Study Notes 4 ACCA

IIRC AND ACCA – SHARING PREMISES

2012-01-23T04:38:00.001-08:00

The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) has moved into ACCA’s (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) offices in London, UK

The organisation will be there for two years. Paul Druckman, Chief Executive Officer of IIRC and the UK located team members of approximately 10 people will be based there.

Helen Brand, ACCA’s chief executive, says: 'We are delighted to be able to offer the IIRC accommodation at ACCA’s London premises. We already co-operate extensively, and ACCA is committed to the aims of the IIRC. We are part of the pilot programme for Integrated Reporting and will be working on this throughout 2012.'

Paul Druckman from the IIRC says: 'We are grateful to ACCA for allowing us to occupy a floor of such prestigious offices in Lincoln's Inn Fields. ACCA has been involved for so long in corporate responsibility and sustainability, their deep connection to integrated reporting is only reinforced by this generous gesture.'

The IIRC is a powerful, international cross section of leaders from the corporate, investment, accounting, securities, regulatory, academic and standard-setting sectors as well as civil society. Integrated Reporting demonstrates the linkages between an organisation’s strategy, governance and financial performance and the social, environmental and economic context within which it operates. ACCA recently signed up to as a pilot for the Integrated Reporting Pilot Programme

GLOBAL TRADE DRYING UP, SAYS LARGEST EVER ECONOMIC SURVEY OF FINANCE PROFESSIONALS

2012-01-23T04:32:00.001-08:00

Leading accountancy bodies join forces to provide powerful insight into challenges facing business; Confidence in the UK is low – but higher than in the rest of Western Europe

Finance professionals believe there will be a renewed global economic downturn in 2012 as the largest ever quarterly survey of professional accountants shows that international trade continued to dry up at the end of last year.

The latest survey of 3,775 professional accountants, including 1,414 senior executives, from around the world, is the result of the collaboration between two major professional bodies. ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), is the global body for professional accountants and has run the Global Economic Conditions Survey since 2009. It has now joined forces with the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), the world's largest and most respected US-based association focused exclusively on the management accounting profession, to develop an even more robust and powerful record of the state of the global economy.

Their views paint a sobering picture of the global economy, says report author Manos Schizas, senior policy adviser with ACCA: 'Almost three quarters of the finance professionals we sampled believe that the global economy is either deteriorating or stagnating, with nearly half reporting a loss of confidence in the prospects of their organisations during the last quarter of 2011.

'Once again, the biggest loss of confidence came in Hong Kong, Singapore and Cyprus, all countries heavily exposed to international trade and cross-border financial activity, which also reported some of the worst perceptions of the global economy; this among other things suggests to us that international trade is in decline' said Dr. Raef Lawson, vice president of research at IMA.

Similarly, the survey found that professionals in utilities firms, which are often domestically focused and fairly robust to economic conditions, reported some of the strongest net confidence gains. On the other hand, pharmaceuticals and IT/communications firms were some of the hardest hit.

At the regional level, Central and Eastern Europe has performed the worst in terms of business confidence, and the Asia-Pacific region is losing confidence at a rate faster than that of Western Europe. Africa, the Middle East and South Asia remain the most upbeat regions, in terms of both business confidence and respondents’ perceptions on the state of the global economy.

While respondents in some regions have said there are encouraging signs from resilient levels of new orders, the damage done to global demand over the last year has been substantial.

'After three consecutive quarters of weakening demand, the cumulative effect is beginning to take its toll on business, and with banks around the world facing an uphill climb towards capital adequacy tightening finance is now adding to this challenge. The result is a deteriorating outlook for business cashflow around the world which may be driving a rise in business failures. Inflationary pressures, which built up steadily over the past two years, are now easing, but the underlying causes of this trend may be just as worrying as last year’s rise in operating costs,' said Manos Schizas.

In line with this deteriorating outlook, survey findings point to weakening trends in employment and investment globally. ACCA and IMA find this particularly worrying, because these two indicators have remained weak throughout the last three years and are crucial to any kind of sustainable recovery.

Finally, the survey’s findings suggest governments have to perform a tough balancing act in coming years if they are to support a flagging economic recovery. Sustainable fiscal stimulus is a luxury that not all governments can afford, especially among developed nations, while austerity is proving hard to reconcile with sustained growth. As a result, government approval levels are at a record low, just when they are most likely to influence business confidence.

The picture in the UK
Traditionally, respondents in the UK are gloomier than the total sample, and this remained the case in the final quarter of 2011, although both business confidence and faith in the recovery were higher here than in Western Europe as a whole.

Only 10% of respondents said they were more confident in the prospects of their organisations than they had been three months earlier, against 45% who reported a loss of confidence. Regarding the global economy, the clear majority of UK respondents (89%) expected stagnation or outright deterioration in the near future.

On balance, government spending is expected to slow substantially over the next five years, and respondents felt that this will be a drag on economic growth. Intriguingly, however, respondents in the UK saw their country’s version of fiscal retrenchment as more sustainable than did their colleagues in other major ACCA/IMA markets, with the exception of Cyprus.

ACCA High Achievers Ceremony

2012-01-23T04:02:00.000-08:00

ACCA Pakistan is organising High Achiever’s Ceremony next week in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore to celebrate the extra-ordinary accomplishments of students of CAT and ACCA Qualifications in December 2010 and June 2011 exam sessions.

This year’s ceremony will appreciate the achievement of over 90 high achievers with 24 global and 66 national positions in the CAT and ACCA exams. The high achievers will be awarded with certificates and cash prizes in presence of distinguished guests including employers, learning providers and parents.

On this occasion, Mr Shamez Mukhi, Head of Public Affairs, ACCA Pakistan said ‘every year, our students in Pakistan achieve excellence in the global ACCA exams, which is indeed a source of pride for the ACCA community and our country. The High Achievers have demonstrated their potential to be the future leaders of the accountancy profession, equipped with in-depth knowledge and skills underpinned by strong values of professionalism and ethics.’

