At a glance
- The IPA Group has a new 2025–30 strategic plan targeting growth, value, and leadership.
- The IFA remains focused on supporting its core members: small and micro-accountancy practices.
- Practical support includes education, community, AML guidance, and gaining greater official recognition.
- Future opportunities include technology, sustainability reporting, and navigating regulatory change.
Jonathan Barber may be the Institute of Financial Accountants’ UK executive director, but at one point he seemed lost to the profession. Early in his accounting career, he was persuaded to move into recruitment. He was recruited back into the accounting field – well, a sort of accounting – only in March 2012, when the IFA asked him to come aboard as business development manager.
Within a few more years, the Institute had merged with its Australian counterpart to form the IPA Group, one of the world’s largest professional accountancy bodies for small and medium practices. And now Barber is its UK executive director as it launches a new 2025–30 strategic plan.
That plan is “a group strategy”, as he puts it, built through member consultation with plenty of UK influence. The resulting plan sets a bold target of 30,000 active members by the decade’s end.
The vision for the next five years is built on three principles: growth, value, and leadership.
You can view the 2025-30 strategic plan here.
Punching above its weight
Barber says the IFA is an unusually crowded marketplace for accounting professional bodies. “It’s extremely competitive,” he notes. “One could say it’s fairly saturated.” The IFA operates alongside accounting membership groups like the ICAEW, CIMA, and ACCA, as well as two bookkeeping organisations and several trade bodies. That crowded field creates a greater challenge for any individual organisation to be heard.
Barber also notes that the IFA “probably punch above our weight, given our resources and size”. The organisation’s challenge now is to ensure that its voice is heard more on issues where “it has something to shout about”. Those issues relate to the needs of the IFA’s core constituency of small and micro-accountancy businesses, as well as those looking to set up an accountancy practice.
A home for the small practitioner
Barber believes the IFA already has a strong story to tell, because of its continuing focus on delivering practical support to those practices. He aims not just to maintain but to improve the IFA’s performance as a professional body for this important group. He wants an IFA “that is relevant, that is knowledgeable, and… supportive to the arena in which they operate”.
As the IPA Group discussed strategic planning with members, those members made clear they shared that sentiment. Barber says feedback showed members perceive the IFA as approachable and feel valued. And he says the IFA’s support for them is manifesting in several key areas:
- AML compliance: Barber highlights a major focus for the IFA – helping members navigate the complexities of anti-money laundering regulations and assisting with the transition to FCA supervision. He also points to the IFA’s approach of educating and supporting members to deliver a first-class service in this area, which he says members clearly value.
- Community and CPD: The IFA provides members with “a network, a community and a home” through its regional meetings, Barber says. Post-COVID, about 80% of professional development is now delivered online, including an international conference, an AML conference, and a quarterly tax series. But face-to-face meetings remain an essential way for members “to connect with their fellow accountants”.
- Growing the profession: A significant source of pride for Barber is IFA Direct, the institute’s education programme. He sees it as the primary engine for the IFA’s future growth. The strategy is simple – by “growing our own,” the institute can encourage more students to complete their units and become eligible for membership.
- Recognition: The IFA works hard to increase its recognition with lending institutions and government departments. This practical step ensures members aren’t stopped from working on behalf of a client with a particular lender simply because the Institute isn’t on some approved list.
Opportunities ahead
The IFA’s current focus is on rolling out the strategic plan. Barber is taking the message to members directly, with a series of regional meetings planned across the UK in November. But events are also taking place in Pakistan and the UAE.
Looking further ahead, the IFA is focused on helping members through a period of significant change. In the UK, this includes the rollout of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax, and legislative changes at Companies House.
Barber also sees a huge opportunity in technology, urging members to view artificial intelligence as a “partner and not a threat”. He believes AI can reduce the administrative burden, freeing up accountants to spend more quality time advising clients.
Another emerging area is sustainability. While many smaller enterprises see ESG and Net Zero reporting as something for “the big boys,” Barber warns this is changing. Businesses that are part of a large corporate’s supply chain may find themselves excluded if they can’t provide the requisite sustainability reports. This presents a new opportunity for accountants “to get involved in that sort of work,” diversifying away from traditional compliance.
The IFA is also building its advocacy effort, Barber says, involving itself in forums and working groups led by HM Treasury, HMRC and Companies House.
In a complex and shifting landscape, the IFA’s strategy is to remain anchored to its core mission: helping its members to thrive.
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