Rebel ACCA members defeated at egm

Following a series of heated exchanges, members rejected by a margin of more than ten to one, a proposal from a group of 114 members to call for a full review of ACCA’s corporate governance procedures.

In all, just 651 members backed the motion, while 7,615 voted against it and 35 abstained.

Thomas and other ex-council member behind the motion Anthony Cruse, decided to call for an egm in order to push for an independent review of the ACCA’s corporate governance procedures.

Both distanced themselves from the removal of president-elect Ray Gardiner last year on the day he was due to take office and the disciplinary action against Robert Jackson as a direct reason for the proposal.

The move represents an overwhelming vote of confidence in the council. But proxy voting backing the ACCA president John Brockwell against the motion had already seen off the action.

Speaking soon after the vote was announced, Brockwell said: ‘Members do not want to put the clock back; they want ACCA to continue to move forward, to be business-like and customer-focused. They want a modern body which delivers quality service and support when they need it, and representation and recognition to add value to their qualification.

‘Council will now get back to the issues which are of real concern to all but a tiny minority so that ACCA continues to move forward in a positive direction,’ Brockwell added.

Thomas had managed to get sufficient signatures to back an egm to debate the motion which called for an independent investigation into the association’s governance and the use of proxy votes to defeat challenges.

ACCA told the meeting it would set up a working party to investigate governance issues.

Many of the members backing Thomas’s motion came from Malaysia, where ACCA had disaffiliated its local branch and set up a new organisation.