ACCA - Accountants for Business Global Forum Pakistan 2011

2011-11-16T03:03:00.001-08:00

ACCA Pakistan is organising Accountants for Business Global Forum Pakistan 2011 on 17 November 2011 at Royal Palm Country & Golf Club in Lahore. Participants including senior HR, finance and accounting professionals from private and public sector and practice will attend the event.
More and more businesses demand from their finance, the ability to think about the future of the business, scan the horizon for business opportunities, design new business models and contribute to the innovation of products, services and processes. The event emphasises the need for discussions around business accountability and assurance provision challenges presented to the accountancy profession by the new business environment, talent management, revolutionising professional education and development through e-Learning.
The forum will discuss risk and rewards – shared perspectives, maximising people power - effective talent management in finance and the e-professional – embracing learning technologies. ACCA aims to bring together high caliber delegates and industry experts to lead a dialogue on topics that we see as the most important to the future of accounting, auditing, finance, education and management.

The speakers include Muhammad Uzair, Director Internal Audit, Tourism Promotion Services (Pakistan) Ltd, Tahir Jawaid, Vice President Human Resource and Public Affairs, Engro Corporation Ltd and Jehan Ara, President P@SHA. The panellists include senior professionals from ACCA Pakistan, PSO, AKD Securities Ltd, Islamabad Stock Exchange, Arif Habib Corporation Ltd, Allied Bank Ltd, Packages Ltd, Tetra Pak Pakistan Ltd, KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co. Chartered Accountants, Ernst & Young Ford Rhodes Sidat Hyder, Virtual University and BRAMERZ. The moderators of the panel discussions will be Mr Junaid Iqbal, former CEO BMA Financial Services Ltd, Ms. Mahreen Khan, General Manager, Group Communication & Public Affairs, Dawood Hercules Conglomerate and Hammad Siddiqui, Deputy Country Director, CIPE.

On this occasion, Mr Arif Masud Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan said ‘as a participant of Accountants for Business Global Forum Pakistan 2011, you will deliberate upon critical drivers of the finance profession: corporate transparency, business accountability, audit and assurance, talent management and e-learning’.

ICI Pakistan, Pepsi-Cola International, Phillip Morris Pakistan, CIPE, Telenor Pakistan, PTCL and Servis Industries are the sponsors of the event...

ACCA’s organises train the trainer initiative

2011-10-18T22:52:00.001-07:00

As part of ACCA’s continued efforts to develop excellence in professional accounting education and establish best practices amongst tertiary accounting education providers, ACCA Pakistan organised “Train The Trainer” workshop on 11, 12 and 14 October 2011 in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi respectively. Almas Abbas Ali, Education Manager, ACCA Pakistan and Mujtaba Iqbal, CEO, CFTR were the event facilitators.

The event aimed at enhancing the capacity building of tutors by sharing the important exam techniques with the purpose of integrating them into their teaching and thus increasing the chances of students’ success in exams. It also highlighted the importance of holistic approach of course performance management which, ACCA emphasized that the learning providers and tutors need to take continuously. The event provided the opportunity for the tutors and academic managers to network and exchanges best ideas with one another. The panel discussion revolving around ACCA Trainees and their role at the workplace generated a lot of feedback from the participants. Speakers of the panel discussion included Akbar Afzal Jessani Senior Consultant Ernst and Young Ford Rhodes Sidat Hyder, M. Sharique Siddiqui Assistant Director (Monitoring & Inspection Wing) Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Sarah Fazli Business Analyst United Bank Ltd, Pakistan, Muhammad Naveed Alam Deputy General Manager Siemens Pakistan, Abdullah Fahad Senior Manager Audit Ernst & Young Ford Rhodes Sidat Hyder, Omer A Chaudhry Controller – Accounting, Internal Audit & Compliance Tetra Pak Pakistan Ltd, Faisal Shaikh ACCA Member and SME Owner, Ayla Majid Director Business Advisory Services Khalid Majid Rehman Chartered Accountants, Ali Sheraz Shabbir Manager Billing and Revenue Wi-tribe Pakistan and Junaid Ghori, Vice President Islamic Banking, MCB Limited.

A total of 90 teachers and academic coordinators from ACCA Approved Learning Partners and learning providers attended the event. Participants appreciated the efforts of ACCA Pakistan for organising a very interactive and engaging event and wanted ACCA to organize such events in future as well.

ACCA organises Career Expo

2011-10-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

ACCA Pakistan organised Career Expo in Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Abbottabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Sialkot, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Hyderabad. The Career Expo comprised presentations on Career Planning, ACCA qualification / Foundations in Accountancy- suite of qualifications and employment opportunities in the field of finance and accountancy. ACCA representatives including ACCA members and other senior professionals from the industry spoke to the students in these events.

The speakers included Ms. Shireen Naqvi, CEO SoL, Ms. Rahila Narejo, Lead Consultant and CEO NHR, Sohail Zindani, Consultant & International Speaker, The Learning Minds Group, Mr Fasi Zaka, Education Consultant, Ali Akram, Assistant Manager Finance, Telenor, Imtiaz Jaleel, Commercial Manager Supply Chain, Unilever Pakistan Ltd, Mian Shah Faisal, Director Finance, Pearl Continental Hotel, Peshawar, Tabish Ahmed, Manager Finance, Faysal Bank, Sharique Siddiqui, Assistant Director, NBFC, SECP, Mr Muhammad Ali, Head of Audit, Engro Fertilizer, Mr Ali Sheraz, Manager Billing and Revenue, Wi-Tribe and the ACCA Pakistan Team including Haroon A Jan, Head of ACCA Lahore, Shamez Mukhi, Head of Public Affairs, Muhammad Shahid Khan, Business Development Manager, Sabahat Khan, Customer Services Manager and Noorulain Zafer, Marketing and Student Recruitment Manager.

Various ACCA Approved Learning Providers including College of Accountancy & Management Science (CAMS), SKANS School of Accountancy, Professional Academy of Commerce (PAC), Center of Financial Excellence (CFE), College of Accountancy and Professional Studies (CAPS) and National College of Business and Management Sciences (NCBMS), provided one-to-one career advice and disseminated information on Foundations in Accountancy and ACCA qualifications at each Career Expo.

