{"id":23899,"date":"2025-06-09T07:01:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T06:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/?p=23899"},"modified":"2025-12-16T11:57:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T10:57:12","slug":"icaew-welcomes-new-president-derek-blair-for-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/icaew-welcomes-new-president-derek-blair-for-2025-26\/","title":{"rendered":"ICAEW Welcomes New President Derek Blair for 2025\/26\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Derek Blair has officially succeeded Malcolm Bacchus and will remain President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) until June 2026. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Derek begins his term with a clear focus- strengthening the ICAEW community and supporting the profession through the time of change. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What\u2019s on Derek\u2019s Agenda? <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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As a President, Derek is focused on bringing ICAEW<\/a>\u2019s new strategy, <\/span>Direction 2030<\/span><\/b>, to life. This strategy aims to keep accounting profession relevant, reputed and trusted in the fast-changing world.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Derek, this starts with members. He plans to <\/span>strengthen the sense of community<\/span><\/b> across ICAEW\u2019s network, thereby ensuring every member feels supported and valued regardless of the career path or their background. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s also championing for the <\/span>growth of smaller, peer-led groups<\/span>, officially termed as <\/span>micro-communities<\/span><\/b>. These groups will help the members connect, share experiences and build lasting professional relationships. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Derek, \u201cThese networks can make a big difference. They create space for learning, support, and belonging- everything that makes a profession stronger.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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From Trainee to President <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Derek began his career as an audit trainee at Stoy Hayward in 1990. In 1994, he qualified to work as ICAEW chartered Accountant with Charles & Turner, a small firm in London.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Then, Derek joined Morgan Brown & Spofforth as an audit manager and became the partner in 2001. \u00a0In 2004, Derek co-founded Pinkham Blari with fellow ICAEW Chartered Accountant David Pinkham. Their general practice supports \u201c<\/span>corporate refugees\u201d- <\/span><\/b>people who have left larger organisations to start their own ventures. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Outside of work, Derek is a lifelong <\/span>rugby fan<\/span><\/b> and a devoted <\/span>military history enthusiast<\/span><\/b>. He is also a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Conclusion <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Derek presidency is expected to be the period of progress and connection. His focus on Direction 2030, micro communities and member engagement signals a year ahead where learning and listening will take centre stage. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Derek puts it, \u201cI want every member to feel they have a place and a voice within ICAEW.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

It\u2019s clear: Derek presidency is built on people and will shape a stronger and connected future for the profession. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ICAEW\u2019s new leader puts people first\u2014here\u2019s what to expect under Derek Blair\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":23911,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tocer_settings":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,78],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-23899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accountants","category-news","tag-compliance"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23899"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33684,"href":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23899\/revisions\/33684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}