Economia claims on its opening page that it will “talk with authority and provide intelligent insight on the issues that matter”. But the question was: would they be issues that mattered to me?
I have been receiving the Accountancy magazine free as part of my subscription for many years. From time to time, I would come across articles that were relevant to me, but working in the private sector, in an SME, I found much of the content too technical and globally-orientated to be of real interest. I always felt that you had to be in practice or at least a CFO of a large organisation to fully appreciate what it had to say.
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to see much difference in the ICAEW’s new, self-produced magazine. I was wrong. I was impressed with the number of articles in the first edition that I found that I wanted to read rather than just skim. For example, there is an excellent article about why it’s smart to market in a recession. Admittedly, the firms referred to are global names, but the advice is sound for large and small businesses alike.
There is also a big feature on growth, including an article on “The Squeezed Middle”, emphasizing the importance of medium-sized firms, which the CBI has claimed “are essential to economic recovery”. The ICAEW outlines its 10-point plan for growth, which it recommends to the government, supported by plenty of comment from leading businessmen and women.
The technical briefing was clearly presented, helping you to see at a glance what was pertinent, whilst the business trends section was both informative and thought provoking. And the ‘life’ section, including features on investments, tailoring and eating out was a nice addition, amusing and informative, and perhaps a belated recognition that accountants are real people.
In my opinion, “Economia” appears to be designed with the twenty-first century accountant in mind. The focus is firmly set on business issues that affect all accountants, whether in practice or business. This emphasis is welcome. Long may it continue!
by Rachel Knowles (ACA)