Shamez Mukhi, Head of Public Affairs, ACCA Pakistan said ‘The Career Expo provided a platform for hundreds of students and their parents to learn and meet with the professionals so that they are able to make informed career decisions. Many educational institutions in Pakistan don’t have a formal setup for career guidance and hence the experts in the ACCA career expo were able to train students on career planning process and link ACCA qualification with employment opportunities in the fields of finance, accountancy and management.

ACCA Pakistan trains career advisors

2011-10-06T05:01:00.001-07:00

ACCA Pakistan recently organized a series of Career Counseling workshops for teachers and student advisors in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. ACCA recognizes the integral role career guidance plays in helping students identify their natural talents in order to pursue a career promising them professional success.

The workshops were based on the concept that the best career exploration and job search strategies capitalize on the natural strengths of an individual’s Personality and Behavioral Style. Shamez Mukhi, Head of Public Affairs, ACCA Pakistan welcomed the participants, explaining the challenges students and parents encounter while making career choices and the resources developed by ACCA for students, teachers and parents. Speaking on the occasion he added, “One of the aims of the workshop is to ensure that ACCA Pakistan recruits students with the right aptitude, who are ambitious and committed to their careers so that they can excel as ACCA members”

Noorulain Zafer, Manager Marketing and Student Recruitment, ACCA Pakistan, made a presentation on Foundations in Accountancy and ACCA qualifications, entry routes, tuition providers and employment opportunities in Pakistan. She also answered questions about employability and the excellent employer base that ACCA enjoys nationally and globally. In addition to that participants were also given an overview of ACCA’s brand and the marketing activities it undertakes for potential students.

This was followed by a technical training on ‘career counseling to personality type’ conducted by Rahila Narejo, Lead Consultant and Chief Executive, NHR. Rahila emphasized on the significance of aligning career decisions to student’s aptitude and industry demand.

The workshop was attended by 82 participants from leading schools, colleges, universities and ACCA tuition providers. Participants were of the view that career guidance is a dynamic, on-going process enabling students to identify the best-fit career path for themselves. They commented that the training organized by ACCA Pakistan has been very helpful in equipping them as career advisors with the career assessment and guidance tools and techniques.

Students don’t need to wait until next April to reclaim overpaid taxes, says ACCA

2011-10-06T01:08:00.000-07:00

Students don’t need to wait until next April to reclaim overpaid taxes, says ACCA

ACCA advises students to check what they are owed

Hundreds of thousands of students are starting their new university year in the next few weeks, and ACCA is reminding those who worked summer jobs or are planning to work part-time at university to claim back any overpaid tax.
‘Money earned by summer jobs or part-time work is unlikely to push income over the personal allowance limit,’ says Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of tax at ACCA. ‘Students need to check their payslips to make sure they’ve not paid tax that they don’t owe. If anyone has overpaid tax, they can claim it back now; they don’t have to wait to the end of the tax year.’
The 2011/12 personal allowance is £7,475. Anyone who earns under this amount in a tax year (April-April) does not have to pay income tax. Income tax should only be paid on money earned over the personal allowance threshold.
‘To make things easier for businesses, tax is usually taken out of pay packets automatically, even if it shouldn’t be,’ says Chas Roy-Chowdhury. ‘Students should work out what they earned during the summer or what they expect to earn over the coming months. If this figure comes under the threshold and students see from their payslips that they have been paying or are paying income tax, they should get in touch with their nearest tax office.
‘However, while you can claim back overpaid income tax, there’s nothing you can do about National Insurance Contributions. With few exceptions, everyone in work has to pay these.’
HMRC can be contacted about overpaid tax on 0845 300 0627. Those claiming overpaid tax should have their National Insurance number to hand. Those still working should get a rebate in their next pay packet, while those no longer working can expect a cheque. You can also find out more information on overpaid tax on HMRC’s website (see 'related links')
‘To avoid future problems during holiday times, whether at Christmas or Easter or next summer, students can fill out a P38S form,’ continues Chas Roy-Chowdhury. ‘This stops tax from being automatically taken out of your pay packet during holidays and saves you from the hassle of tracking down your rebates.
‘University can be a worthwhile but expensive experience. If you’re owed money, there’s no point waiting for HMRC to give it back to you; you need to get on the case.’

ACCA launches Global Forums to discuss vital issues for business

2011-10-06T01:06:00.001-07:00

International expertise to drive innovative thinking on the global accountancy profession

Ten new Global Forums have been launched by ACCA to bring together expertise from all sectors around the world to tackle issues crucial to the finance profession and business.
The Global Forums will help to develop ACCA’s work to influence government, policy makers and businesses on key issues and contribute to ACCA’s Research and Insights projects and initiatives.
The Forums will meet on a regular basis to further the thinking on current and future issues in a number of specific technical subject areas, as well the accountancy and finance profession more widely. They will have an international remit to develop views which support the needs of business globally, with an increasing emphasis on emerging markets.
ACCA believes that issues are very frequently local and will continue to pursue a local agenda, where appropriate, within this new framework, especially in areas such as tax, regulation and SME matters.
The new Forums will also help ACCA with its aim to strengthen its local contributions by drawing on thinking and best practice from around the world to inform its insight.
As part of the initiative, two new areas – Accountants for Business and Accountancy Futures - will be regularly discussed by leading finance professionals and academics.
Boon Yew Ng, executive chairman of Raffles Campus in Singapore, and the new chair of ACCA’s global Accountancy Futures Academy, said: 'The challenges that lie in front of the profession are global, and we will need a consistent, global response if we want our profession to continue to meet business’ needs in the future.'
Richard Moat, FCCA, former CFO and Deputy CEO of Everything Everywhere, and chair of Accountants for Business forum, said:
'Finance professionals have a significant contribution to make to the strategic success of organisations, and these new forums will ensure that appropriate issues and concerns for the profession, across all sectors, will be thoroughly addressed.'
Neil Stevenson, Executive Director- Brand with ACCA, said: 'We are delighted that the Global Forums have already attracted a wealth of experience and expertise from diverse backgrounds. They will be ideally placed to look at important issues will be very effective in helping to shape and inform ACCA’s global policy.'
The Global Forums are: The Accountancy Futures Academy; Accountants for Business Global Forum; and global forums for Governance, Risk and Performance; Corporate reporting; Audit and Assurance; Sustainability; Business Law; Public Sector; Taxation and SMEs.

