CRICKET fans will learn all about the virtues of chartered accountants when they watch the finals of the World Cup next month.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia is about to launch a branding campaign to promote chartered accountants as advisers to business.
The campaign will start with television advertisements during forthcoming cricket and rugby championships as well as national print advertisements.
The advertising will be just the start of the campaign, which is expected to run for a number of years and cost several million dollars.
ICAA president David Smith, in Perth last week as part of a national roadshow to promote the campaign, said the institute had never run such an extensive or long-running campaign.
It stemmed from research among ICAA members that found 77 per cent wanted the CA designation to have better recognition in the market.
Mr Smith said the campaign would seek to widen perceptions of CAs.
He cited Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey as an example of a CA who is working outside the traditional domain.
ICAA chief executive Stephen Harrison said the first objective of the branding campaign was to lift the visibility and recognition of the CA brand in the business community.
Mr Harrison acknowledged that unaided awareness of the CA brand was currently at low levels.
An increase in brand recognition could be followed by building awareness of the “ethics, principles and good judgement” of CAs.
A second objective was to inform the student community about the “power and attractiveness” of the CA brand.
