The Charter of Ian Johnson

When you meet Mr Ian Johnson he will describe himself as a “Chartered Accountant” and give an impression of a “stunningly successful” businessman:

“A fully qualified Chartered Accountant, Ian has seen his many and varied business interests take him literally around the globe.” (Source: Ian Johnson's biography, The Infinite Group franchisee induction training materials)

He even states this in his own Biography within new franchisee induction training materials (and we use the phrase “training materials” loosely here).

Whilst Mr Johnson uses the designation of B.Bus (Accounting) CPA, this only means that he has an Australian Bachelor in Business (Accounting) degree and is a Certified Public Accountant authorised by CPA Australia (Certified Practicing Accountants in Australia).

We have checked with a number of professional bodies both in the UK and Australia:

• ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)
• ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)
• ICAA (the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia)
• CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)
• ICAS (the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland)

None of these organisations have Mr Ian David Johnson listed as their member. In fact, by passing himself for a “Chartered Accountant” Mr Johnson is deliberately misleading everyone that he is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and therefore infringes the ICAEW’s registered trademark "Chartered Accountant" (registration number 2023786).

By his own admission, Mr Johnson has not practiced accountancy since around 1999/2000:

“After retiring from practice ten years later, his [Ian Johnson's] interests quickly turned to Franchising. He invested in a Business Consulting Franchise as a Franchisee and, 14 months later, was awarded “Global Franchisee of the Year” in Mexico in 2001.” (Source: Ian Johnson’s biography, The Infinite Group franchisee induction training material)

This begs the question that if Ian Johnson has not practiced accountancy for at least 13 years, should he even call himself an accountant (never mind a Chartered one!)?

So, what Charter does Mr Johnson adhere to? His own, by the looks of things “Ian Johnson’s Charter of greed, lies and deceit”.