Accountants for Business Global Forum Chaired by Richard Moat FCCA, former CFO and Deputy CEO of Everything Everywhere, the Forum is a business-focused think tank, which reflects ACCA’s belief in the value that sound financial management brings to business. Representatives of global business and corporate stakeholders come together to explore the complex issues affecting accountants and the businesses they serve.
Accountancy Futures Academy Chaired by Ng Boon Yew, Executive Chairman, Raffles Campus, Singapore, this Academy will work to develop ACCA’s Research and Insights programme by identifying issues of major significance for the global accountancy profession. It will also develop a network of potential high-level contributors to ACCA’s work, and will ensure the overall quality of ACCA’s Research and Insights outputs.
Global Forum for Governance, Risk and Performance Chaired by Adrian Berendt, Executive Director of LCH Clearnet, the Forum will work to show how professional accountants can support ethical, sustainable business and enhance their value to their employers and other stakeholders.
Global Forum for Corporate Reporting Chaired by Lorraine Holleway, Finance manager of Royal Dutch Shell, this Forum will reflect the fact that corporate reporting is of increasing importance, especially with the continuing globalisation of standards, developments in integrated reporting and a drive to ensure the relevance of reporting to investors. The Forum will work to influence the development of IFRS and it will also work to identify, evaluate and champion enhanced forms of reporting which are crucial to bringing value to investors, business and the public.
Global Forum for Audit and Assurance Chaired by Robert Stenhouse, Director, National Accounting and Audit at Deloitte, this Forum will provide input into audit standards-setting, in particular to influence the development of International Standards on Audit (ISAs). It will also work to identify, evaluate and champion new and alternative forms of assurance which bring value to investors, business and the public.
Global Forum for Sustainability Chaired by David Nussbaum, Chief Executive of the World Wildlife Fund-UK, this Forum will continue ACCA’s long history of promoting transparency and accountability on sustainability issues, and the role of the professional accountant. ACCA has been at the forefront of sustainability issues since 1990, so the Forum will be building on strong foundations. It will debate trends and developments in sector-specific areas, and develop leading positions on relevant issues related to the broad topic of sustainability.
Global Forum for Business Law Chaired by Faris Dean, of solicitors Lyons Davidson, this Forum will work to reflect the fact that the business world is becoming increasingly global; there are more and more areas of the law, such as money laundering – that are becoming effectively standardised. This Forum will examine issues about the legal implications of doing business, fighting corruption and financial crime and challenging red tape.
Global Forum for the Public Sector Chaired by Datuk Wan Selamah Wan Sulaiman, the Accountant General of Malaysia, this Forum will champion the many issues affecting the public sector around the world, including financing, governance and capacity in the delivery of public services.
Global Forum for SMEs Chaired by Mark Gold, Senior Partner with Silver Levene and immediate past President of ACCA, this Forum will identify the needs of SMEs around the world and argue for policy makers to put this vital sector at the forefront of public policy.
Global Forum for Taxation Chaired by Mukesh Gunamal, Director of Global Tax Quality and Risk Managerment, Ernst & Young, this Forum will provide a basis for lobbying internationally for transparent and simple tax systems, and will discuss developments and trends in this often contentious area, from personal taxation, to tax regimes for SMEs and for large corporates

ACCA looks forward to constructive dialogue with European Commission on audit

2011-10-06T01:05:00.000-07:00

Lessons have to be learned, and time is right to re-examine the role of statutory audit for a sustainable future, says the global accountancy body

ACCA is aware of the widespread speculation concerning the forthcoming announcement by the European Commission of its future legislative proposal on statutory audit.
However, while ACCA will not make any formal public comment on the Commission's proposals until they are actually made, we have, during the process of consultation which has already taken place, made clear our position regarding the future of audit policy in Europe.
'We agree with the Commission that the time is right for all parties with an interest in audit to re-examine the role of statutory audit in the light of our collective experience of the financial crisis. We support the Commission's project to review all aspects of existing law and regulatory practice with the aim of learning lessons from that experience. While we accept that there are lessons to be learned, our position is that we continue to believe strongly in the value of audit as a tool which can provide material benefits to companies and their various stakeholders and are keen to ensure that the value of audit is maintained and enhanced in the years to come', says John Davies, head of Technical at ACCA.
ACCA accepts that maintaining and enhancing the value of audit may mean making significant changes to how audits are currently conducted and regulated. We have ourselves promoted the idea that the scope of audit needs to be expanded so as to take on more responsibilities which are likely to make a real difference to shareholders and regulators, such as reporting on how companies manage their strategic risks.
John Davies explains: 'We share the Commission's concerns about concentration in the listed company audit market and believe that changes should be made to the audit environment to encourage greater involvement on the part of smaller firms in listed company audit work. We also fully endorse the Commission's goal of improving audit quality and accept that integral to that goal must be to address issues relating to independence, objectivity and professional scepticism.'
'In pursuing these ambitions, however, we believe it is important to ensure that we do not resort to inflexible and bureaucratic measures which risk creating practical problems within the corporate sector and which could even prove counter-productive in terms of their effects on audit quality. Crucially, whatever arrangements are eventually adopted to replace the current Directive should, in our view, focus on outcomes as much as procedures', he adds.
'ACCA looks forward to the publication of the European Commission's plans in November and to engaging in a constructive dialogue on them, both with the EU executive and the co-legislators. With this in mind, ACCA is organising a round table meeting on the issue in Brussels in early December', John Davies concludes.
source ACCA Global

“The world has changed – reporting must too”

2011-09-09T23:22:00.001-07:00

"The world has changed – reporting must too"

Business and investment leaders today call for a new approach to corporate reporting in a landmark Discussion Paper, called Towards Integrated Reporting – Communicating Value in the 21st Century, published by the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC).

Integrated Reporting will provide more comprehensive and meaningful information about all aspects of an organization's performance and position, presented in a much clearer, more concise and more user friendly format. In particular it will demonstrate the links between an organization's financial performance and the social, environmental and economic context within which it operates.

