(6th April 09) New Chairman Says ‘Chartered Accountants are at forefront of dealing with economic challenges'

Kevin Kingston was elected Chairman of the Ulster Society of Chartered Accountants (USCA) at its Annual General Meeting in Belfast today. The USCA represents over 3,000 Chartered Accountants and is a district society of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, the largest and oldest professional accountancy body in Ireland.

Mr. Kingston, who takes over as Chairman from Kevin MacAllister, is General Manager of Corporate and Markets at Northern Bank and a member of the Bank’s Executive Committee.

Addressing the USCA’s AGM, Mr. Kingston stressed that the Society has a central role to play in the business community and a crucial contribution to make to the economic life of Northern Ireland:

“It is our members, both in practice and in industry, who are at the forefront of dealing with the realities of the economic challenges that we face.”

“There is no doubt that our Society and our profession will face a number of new challenges in the year ahead. It is impossible to escape the growing pessimism about the prospects for the economy over the medium term and the difficult challenges that this will pose for our political leaders.”

“Our key priority in the year ahead will be to contribute to the process of recovery. Our aim is to make a genuine and tangible contribution to helping the Executive at Stormont to steer their way out of the current economic crisis, in the knowledge that there are no quick fixes or magic bullets to transform what will be a tough couple of years. “

Mr. Kingston also pledged that the USCA would focus on meeting the changing needs of its membership and would engage with other stakeholders in the Northern Ireland economy in new ways and on new levels.

“I am confident that it is exactly at such challenging times as this that the skills and qualities of our members will be needed more than ever. As Chairman, I will aim to ensure that we play our part in assisting the work of the Executive at Stormont and will ensure that the Society plays its part in engaging with and supporting our members in the year ahead.”

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