The High Court has been asked to approve the amalgamation of the two professional bodies for accountants.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) of Ireland applied for and was granted permission on Monday to enter into the court’s fast-rack commercial division its application for approval for a scheme of arrangement which will see its amalgamation with the larger Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI).
Mr Justice Michael Twomey agreed, on the application of Brian Kennedy SC for the CPA, to admit the matter to the commercial list and approved directions for an early hearing.
The CPA was set up in 1943 and has about 4,828 members. The CAI was established in 1888 and has almost 33,000 members and provides education for 6,000 students. Both are regulated in Ireland by the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority.
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Both sets of members have already voted in favour of the amalgamation.
In an affidavit seeking entry of the application to the Commercial Court, CPA chief executive officer Eamonn Siggins said the amalgamation would have “a significant impact on the accountancy profession in Ireland.
He said the profession was “facing a generation challenge in terms of attractiveness to new entrants” and in terms of the rapid development of emerging technologies and increased engagement with regulators and other government agencies.
In response to these developments, accountancy bodies across the globe have developed closer ties and, in many cases, amalgamated to strengthen the profession’s strategic positioning and meet the shared challenges and opportunities of this “ever-changing landscape”, he said.
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