The development of Integrated Reporting is designed to enhance and consolidate existing reporting practices to move towards a reporting framework that provides the information needed to develop the global economic model to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Integrated Reporting will be clear and comprehensible, providing a meaningful assessment of the long term viability of an organization, meeting the information needs of investors and other stakeholders and supporting the effective allocation of financial, manufactured, human, intellectual, natural and social capital.

Sir Michael Peat, Chairman of the IIRC, says:

"The range of issues – economic, environmental and social – which determine an organization's success has never been broader or more pressing. It is for this reason that we need an approach to reporting that is fit-for-purpose in the 21^st century. The world has changed – reporting must too.

"All matters which are important in assessing an organization's performance and position, past and prospective, need to be reported but not by making annual reports ever longer and more complex – they are too long already. The information needs to be provided clearly and concisely with the connections between financial, environmental and social impacts demonstrated and the clutter removed. This is what Integrated Reporting seeks to achieve."

The discussion paper Towards Integrated Reporting – Communicating Value in the 21st Century presents the rationale for Integrated Reporting, offering initial proposals for the development of an International Integrated Reporting Framework and outlining the next steps towards its creation and adoption. Its purpose is to prompt input from all those with a stake in better reporting, including producers and users of reports.

Professor Mervyn King, Deputy Chairman of the IIRC, says:

"The IIRC's approach is one that will present a globally co-ordinated solution to reporting, avoiding the current problems with reporting requirements in different jurisdictions developing in different directions and at different speeds. Integrated Reporting reduces the compliance burden and enables more effective decision-making for investors."

Sir Michael concludes:

"I hope that corporate reporting stakeholders will feel able to support the development of Integrated Reporting and the work of the IIRC by contributing to this consultation process. The initiative to introduce a global Integrated Reporting framework is ambitious in vision and scope but the prize is considerable."

The Integrated Reporting Discussion Paper and further information can be found at www.theiirc.org.

ACCA qualifications in demand in challenging times

2011-09-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

The demand for a professional accountancy qualification has remained high during tough economic times as the results from the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) examinations in June reveal that 196,000 students sat papers, with more than 6,000 taking a major step towards membership of the global body for professional accountants.
Candidates around the world took more than 373,000 papers, with 6,294 students successfully completing their final ACCA examinations. A further 2,978 students completed the Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) exams.
At the Fundamentals level, pass rates were particularly pleasing for the tax and law papers.Students continue to find papers F5 Performance Management, F7 Financial Reporting and F8Audit and Assurance challenging. At the Professional level the pass rate remains strong in paper P1, Governance, Risk and Ethics which tests students' professional judgement. This is the first session to place a greater emphasis on risk assessment and risk management within the exam.
The results for optional papers P4, Advanced Financial Management, P5, Advanced Performance Management and P7, Advanced Audit and Assurance were disappointing. Generally those students failing were not able to apply their technical knowledge to real-life practical scenarios. ACCA is working on support packages becoming available for students and tutors in the optional papers.
Arif Masud Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan, said:
“We congratulate those who have succeeded in their exams – and we are delighted to see that more than 6,000 have completed their examinations, having been able to demonstrate the financial knowledge and professional skills which are needed by organisations in challenging economic conditions. We look forward to welcoming them to ACCA membership on completion of their practical experience requirements. We look forward to examining our new suite of awards, Foundations in Accountancy which replaces the existing CAT qualification from December 2011. Foundations in Accountancy offers students a choice of awards at different levels and the availability of more computer-based exams than are currently available. This is the first stage of the innovative e-assessment programme being developed by ACCA which will lead to all its examinations, across all levels, being offered online.
“In addition to offering greater flexibility, our new e-assessment model will enable us to test students’ knowledge and skills in a way which more accurately reflects real-life workplace scenarios and activities and which meet employers’ needs, creating the e-professional.”
The first papers will transition to the new system in 2012 with all papers being phased over the next few years.

June 2011 session ACCA Qualification pass rates:
Paper F1, Accountant in Business, 70%*
Paper F2, Management Accounting, 57%*
Paper F3, Financial Accounting, 55%*
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law, 55%
Paper F5, Performance Management, 37%
Paper F6, Taxation, 51%
Paper F7, Financial Reporting, 38%
Paper F8, Audit and Assurance, 40%
Paper F9, Financial Management, 38%
Paper P1, Governance, Risk and Ethics, 52%
Paper P2, Corporate Reporting, 50%
Paper P3, Business Analysis, 47%
Paper P4, Advanced Financial Management, 30%
Paper P5, Advanced Performance Management, 35%
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation, 45%
Paper P7, Advanced Audit and Assurance, 31%

ACCA Career Expo 2011

2011-08-30T00:58:00.001-07:00

ACCA Pakistan organised ACCA Career Expo this week in Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi and Hyderabad. The events in each city featured an exciting career counseling session, launch of Foundations in Accountancy (FIA) and ACCA career fair. There was also a session on employment opportunities for ACCA trainees and members. Various ACCA approved learning partners disseminated information on ACCA and FIA suite of qualifications. The career fair served hundreds of students who have recently completed their intermediate and A level studies by exploring their career path in fields of finance, accountancy and management.

The speakers in these sessions were Ms. Shireen Naqvi, CEO School of Leadership, Mr Fasi Zaka, Education Consultant, Mr Sharique Siddiqui, Assistant Director – NBFC, SECP, Mr Muhammad Ali, Head of Audit, Engro Fertilizer, Mr Ali Sheraz, Manager Billing and Revenue, Wi-Tribe and the ACCA Pakistan Team including Mr Khurram Iqbal, Customer Service Executive, Ms Sabahat Khan, Customer Service Manager, Ms Noorulain Zafer, Manager Marketing and Student Recruitment, Mr Shahid Khan, Business Development Manager, Mr Taimur Beiram, Business Development Manager, Mr Haroon Jan, Head of ACCA Lahore and Mr Shamez Mukhi, Head of Public Affairs.

