Andeep Mangal achieved a “double first” when he was named the new head of the West Midlands’ 8,000 chartered accountants this week.
At 35, he is the youngest president of the Birmingham and West Midlands Society of Chartered Accountants.
And he is also the first from an ethnic minority background to hold the post.
“I believe my appointment sends out a strong message that the Institute of Chartered Accountants in the West Midlands is both inclusive and modern,” Mandeep, a partner with Birmingham firm Tharpers, said.
“The profession continues to attract more and more interest from members of the region’s ethnic minorities and while I am the first such president I certainly won’t be the last.”
He joined the Birmingham and West Midlands Society committee in 2003 and has since been active in the education, student affairs and training sub-committee and helped to revive the Young Chartered Accountants Group.
Andeep says he is passionate about the local community and spent five years in the 1990s volunteering his services at Bloxwich Town Football Club, a run-down non-league side in Walsall, holding various responsibilities from treasurer to chief executive, with barman, turnstile operator and programme editor in between.
The club was at the heart of a local community estate and before it was revived there was no focal point for the local residents to converge. Better organisation behind the scenes coupled with hard work led to success on the pitch which in turn created a vibrant atmosphere in the community.
He has been a governor of Sutton Coldfield College of Further Education since 2003. He is a former non-executive director of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and former vice-chairman of the Institute of Asian Businesses.
Andeep says he will use his term as president to continue to promote the Chartered Accountancy qualification, the Institute of Chartered Accountants’ financial capability in schools initiative and work with other professional bodies in the West Midlands to promote the regional economy.
He added: “I am also keen to use the media to communicate the work of the society back to the members.”
Taking over his new role at a time of growing economic turmoil, Andeep added: “Being from a small practice I get to engage directly with a number of SMEs all of the time and learn about the issues affecting them.
“Currently the credit crunch and the rising cost of fuel prices mean that there are tough times ahead for the clients we all advise.
“There is also a ticking time bomb looming with the explosion of credit card debt as more people use them to finance their other expenditure.”
