Meet the new chair and vice chair of the ISC for 2026/27 – Sunny Yang and Sophie Armstrong.
Sunny Yang is ACA and CTA qualified. He started his accountancy career in banking assurance, working with investment banking and trading clients, before moving into corporate tax advisory, where he now works with privately backed and multinational businesses on areas such as transactions, restructuring, compliance and tax risk.
Alongside his day job, Sunny has been heavily involved in the student and early-careers side of the profession. He has had two terms as Chair of the Chartered Accountant Student Society of London (CASSL) and now chairs the ICAEW Student Council. He also is one of the youngest members on ICAEW council.
Sophie Armstrong, the new Vice-Chair of ICAEW Student Council, currently works at as a senior auditor for large UK businesses. She is the most recent ex-Chair of CASSL, where she was the youngest Chair in the organisation’s 140- year history.
Involvement in Council
The ICAEW Student Council is made up of chairs and councillors from ICAEW’s student societies, representing the views of around 40,000 professional trainees currently studying towards the qualification. Sunny and Sophie both began their involvement with CASSL, before going on to represent students more widely through ISC.
For Sunny, the ISC is valuable because it connects students with the wider ICAEW ecosystem. It allows student representatives to share what is working well locally, raise the challenges students are facing, and give students a voice with the people making decisions. He believes that the professional journey of a trainee can be enhanced by local societies in each region, to help develop new skills and networks that may not always be readily available through their day-to-day roles.
Sophie shares a similar view and sees ISC as a platform to help the next generation of students feel more informed, more connected and less alone throughout their ACA journey.
Priorities in office
Their priorities can be summed up in three words: unite, share and grow.
There is a huge amount of good work happening across the network, but societies should not always have to reinvent the wheel.
Where events, exam support, careers talks or wellbeing initiatives are useful to all students they want to encourage more collaboration in the network.
Another priority is to champion diversity and equal opportunities for ACA trainees. They hope to target the needs of trainees from smaller firms or more diverse backgrounds who may need more support from the regional student societies.
They are also focused on ensuring ISC continues to engage with the major themes shaping the future of the profession, including AI, data, sustainability, wellbeing and the changing expectations placed on future chartered accountants.
ICAEW’s new qualification
Next Gen ACA has been developed through a substantial consultation process, with chief examiners and other ICAEW stakeholders actively seeking feedback and suggestions from previous ISCs. Sunny recalls being closely involved in focus group-style sessions, where regional chairs shared their views on what matters most as the profession evolves. This includes which skills, topics and technical areas should remain central to the syllabus.
Both Sunny and Sophie agree that the scheme has been rolled out and delivered with a lot of preparation. ICAEW examiners have been attentive to ISC feedback and have shown a willingness to adapt, refine and improve the qualification where appropriate.
ISC influence
ICAEW has carried out many consultations and is always keen to hear students’ views. Previous Chairs of the ISC usually go on to hold office on ICAEW’s main council, which gives a lot of weight to the decisions made by ICAEW.
Senior ICAEW stakeholders attend ISC meetings regularly to present ideas, test thinking, and hear about students’ experiences.
Advice to new starters
Sunny and Sophie would tell their younger selves not to underestimate how much the ACA journey shapes you beyond the exams.
When starting ACA it can feel like everything is about passing the next paper. Exams matter, but the qualification is also about building judgement, resilience, networks and professional confidence.
Their advice is to get involved early: join your local student society, attend events, meet people beyond your own firm and build a strong support network. Some of the most valuable opportunities in their careers have come from volunteering, mentoring, contributing to the wider profession and saying yes to opportunities.
Sunny and Sophie have both had invaluable tutelage from ICAEW office holders like Malcolm Bacchus (a past President of ICAEW) throughout their time with CASSL and Sunny has been grateful for mentors such as Deborah Harris (the first black female President of the London Society of Chartered Accountants).
- Thanks to ICAEW for this article