After these successful events, ACCA Pakistan is now embarking on the ACCA road-shows at various educational institutions and also career fairs in different cities of Pakistan to provide career advice to students as well as their parents.

ACCA’s third online virtual conference

2011-08-10T05:10:00.000-07:00

ACCA’s third online virtual conference attracts big names to discuss important issues for the business world

10 August 2011: More than 6,000 finance professionals have signed-up for ACCA’s (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) online Research & Insights Conference which launched last week. The conference sessions can be viewed on-demand via the ACCA website until 27 October 2011 at the following link: www.accaglobal.com/RIConference

The conference covered a wide range of topics from a wealth of expert speakers, including: the new business environment: opportunities for growth; why talent management in finance matters; integrated reporting: a framework for the future; financial issues from Brussels; extended audit reporting; the eProfessional: creating the next generation of accountants; making businesses accountable; cloud computing; social media; and XBRL.

HRH Prince of Wales delivered a live address at the conference on his involvement with the Accounting for Sustainability Project, as part of the session on integrated reporting.

The online audience also heard from Professor Mervyn King, deputy chair of the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC), who also talked about the future scope of integrated reporting, as well as the benefits and challenges of creating a framework that brings together financial, environmental and social and governance information in a clear, concise and comparable format.

Mark Gold, ACCA’s President, delivered a keynote welcome address for online attendees of the conference. Speaking after the event he said: “ACCA’s programme is relevant and timely, and includes excellent insights and advice for budding entrepreneurs and innovative accountants. The key to this conference is that it can be accessed online until the end of October, meaning that for those who didn’t get a chance to see everything in one day, they can dip into the sessions they want to see – from audit to pensions, from shareholding accountability to the future of the European economy.”

“The Research and Insights Conference is a fantastic opportunity to catch-up with the latest thinking on issues at the cutting edge of the accountancy profession,” says Ewan Willars, director of policy at ACCA. “Speakers from around the world covered a variety of regional and global topics that are highly timely and relevant. There is something for every kind of business and finance professional.”

MAXIMIZING PEOPLE POWER

2011-08-04T02:21:00.001-07:00

MAXIMIZING PEOPLE POWER

EXPLORING PAKISTAN’S PERSPECTIVE

Talent Management must be placed at the heart of the organisation. It must have buy in from senior management and also the structure of the business must support the talent development principle. At a time when the country’s economy is under tremendous pressure and businesses are finding it difficult to maintain their efficiency or even survive, managing talent can be a saviour.

ACCA and KPMG undertook a global study of best practices in Talent Management in businesses. The research report ‘Maximising People Power’ highlights the role that finance teams can play to generate a competitive advantage.

To discuss the current state of talent management practices in Pakistan, senior professionals gathered at ACCA’s roundtable discussions on ‘Maximizing People Power’ held in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. They opined that there were many motives for businesses to consider adopting an integrated talent management approach across organizations. Some key drivers for implementing talent management practices in order of importance were fast track progression and value addition in business, business sustainability, cost efficiencies, succession planning, staying abreast of technical and technological changes, employee retention and developing specialized skills, and continuous learning and development.

Mr Mujtaba Khalid, EVP Internal Audit PTCL said that although PTCL has a training academy in place that looks after the development of its employees. He added further that PTCL is going to introduce job rotation in certain departments in order to realise the benefits of on the job training.

Historically, with a few exceptions, the local businesses in Pakistan have not kept talent management practices on their list of priorities. The main reason for their doing so was the uncertainty around the return on investment and the outcomes of these practices. This has resulted in either slower business growth or closure in case they couldn’t sustain the economic downturn. On the contrary, multinationals operating in the same economic environment in the country that had talent management at the heart achieved record high profits.

The panellists of the roundtable discussion concluded that growth in businesses is directly proportional to the amount of investment made in managing talent..

ACCA Pakistan receives Best Accountancy Brand Award third time in a row

2011-08-01T05:23:00.001-07:00

ACCA Pakistan receives Best Accountancy Brand Award third time in a row

ACCA Pakistan has been awarded Brand of the year award in the category of Professional Accountancy programme 2010. The award ceremony was organised by the Intellectual Property Association and the Brands Foundation.

Mr Shamez Mukhi, Head of Marketing, Communications and Media Relations received the Award on behalf of ACCA Pakistan from the chief guest, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in presence of Chairman IPO, Mr Hamidullah Jan Afridi, Governor Sindh, Dr Ishrat ul Ibad and Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah. While receiving the award Mr Mukhi commented that, "It is an honour for ACCA Pakistan to be acknowledged as a winning brand at the national level for the third time consecutively. While brand visibility is important, it is more significant to live the brand values. ACCA's image really comes from the ACCA community who are ambassadors of our 5 values; opportunity, accountability, integrity, diversity and innovation".

On this occasion, head of ACCA Pakistan, Mr Arif Masud Mirza said "this is a competitive process and relies upon the views of the public and other third party factors" congratulating the Brands Foundation for this initiative, he said "this is an ideal public-private partnership that encourages healthy competition among leading organisations and also increases their awareness about consumer preferences. It is a great platform to support and propel business enterprise in Pakistan."

High inflation and low investment hampers recovery, ACCA survey shows

2011-07-20T03:26:00.001-07:00

High inflation and low investment hampers recovery, ACCA survey shows

South Asian finance professionals more pessimistic amid disappearing opportunities

Rising inflation and flat investment have kept the world's economic recovery stuck in reverse, the latest Global Economic Conditions survey from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has shown.

Of the 2,186 ACCA members surveyed between 16 May and 6 June 2011, only 26% reported increased confidence, down from 28% three months ago, with 57% saying that economic conditions are either deteriorating or stagnating, up from 51% only three months ago.

While the rocketing inflation of the first quarter of 2011 was not repeated in the second three months, a greater proportion of those surveyed, 54% - up from 51% in the last quarter - reported an increase in operating costs. This is double the number of respondents who mentioned inflation two years ago.

The survey shows that rising costs are not just confined to the fastest-growing economies.

While best performing markets Malaysia and Pakistan are leading the inflation league table, rising costs were also cited by 45% of respondents in Western Europe, which has been affected by the continent's debt crisis, still sits at the bottom of the ranking in terms of business confidence and economic optimism.

