Our President in 1901 was: 
The Right Hon. The Earl of Aberdeen, G.C.M.C., LL.D.

This Toast to Sir Walter has been be made available here thanks to a very kind donation from Sir David Tweedie

Sir David Tweedie has had a long and distinguished career at the forefront of accountancy on both a domestic and international stage.

He was educated at Edinburgh University, where he gained a BCom in 1966 and a PhD in 1969. Following qualification as a Scottish chartered accountant he was appointed technical director of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland in 1978. From there he moved in 1982 to the post of national technical partner of the then Thomson McLintock & Co. Following the merger of his firm in 1987 with Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co, he was appointed national technical partner of KPMG Peat Marwick McLintock.

In 1990 he took up the reins as the first full-time chairman of the newly created Accounting Standards Board. It was here than he began to really make his mark. His energy and expertise were instrumental in the development of coherent and universally accepted principles. In clearing up after the corporate excesses of the 1980s, he earned the moniker 'the most hated accountant in Britain'. He relished the title.

Sir David is a visiting Professor of Accounting in the Management School at Edinburgh University. He has been awarded honorary degrees by seven UK universities, and received the ICAEW's Founding Societies Centenary Award for 1997 and the CIMA Award in 1998 for services to the profession.

His most recent award was a further honorary degree, bestowed by Oxford Brookes University in September 2004. Oxford Brookes chose Sir David for his contribution to a field of study and as, 'an exemplary role model for students. 'His record establishes his standing as the most distinguished member of the profession in the UK,' the university said.

But it is probably in his present role as chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board that he has faced his greatest challenges and recorded his greatest achievements. Sir David has served with distinction in the position since January 2001, and it is acknowledged that he has brought outstanding qualities to the IASB. He has a unique blend of experience and is widely respected throughout Europe, the Asia/Pacific region and North America.