The world of accounting and finance is in mourning for the second time in as many weeks with the news that Roger Cotton, the former chief executive officer of the Institute of Public Accountants, passed away last Friday at the age of 75.
This sad new spread quickly along the networks of staff, alumni and others in the accounting world. This is a profession that found itself in shock two weeks ago, having farewelled CPA Australia’s much-loved tax guru, Paul Drum.
Those yarning about Paul and his influence found those talks compounded their depth of feeling for Roger Cotton’s passing, given that Roger was also well liked.
The IPA’s chief executive officer Andrew Conway paid tribute to Roger and said that he would be missed by all who had benefited from his faith and support.
“At a personal level I will always be grateful to Roger for the opportunity he gave me to join the organisation and the guidance he offered personally and professionally,” Conway said.
Roger was brought in by the board of what was then still known as the National Institute of Accountants in 2001 to reorient the professional body and get the organisation focused on membership growth and service provision.
One of the challenges he consistently faced was a recruitment industry that kept referring to qualified accountants coming solely from CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.
Roger was like a dog at a bone with his persistence to get recruiters to start putting the third accounting body on the same level as the other two. A tax practitioner belonging to any of the three accounting bodies deals with the same pile of (all too cruddy at times) tax law no matter what kind of integrity brand is displayed on the shingle they hang out in Brunswick, Burnie or Broome.
That brawl for recognition also lured into the fray the university sector, which for some time had been the target of recruitment by the two larger professional bodies. Academics tended to be champions for one of the other two bodies until the NIA boss or his team members came knocking.
Roger got the NIA recognised internationally at the International Federation of Accountants, the global body for the accounting profession. He did so despite the grumbles of the other two organisations and he earned their begrudging respect for taking the fight up to them.
One of Roger’s great attributes was that he would be mindful that people were given enough space to breath as employees to be their best. He would also occasionally remind people of their place if they pressed the wrong buttons.
How do I know that?
Roger took a risk in hiring me back into the NIA HQ in November 2004. I had gotten a reputation for rattling the cages in the accounting profession as a journalist and the recognition I received as a subject matter expert in the areas of accounting and audit resulted in me having a meaningful conversation with Roger and the team
I walked into the NIA’s offices on Valentines Day in 2005.
Roger knew he was taking on somebody who knew where skeletons were buried and that I was a person who had put some noses out of joint. A few folks in powerful places didn’t like some of my commentary and reporting and it showed.
Roger understood that there would be some payback coming my way for things I had written.
We found workarounds for those situations where people put obstacles up to my attendance at industry forums where matters in my area of expertise were discussed.
It was during Roger’s time that the NIA zeroed in on what the other two professional bodies saw as their traditional stomping ground: accounting and audit. A series of international regulators visited Australia and conducted conferences and industry round tables that involved sponsorship from Big Four accounting firms.
Each of these functions or events built the organisation’s reputation and played a part in earning the National Institute of Accountants a place at the most effective industry tables.
Each milestone caused the other two – CPA and the Institute - to think about how to compete in the battle of ideas while being upstaged by the smaller and more keenly-priced cousin.
There were amusing moments when you worked with Roger. We would meet with figures from government departments and statutory bodies including the Financial Reporting Council and plenty stared warily when they saw me sitting in a room with the technical team at the NIA in my early days.
Roger told them bluntly that I now worked at the organisation and I would remain in the room for the meeting. I suspect that in his quieter moments Roger found that rather entertaining.
His old school knockabout demeanour endeared him to many of his staff and industry contacts and is only one of the reasons he will be missed by teams that he treated as extended family.
One source that shall remain nameless recently recalled a Cotton classic that perfectly illustrated life with Rog. Roger was at a cocktail function and according to my contact was being told he was nuts for hiring me.
“Where would you rather have Tom?,” Roger asked. “Outside the tent pissing in, or inside the tent pissing out?”
May his wife June and his family find solace in his service to his industry and his tender support for the lives of so many people who are grateful to have known Roger, and may he rest in peace.