The survey shows that businesses are becoming increasingly unable to respond to the inflationary challenge through cost-cutting.

Around 30% of respondents expect their governments to get spending decisions right in the medium-term, but 16.5% expect dangerous levels of over- or under-spending and this group has been growing every quarter since late 2009.

Access to finance has been tightening globally for the past six months, and this appears to be the case for both growth capital and short-term liquidity. This, combined with rising costs, now appears to be leading to an increase in the number of respondents who fear that customers (31%) or suppliers (15%) might go out of business, as well as those reporting problems with late payment (31%).

Despite these worrying trends, confidence figures among finance professionals have not yet dipped to a situation where they believe there will be a renewed downturn.

For the past two years, professionals in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region have been consistently more optimistic than their colleagues elsewhere about the state of the economic recovery, and this resulted in high levels of confidence in their own organisations.

In this survey, however, confidence is surprisingly low in both regions, with Asia-Pacific recording a net loss of confidence for the first time in two years. Hong Kong and Malaysia seem to be particularly affected, while Singapore has bucked the trend by recording further confidence gains.

While the gloom in the Far East reflects the fallout from the disaster in Japan, flagging confidence in Africa is mostly a lagged effect of the slowdown elsewhere. The GECS results show that the impact of a drop in activity in OECD countries has for the last few months been trickling down the supply chain, first to the Asia-Pacific region and then to Africa.

However, unlike the previous quarter, most of the pressure on access to finance appears to be concentrated on Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

Under these challenging conditions, profitable value-added opportunities of most types have become scarcer and the investment environment has deteriorated slightly, especially in terms of financing and business support. Still, investment itself has remained flat and the outlook for employment and investment in staff has even improved slightly. This is almost certainly related to the slow recovery in new orders.

Arif Masud Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan says: "There are a number of concerns in the latest report, including that the loss of momentum in Asia and Africa has become particularly pronounced in the last few months. The limits of austerity are also being explored in Western Europe and a renewed tightening of credit and cashflow conditions could be on the cards, even as new orders and employment are beginning to recover.

"If these new trends - coupled with high inflation and low investment - persist we would expect to see further instability in the near future, which will present more challenges for all sectors professional accountants whether they work in practice or industry in the second half of 2011."

South Asia remains pessimistic amidst poor macroeconomics and disappearing opportunities

Finance professionals in South Asia recorded an overall loss of confidence in the last quarter, with only one in four (25%) respondents saying they were more optimistic about the prospects of their organisations than they had been three months earlier. Half of the region's respondents believe that global economic conditions are deteriorating or stagnating.

However, even this relatively poor performance represents an improvement over the last quarter. In fact, for many months now respondents in South Asia have been surpassed only by their colleagues in Western Europe for economic pessimism.

Some of the reasons are relatively obvious. First, the region is heavily affected by rising inflation; Pakistan in particular emerged as the worst-affected among ACCA's major markets, with 78% of respondents citing increased operating costs. Second, fiscal sustainability remains a problem, with 35% of respondents in the region (up marginally from 34%) expecting dangerous deviations from what they saw as the correct level of government spending in the medium term ( 5yrs).

Then there are worrying changes to the fundamentals: business failures multiplied significantly in the last three months, and investment appears to have fallen substantially, even though business incomes have not changed substantially and access to finance appears to have improved marginally. Volatile foreign exchange rates and inflation also posed challenges for a growing number of firms but they cannot account for the continuing loss of confidence. Rather, the problem appears to be that respondents see ever fewer opportunities for their businesses going forward, especially of the more value-added kind. Opportunities to invest in quality and customer insight, for instance, were much less frequently cited than even three months ago.

Here is ACCA's full report :

http://www2.accaglobal.com/pubs/general/activities/library/economy/tech-ms-gec10.pdf

New online application process launched

2011-06-29T05:57:00.000-07:00

At ACCA we strongly believe that only our exams should be challenging and demanding. Applying to be a student shouldn't be.

That's why we've been working hard to improve our online application process so it's easier for you to apply to take our qualifications.

Our online application process is quicker and more convenient than ever before. You can now:

apply online for the ACCA Qualification or Foundations in Accountancy suite of awards
upload all supporting documentation so the application process is now fully automated
save part-completed applications and return to complete them at a later stage
claim provisional exemptions so they know which level they can start their studies immediately after completing their application
track their application online
receive confirmation of their application within a shorter time period.

Apply Now:-
http://www.accaglobal.com/en/qualifications/apply-now.html

Askari Bank becomes ACCA Gold Approved Employer

2011-06-29T05:52:00.000-07:00

ACCA seeks to recognise and reward leading organisations that offer continual learning and development support to ACCA trainees. Having partnerships with over 8,500 employers across the world, ACCA Pakistan recently awarded Askari Bank Limited with Gold approved employer status.
The approved employer certificate was presented to Mr M. R Mehkari, President and Chief Executive, Askari Bank Limited by head of business development at ACCA Pakistan, Haroon A Jan.
Commenting on the support ACCA will extend to Askari Bank, Mr Jan stressed that the ACCA approved employer program will assist Askari Bank in building their human resource competency, align practical experience performance with their professional development, understand how to tackle key development issues of financial professionals and facilitate sharing of best practices between the two entities. He further emphasized that ACCA and Askari Bank should work in conjunction on thought leadership agendas focusing on current economic and financial issues.

ACCA seeks to work closely with approved employers for the progression of ACCA trainees in particular and the accountancy profession at large.

Board diversity: is gender the missing link?

2011-06-14T08:41:00.001-07:00

Board diversity: is gender the missing link?

Discussion forum by ACCA Pakistan

ACCA Pakistan organised discussion forums board diversity: is gender the missing link? in Lahore and Islamabad. The panellists of the forum included Mr Arif Masud Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan, Mr Khawar Saeed Ansari, Pakistan Corporate Governance Project Manager, IFC Pakistan, Ms Sarwat Aftab, Director International Affairs & Coordination, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Ms Shazia Syed, Executive Director, Unilever Pakistan, Mr Azhar Ali Syed, Managing Director, Tetra Pak Pakistan Limited, Ms Rahat Hassan, Chairperson, Competition Commission of Pakistan, Monis Rehman ,CEO, Naseeb Networks and Ms Shazreh Bano, Gender specialist. The discussions were moderated by Dr Afra Sajjad, Head of Education and Policy Development, ACCA Pakistan.

