to help those in need.
So the Scots are not miserly and they do have compassion, but that doesn’t mean we are not careful.
And this is probably why Scottish accountants continue to be so highly sought-after both at home and overseas.
We have a very long history in Scotland of counting the pennies and keeping a weathered eye on investments.
After all, as a small country on the edge of Europe, with an unfavorable climate and surrounded on three sides by sea, it has been in our best interests to be canny.
That’s perhaps why the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland was the very first professional body of its kind in the world. It received its Royal Charter in 1854 and today it has 20,000 members who work in more than 100 countries around the world.
Meanwhile a further 3,000 trainees are set to follow them into the profession, ready to carve out their own futures in many diverse ways.
Because the fact is, training as a Chartered Accountant is a great start to a high-level career across the entire business landscape. Many successful entrepreneurs are, fully-qualified Chartered Accountants who have used their professional skills to great effect, both within the accountancy profession, and in other areas.
At this year’s ICAS conference, which will take place in Glasgow in November, the speakers will include Sir Brian Souter CA, Chairman of the international public transport operator, Stagecoach Group Plc.
Also on the podium will be Kirsty Dingwall, who in 2012 left Ernst & Young to set up her own speciality food company, Angelic Gluten Free.
So, too, will be Becky Woodhouse whose training as a Chartered Accountant is behind the success of the PURE Spa & Beauty chain, which she is now set to expand across the UK.
From the boardroom of American pharmacy group, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, to leading equity firms, charitable organisations, global software firms, banking groups, and high-performing technology companies, Scottish Chartered Accountants have found their way right to the top.
So while the comedians at last Month’s Edinburgh Fringe were still churning out their old material about the Scots being miserly, it was the accountants in the audience who could afford to laugh the loudest.
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