Michael Izza is the chief executive of ICAEW and he has given the strong impression that the institute is now embracing Brexit.

Mr Izza has been quoted saying that any uncertainty regarding Brexit is actually weighing on businesses. Household and even corporate spending are now being influenced by future expectations, but as long as a no-deal Brexit is avoided, it might not have a huge impact on the economy.

Lower levels of investment are certainly a response to the UK’s departure from the EU. This probably won’t be reversed, but if policymakers are able to stay on top of things then the macroeconomic effect should be manageable to say the least. Conclusions such as this seem to be at odds with various articles that have been highlighted by Economia.

ICAEW economists believe that Brexit was always going to be a disaster, and when you look at what’s happened to date, it’s really just been a very expensive exercise. It has been suggested once that the only way to truly evaluate Brexit would be for someone to work out the cost of everything in comparison to the benefits that can be obtained. This would give you the chance to match everything up against one another. If someone WAS able to do this, then there is a high chance that everyone would feel much better about the future prospects and that people would have more faith in everything that’s happening right now.

Rather than attempting to do this, the ICAEW have chosen to make some neutral statements on really limited information. They are also trying to put some kind of positive spin on it, and this is what you’d normally expect from a politician who is desperate to protect their position.

It should be noted that the Institute have stopped rather short of supporting what looks to be a no-deal Brexit. It’s disappointing to see that three years after the referendum, that everyone is still in the same place and that nothing has been determined for the future of the country.

It could be time to issue a challenge to Mr Izza himself. He is a prominent figurehead of the profession and it’s safe to say that it’s now time to come up with some numerical projections that will tell us whether Brexit is better in terms of value than remaining in the EU. If there is good news, we need to know, and we also need to understand any future policies that may come as a result.