ABOUT US
Ian Waters MA FCA
Director
Ian qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1990, and has extensive experience of the SMP sector. In 2004, he joined the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, where he specialised in regulation and ethics. As Head of Standards, Ian led ACCA’s work in all aspects of regulatory policy, including emerging areas such as legal services and anti-money laundering supervision.
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More recently, Ian held the role of Director of Professional Standards at the Institute of Financial Accountants, where he led a team to achieve enhancements to the Institute’s monitoring and enforcement arrangements. Ian has sat on various working groups concerned with ethics and regulation, including anti-money laundering compliance and oversight. He is the vice chair of the Practice Assurance Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
As a consultant, Ian enjoys providing solutions in the various areas of regulatory compliance and support for small practices. He has also worked with professional accountancy bodies, and understands the importance of professional ethics in regulation and an open culture within organisations.
OUR VISION
As an organisation that leads by example, with ethics and the public interest at its core, Compliance for Accountants will be the most trusted and respected provider of compliance solutions for SMPs. It will be driven by its values and quality of service, remaining a compact organisation with a personal touch. Compliance for Accountants will continue to provide tailored services to clients because it will always be prepared to listen to the needs of SMPs.
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Compliance for Accountants will have access to resources to satisfy all the compliance needs of SMPs across the United Kingdom, which will include a broad network of consultants – with similar values – with whom Compliance for Accountants will partner in order to provide support in specialist technical areas. We shall respond to the needs of our clients, and provide products and services in a range of formats according to our clients’ needs and preferences. We shall not lose sight of the importance of face-to-face interactions, as well as online (and on demand) services, that meet the needs of flexible working.
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Our products and services will be regarded as fundamental in helping our client firms to grow – in reputation and reach - and Compliance for Accountants will build long-lasting relationships with its client firms. The advantages to those firms will, in turn, give rise to benefits to their clients. Clients, and others, will also benefit directly from the compliance policies and procedures implemented within firms. Compliance for Accountants recognises that meeting the compliance needs of its client firms entails upholding the public interest, and this will be the hallmark of the company and its clients.
OUR CORE VALUES
Our values provide a framework within which the company’s vision is being pursued, guiding the behaviours and attitudes of those who work in and for the organisation, and promoting trust. Our values help to define how relationships with clients (and with our professional partners) are conducted.
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The objectives of Compliance for Accountants (CfA) describe what is to be achieved; our values describe how we shall achieve them. Fundamentally, our values are built upon an absolute requirement for ethical behaviour. Our values are as follows:
Integrity
Acting with honesty, and doing the right thing, even when out of sight
Professionalism
Always conscious of the fact that the reputation of Compliance for Accountants impacts the reputation of consultants everywhere
Collaboration
Working empathically with clients and partners to understand and fulfil the needs of accountants and their clients - exploring each client’s unique perspective
Congruence
Following an ethical code that is as stringent as that followed by professional accountants
Respect
Being open-minded when discussing clients’ needs, and exercising integrity, professionalism and congruence without personal judgement
Responsibility
Remaining accountable for the decisions we make, which serve to advance the interests of accountants and their clients