Accountants call for clarity on impact from provisional Brexit agreement

● Quarterly survey by Icas and law firm Brodies saw responses from 310 people

The time has come to provide clarity on what the Brexit transition will mean for business, according to a survey of chartered accountants published yesterday.

The provisional agreement thrashed out between the UK government and European Union in December does not go far enough to spell out the impact the transition to Brexit will have on businesses. That is the verdict of nearly seven out of ten accountants in the latest quarterly Icas Brexit Tracker survey.

The online poll, carried out by the accountancy body in association with law firm Brodies, asked respondents whether they found the provisional agreement “clear and understandable”, of which 36 per cent said it was “quite unclear” and 32 per cent rated it as “not at all clear”. Only 2 per cent believed it was “very clear”, while 24 per cent rated it as “fairly clear”.

The survey found that the recent agreement is seen as most helpful as regards residence rights for UK citizens in the rest of the EU, and EU nationals in the UK, and least helpful on future freedom of movement, regulations and transitional trading arrangements.

Icas members were more optimistic regarding the likelihood of a UK/EU free trade agreement. In the winter poll, 42 per cent expected a trade deal, but not membership of the single market, would be the outcome of the Brexit talks. This compares with 36 per cent in the previous autumn Brexit Tracker survey, conducted before the December agreement.

Only 25 per cent expect the UK will leave the EU with no free trade agreement in place, 19 per cent believe the UK will continue as a member of the customs union, but not the single market, while 5 per cent reckon the UK will stay in the single market after Brexit, the latest poll found.

Respondents were slightly more optimistic about what Brexit means for their own organisation, but slightly more pessimistic about its impact on the wider economy.

Bruce Cartwright, chief executive designate at Icas, said: “The positive steps announced in December in the so-called stage one negotiations provided some momentum coming in to the new year.

“However, our members are very conscious that the next stage, which includes transitional arrangements, is key. This is a crucial stage that should hammer out some detail and provide the muchneeded clarity that our business leaders seek.”

The survey was carried out last month – based on responses from some 310 members.