At the heart of economy

May 18 2007 By Rob Barrigan, The Journal

• Rob Barrigan is president of the Northern Society of Chartered Accountants.

As years go, 1882 seems to have been quite a momentous one for the region. City status was conferred upon Newcastle (even though it is still affectionately referred to as 'the toon'), St Nicholas' Church became a cathedral and Fenwick opened its Northumberland Street store.

Meanwhile, the birth of steel production on Teesside turned Middlesbrough into a boom town - and Carlisle's first telephones were installed.

Not bad for starters, you might think. But yet another ground-breaking event occurred in 1882 - the Northern Society of Chartered Accountants (NSCA) held its inaugural meeting.

Which means, of course, that NSCA members have been at the heart of the region's economy for the past 125 years. Inevitably, the business world has changed out of all recognition since that July 31 afternoon when our founding fathers first convened at St Nicholas' Chambers, Newcastle.

The mind boggles at what they would have made of today's essential business tools - the internet, mobile phones, laptop computers and so on.

Yet perhaps surprisingly, some things have changed relatively little - and the bottom line is just as important as it ever was.

Our 3,200 members are part of the fabric of regional business, whether as finance directors in companies, or in accountancy practices, providing professional advice to firms of all sizes across a wide range of sectors.

From Tweed to Tees and across to Cumbria, chartered accountants are involved in key business decisions on a daily basis, helping to shape the region's economic landscape - from start-ups to major capital investments and big corporate finance deals.

Our members hold senior positions in some of the region's largest and most successful companies.

So it should come as no surprise that chartered accountants figure prominently among the past winners of The Journal's prestigious North-East Business Executive of the Year title.

The success of Tor Coatings chairman Guy Readman back in 1995 has since been emulated by Northumbrian Water managing director John Cuthbert (2003), Sage chief executive Paul Walker (2004) and Greggs managing director Sir Michael Darrington (2005).

In many ways, the basic principles which guided the accountancy profession over a century ago are as valid now as they were then.

Today's chartered accountants share the same core values as those in Victorian times, qualities such as integrity, a commitment to the highest professional and ethical standards and acting in the public interest. Another thing we have in common with our 19th Century forebears is the underlying conviction that because of us, people really can do business with confidence.

So while taking an obvious pride in our history in this special anniversary year, we must continue to look forward to ensure the accountancy profession is well equipped to meet the challenges that lie ahead in a fast-changing global economy.

---------------------------------------------------------

Also in 1882 ...

Trimdon Grange mining disaster. 74 people killed.

WG Armstrong, the famous Northern engineer, gained interests in the Tyneside shipbuilding firm of Mitchells and the company of WG Armstrong, Mitchell & Co was formed.

Institution of `the Ashes' in cricket between England and Australia.

Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet, first appearance of Sherlock Holmes.

Births: January 18 - A. A. Milne, British author (d. 1956). January 25 - Virginia Woolf, English writer (d. 1941).January 30 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States (d. 1945). February 2 - James Joyce, Irish author (d. 1941).

Deaths: April 3 - Jesse James, American West outlaw (b. 1847) was shot in the back and killed by Robert Ford for a $5,000 reward.April 19 - Charles Darwin, British naturalist (b. 1809).