Anthony Harbinson FCCA is the first person from Northern Ireland to be appointed as CCAB’s (Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies) new chairman for 2013/14, following the one year tenure of Sir Tony Redmond, the President of CIPFA.

ACCA is one of five members of the UK wide body CCAB, helping to promote the important role that accountants play in building sustainable economic growth.

Anthony is the Director of Safer Communities for the Department of Justice, Northern Ireland and is currently the Vice President of ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

Commenting on his chairmanship, Mr Harbinson said: “Everyone at CCAB would like to thank Sir Tony Redmond for chairing the organisation over the last year. I am delighted to be following in his footsteps and I am looking forward to taking this office and chairing an organisation of professional bodies who work together, communicating the value of the accountancy profession in the UK and globally.”

Anthony Harbinson added: “CCAB’s strategy for 2013/14 is to support growth, ensure financial stability, transparency and fiscal honesty as well as promoting trust and value in the accountancy profession. We are focussing on this growth agenda under the banner of Accountants Building Growth.”

Mr Harbinson concluded: “We will continue to work together to show how the accountancy profession can support and sustain the development and performance of UK and Ireland’s economies.  CCAB members have a shared vision which is founded on CCAB’s core purpose - to promote sustainable growth in the UK economy supported by the UK accountancy profession, based on the guiding principles of transparency and accountability.”

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Notes to Editors1. ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.2. We support our 162,000 members and 426,000 students in 173 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. We work through a network of over 89 offices and centres and more than 8,500 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through our public interest remit, we promote appropriate regulation of accounting and conduct relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.3. Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. We believe that accountants bring value to economies in all stages of development and seek to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards. Our values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and we ensure that through our qualifications, we prepare accountants for business. We seek to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating our qualifications and delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers.

CCAB1. The combined membership of the five CCAB bodies -  ICAEW, ACCA, ICAS, CIPFA and Chartered Accountants Ireland -  amounts to 245,935 professional accountants in the UK and the Republic of Ireland (354,271 worldwide), according to recent statistics from the FRC. These significant numbers enable CCAB to speak with authority for the UK accountancy profession.2. A full biography of Anthony Harbinson can be requested from ACCA’s press office.