ICAEW appoints new President

The ICAEW has appointed Malcolm Bacchus as its new President for 2024/25. Bacchus succeeds Mark Rhys as ICAEW President and will serve a one-year term until June 2025.

As President, Bacchus will support the implementation of ICAEW’s 10-year strategy as well as the Institute’s commitment to serve the public interest as defined in its Royal Charter.

Bacchus is qualified as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant in 1981. He joined ICAEW Council in 2005 and was elected Vice-President in 2022. He has worked in industry for the majority of his professional life, mainly as CFO of AIM listed companies, across a wide range of industries including property, childcare, mining, manufacturing, telecommunications and construction.

He was an active committee member of the London Society of Chartered Accountants between 1986 and 2022. Notable contributions to the society include his service as Chairman for the 1993/94 term, and later as President for the 2017/18 term. He is currently a member of HMRC’s Administrative Burdens Advisory Board and a member of the Court of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Bacchus will be succeeded as Deputy President by Derek Blair, while Caroline Smale becomes Vice President.

Bacchus said “To serve my Institute as its new President is a great privilege.We have a wealth of talent and skills within ICAEW, not only in the traditional areas of accounting, tax and financial management but also in sustainability and technology, including AI. I am proud of everything we have helped the profession to achieve in all these areas, but there remain many new challenges ahead in a rapidly changing world.

“As an advocate for our members, who work in business and practice around the globe, I will highlight the role that ICAEW Chartered Accountants play in enabling a world of sustainable economies – something we recently illustrated within our ICAEW Manifesto for the forthcoming general election in the UK.

“I look forward to playing my part in helping economies to thrive with newfound resilience and renewal.”