CTA News July 2006 - CIOT - The Chartered Institute of Taxation

The speech delivered by the outgoing President,
Peter Kempster, at the Institute’s Annual General
Meeting on Tuesday 9 May 2005
kindly provided the warm-up act by presenting the Pre-Budget
Review in the afternoon, and then we carried on the celebrations in
a much lighter vein.
In January Council awarded an Honorary Fellowship to Lord
Hoffmann, and it was a great personal pleasure for me to be able to
present that award to such an eminent lawyer who keenly
appreciates the need to balance the rights and obligations of both
citizen and state – aims declared in the motto of our Institute.
In relation to setting our future strategy, one of my first duties as
President was to chair an all-day meeting of Council to discuss
Strategy 2010. In at the deep end! How to facilitate the discussion
of a wide range of important topics by three dozen distinguished
professional people – especially when Council had rejected the
notion of a rigid agenda in favour of a “blue-skies debate” Well,
my task was made feasible by the constructive and creative approach
of every Council member. There was some controversy and some
surprises – I recall the view (held by only one Council member, I
believe) that the CTA exams are far too easy!
But from that meeting and many subsequent ones at both Council
and committee level, we have emerged with a worthy plan for our
future development. It covers areas as diverse as the future structure
of the CTA exams; our relationship with HMRC and HM Treasury;
and the evolving role of an educational charity in the community.
A crucial element of that development is our future membership,
and I had great pleasure in hosting two Admissions Ceremonies for
our new members – one of these being the largest such event we
have held. It was wonderful to meet not just our latest recruits but
also their very proud families and friends.
Before I was appointed President this time last year I asked several
of my predecessors for any advice they had about the Presidential
role. I hope I have followed most of the good advice that was so
generously given. One thing everyone told me was, “You won’t
believe how quickly the year of office passes.” Well, they were right.
It seems no time at all between listening to the CTA Address being
delivered by Sir Nicholas Montagu and Prof. Philip Baker, to being
here in the same surroundings 12 months later.
But what a busy 12 months they have been. There have been two
main preoccupations: the second part of our 75 th Anniversary Year,
and the formulation by Council and Committees of the Institute’s
Strategy for the next five years. Our 2005 Annual Report gives lots
of detail of what we all got up to in both respects, and I have not
the time to catalogue all the activities and initiatives. Instead, I will
mention just a few personal highlights – some of which I hope you
had the opportunity to share.
In our Anniversary Year I recall opening CTA Day in September by
releasing 1000 balloons outside our headquarters. The photograph
of me holding the balloons resembles a sketch in a certain Winnie
the Pooh story, but I avoided the airborne fate of that bear – assisted
no doubt by the ballast provided by attendance at numerous formal
dinners on behalf of the Institute.
In December- on the exact anniversary of the date of our foundation
– we welcomed our friends and colleagues to a splendid reception
at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
Another key element of our future is our Branch network. At the
beginning of my year of office I expressed the wish to visit as many
as possible of our 30 branches (since expanded to 31 branches). I
believe I have missed just three of them, for various reasons, but as
I was also invited by others to more than one event, I feel honour is
satisfied. My visits were a mix of evening technical lectures,
presentations at conferences, dinners and other events. Some of
these were special occasions to mark our 75 th Anniversary – such as
helping Essex Branch to adopt an owl at Colchester Zoo, or helping
London Branch distribute leaflets at Victoria Station to morning
commuters (including the Chancellor of the Exchequer!).
Everywhere I visited, from Scotland to Devon, Northern Ireland to
Kent, from Guernsey across continental Europe to Hong Kong and
Singapore, everywhere I was impressed by the camaraderie and
collegiality of our members, the pride they have in belonging to our
Institute, and the professionalism of their approach to their
colleagues and clients.
Thank you to everyone in the Branch network who made my year of
office so enjoyable.
Two members of Council retired during the year. First Ian Richardson,
who has served on many committees and working parties, culminating
in being Treasurer of the Institute for a number of years. Ian
cannot be here today so we are arranging a presentation for him
“up North” in the near future. I know we would all like to express
our gratitude to Ian for his contribution to the Institute over the years.
Second, Tim Ambrose. Tim needs no introduction as a Past President
of the Institute. I had the honour of serving as his Vice-President
and Tim’s dedication to the role was not only an inspiration to his
fellow officers, but also a substantial contribution to the profitability
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The Chartered Institute of Taxation is the professional body for Chartered Tax Advisers