Dear Members, this is the eleventh issue of my “Blog”.
Another great month for IAPA!
Actually it is one of the best months of IAPA within 2019, where we had the chance to gather with our members from all around the world at our flagship event the IAPA ‘International Conference’. As you know this year is ‘IAPA’s 40th Anniversary’ and we had a chance to celebrate it with our members, friends and business partners together in Singapore.
The IAPA brand is rising with the support of you, our members. We are growing, we are evolving and most importantly we are connecting and building stronger relationships with each other at every gathering. That is the power of a conference!
IAPA 2019 International Conference, Singapore
The 2019 International Conference held in the spectacular setting of Singapore was a great success, attended by 110 delegates from 40 global professional service firms, travelling from 24 countries to join us and celebrate IAPA's 40th Anniversary.
The 4-day event commenced with pre-conference tours of the hosting member Helmi Talib Group and Fiduciary Asia offices in Singapore city. Followed by the main working conference, offering a blend of educational technical forums hosted by member firms, encompassing The Big 4, Facilitating International Business, Technology Working, Non-Doms in the UK, Corporate Finance and Legal and Transfer Pricing.
Industry-expert keynote speakers shared their knowledge of key topics including New Globalisation from Ryan Piper at Baker Tilly International, Singapore as a Gateway to ASEAN from Germin Ong at Singapore Accountancy Commission, GenNext and the Talent Conundrum from Chun Wee Chiew at ACCA and Business Creativity from Fredrik Haren, Author and Certified Speaker.
As always, it was great to see friends, meet with new members and hear from industry experts. Thank you to all who shared their knowledge and wisdom and thank you to all firms that attended and contributed to the event and its success.
To view the presentations, photographs, videos and the press statement, please click here >>
I would like to thank to our host firms Helmi Talib & Co and Fiduciary Asia and the conference management team members namely Rocel, Cassandra, Sharon and Taberna.
Glad we have you all!
IAPA now ranked 6th position for ‘International Alliances and Associations 2019’
IAPA is pleased to be ranked 6th position for ‘International Alliances and Associations 2019’ by The Accountancy Age this month. IAPA has successfully expanded in the past year, having risen 12 places in the rankings, with a significant 464.9% increase in fee income.
IAPA’s growth is owed to the welcoming new professional services members to the association from across the globe and the growth of the current members compared to the last year. These new firms further strengthen and broaden the services offered to members, which now comprise of professional services firms (i.e. accounting, audit, tax, legal, advisory, financial, immigration and technology services firms).
I am thrilled to see IAPA elevated to 6th position in The Accountancy Age rankings. This growth has been achieved with a lot of sweat and hard work, it hasn’t happened in a day, as said “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Growing the association ensures that we continue to keep members connected with top firms worldwide to aid business development. I am so proud of our achievements in the last 18+ months, we are rebuilding the belief under this roof, where ranking is just a part and reflection of it. I passionately believe in my job and our organization; my heart is beating with IAPA and our members. IAPA is beyond business.
The Accountancy Age Top 20 International Alliances and Associations 2019 promotes excellence in the accountancy industry worldwide by ranking accountancy organisations by combined annual total income. The full rankings list can be viewed here >>
Union of International Associations Roundtable
Attending Union of International Associations - UIA Round Table Meeting in Brussels, Belgium 🇧🇪 and representing IAPA International. IAPA International is a Member of Union of International Associations - UIA which was founded in 1907 by a Nobel Prize awarded Henri La Fontaine and Paul Otlet. It was my first attendance to the Union of International Associations - UIA round table meetings. There were 200+ delegates from 30+ countries – I found it a great platform and opportunity to learn through networking and practice, to meet other international associations and share experience and knowledge which in turn will aid us to manage our organizations better.
UK200Group 2019 Conference, Liverpool, UK
I recently attended the UK200Group 2019 Conference, which was bursting with content, high quality speakers, great networking opportunities, and very inspirational with nearly 150 high calibre attendees. It was great to be a part of it! Proud of IAPA International UK National Accounting Group! Well done Declan Swan. You can view the Annual UK200Group report here >>
International Forum
I had the pleasure of speaking at the UK200Group ‘Picking up the pace’ themed 2019 International Conference. I hosted the ‘Maximizing the benefits of our international connections’ session together with David Stevens, Partner at Ellacotts, on the first day (International Forum) of the conference. It was well attended and members contributed greatly to the session. Thank you very much UK200Group, David Stevens and Declan Swan for the opportunity. View the event summary here >>
2 member office visits in 2 different countries
I had the chance to visit 2 member offices in November. It is always great meeting with our members and understanding their needs from us and to see the world from their angles in order to help them grow.
Current Member Visits in November 2019:
International Board Meeting
Our monthly International Board meeting took place on 21 November 2019 in Singapore. The aim is to get together in person at least two times a year, so utilising the Singapore conference was a great opportunity to convene.
Avrio Advocati
Avrio Advocati is an active and global network of trusted, independent, commercial law firms.
I recently attended their International Autumn Conference in Quebec City, Canada to develop the relationship between Avrio Advocati and IAPA. I would like to thank them for their great hospitality and for allowing me to address their members within the conference. In return we invited their president Philip Gilliland and board member Bryan Bletso to the International Conference in Singapore. Thank you very much for their attendance and addressing our members within the conference. We both have decided to discuss how we can further improve our relationships within our boards in the respective board meetings in January.
Announced IAPA Events in 2020
I would to update you about the IAPA events scheduled for 2020 to enable you to start planning logistics and adding the dates to your agenda.
View the 2020 events calendar here >>
Planning IAPA International Conferences 2021, 2022 and 2023
Our objective for future events is to implement a model where we shall decide and announce our International Conference city locations 4 years ahead of schedule. This will allow our members to be informed much earlier in advance and enable arrangements to be made around these locations, of course unless there is an important reason to change the resolved region.
You may find the agreed International Conference country locations below. These conferences have been combined with our Regional Conferences to improve the connection possibilities between the regional and international members:
Webinars 2019:
Free IAPA Webinars! Please find the December 2019 & January 2020 agenda below:
Taberna Sansom - Special Thanks!
Our Marketing and Member Services Manager Taberna Sansom has decided to leave IAPA, with her last day being 24 December 2019. I would like to thank to her for her contributions to our organization and I wish her all the best for the future.
Tameka Morrison – Welcome!
We are pleased to announce that Tameka Morrison has recently (2 December 2019) joined the IAPA team as the Office Administrator and Marketing Coordinator. Welcome to the IAPA Family Tameka! Read the article here >>
IAPA Festive Office Closure
The IAPA offices will be closed over the festive period from Wednesday 25 December and reopening on Thursday 2 January 2020.
We wish you all Season's Greetings and a prosperous New Year.
Closing Remarks
Being a part of IAPA’s growth is very thrilling, especially with the level of quality and harmony we experience within the organization. Our ultimate goal is to lead an organization when our members are proud to be part of it and looking forward to attending the next event to see their long-standing friends, learn something new to implement their businesses and meet with new business partners from different parts of the world. I am very happy to say that we are achieving all of our goals from that perspective.
Dear IAPA Family, the end of the year is the time of year for remembrance. We take stock of where we came from, and have a moment to think about where we are going, as we pursue the future with hope. May your new year be all that you hope for, and may it be sprinkled with love and friendship. Happy Holidays and a happy New Year! May peace, love, and prosperity follow you always.