'As policy makers and business leaders are internationally considering a trend for more board diversity (including gender diversity), the examination of the business case for board gender diversity in the context of Pakistan merits consideration' explained Dr Afra Sajjad, Head of Education and Policy Development of ACCA Pakistan.

Mr Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan commented, 'Women constitute 43% of ACCA global membership and ACCA was the first accountancy body to admit women to its membership, in 1909. These discussions by presenting a business case for gender diversity based on the premises of fair access and routes to progression, endorses ACCA's core values of opportunity and diversity'.

The key recommendations emanating from the forums included aligned to international best practices introduction of achievable realistic measurable targets for ensuring professional competent women reach boards, making the corporate pipeline deliver by having an enabling organisational and board culture, executive search firms having codes that would compel them to actively search for women nominees for board positions, by having women networks, mentoring women and developing case studies around successful women role models. Cultural and social barriers could be overcome by education and awareness of the business case for women having an equal opportunity for career progression. The revised code of corporate governance by encouraging listed companies to have at least one woman independent director could be the enabling factor for having women on boards.

The participants of the forum were key personals from public practice, corporate and public sector.

PRE-BUDGET IS ALL ABOUT PLANNING THE WORK AND POST BUDGET IS ABOUT WORKING THE PLAN

2011-06-07T07:36:00.001-07:00

PRE-BUDGET IS ALL ABOUT PLANNING THE WORK AND POST BUDGET IS ABOUT

WORKING THE PLAN

ACCA Pakistan considers Pakistan's Federal Budget 2011 to be aiming for increasing the tax base by acknowledging the need for rational, fair and equitable taxation. The devolution of certain significant budgetary decisions to provinces last year and with agriculture being a provincial subject, the provincial budgets to be announced shortly would assist in assessment of effective utilisation of the funds. The budgets would also outline provincial education, health, social development priorities for future as well as their willingness to think of out of box revenue raising measures which are extremely essential for socio-economic-entrepreneurial development of the provinces. ACCA suggests that the accountability, transparency and efficient record keeping of funds usage by provinces would benefit from investment in financial reporting, accounting, auditing and financial management skills and knowledge.

With professionalism the theme of public sector reforms around the world, budget acknowledgement of the need for reforms in Pakistan's public sector provides an opportunity for consideration of the need to

seek professional expertise in areas of taxation, auditing, corporate governance, financial reporting and financial management. Similar to last year, the salaries of federal government employees have been

increased. As the perceived outcomes of the salaries increases is improved efficiency, performance and motivation; development and communication of performance measures in annual reports or website

would help taxpayers appreciate the utility of the salary increases and the improvement in services offered to general public. It is of benefit to society, individuals and businesses if there is a clear link between tax take and its pay back benefits.

With the international focus on stakeholder aligned sustainable business model, focused and professional regulations envisaged by the budget should discourage ticking the box approach to regulations and instead focus on simplicity of regulations creating a business culture where probity and openness of business operation and disclosure is rewarded. In context of taxation laws the burden of tax should not fall unfairly on taxpayers who play by the rules and pay their fair share.

In the absence of social welfare schemes for underprivileged population and declining social development funds, poverty alleviation through creating an enterprise friendly taxation and business environment require serious consideration. The translation of the resolve to unleash the potential of youth entrepreneurship in new

creative cities into action is urgently needed given that more than half of our population is under the age of 30 and not all of them are educated or employed. The time taken in the planning and the creation of the creative cities could be utilized by the potential entrepreneurs business management, marketing, social media, accounting, financial management and auditing skills and knowledge building. With water management as a budget priority, tax benefits to water effluent treatment plants and encouragement of carbon credits schemes could have sent a strong message to international buyers and businesses about Pakistan's resolve to environmental stewardship, this may have created a competitive advantage for businesses.

ACCA considers the phasing out of the federal excise duties and the withdrawal of exemptions and concessions as the right step in the direction of simplification of taxation system. The implementation of the resolve to widen the direct tax base by inclusion of a large number of tax payers through strict enforcement is essential for creation of a perceived fair taxation system. Urgently needed enterprise growth would be assisted by increase of tax credit in establishment of listed companies and allowance of BMR expenditure as a deduction. For simplification of tax laws, monthly submission of withholding tax statements and mandatory filing of income tax returns and statements where income is between Rs. 300,000 to Rs.350,000 can be dispensed with. ACCA endorses rationalization of sales tax regime by reduction of general sales tax rate to 16%, withdrawal of certain exemptions and streamlining of procedures.

A budget document is a planning document which is manifestation of a government's annual revenue and expenditure expectations. The public as stakeholders have the right to know how effectively the budgetary forecasts and expectations have been achieved, how transparently the resources allocated to different expenditures have been utilized. The federal budget maker's vision of a fair rational enterprise taxation system would benefit from more accountability, transparency and probity of the budgetary exercise and utilization of funds as well as effective implementation of the budgetary plans and projections.

ITS TIME TO WORK THE PLAN.

ACCOUNTANCY BODIES PETITION MP OVER ONLINE TAX FILING PROPOSALS

2011-05-27T04:25:00.000-07:00

Six accountancy bodies have written to David Gauke MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, to express their concern about the forthcoming mandatory requirement that all UK companies should submit statutory accounts to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in iXBRL format.

ACCA, the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT), the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (Tax Faculty) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) are concerned about HMRC's proposals for the 'transition' arrangements, which come into effect on 1 April 2011, and the fact that there are ongoing software problems.

'It's significant that the major professional bodies have come together to put the case for a deferral,' said Chas Roy-Chowdhury, ACCA head of taxation.

'We are all recommending that plans for filing are revised to recognise the adverse impact of delays in software availability and implementation problems.'

The joint letter says that these two critical issues will 'disadvantage a substantial proportion of UK businesses, with small to medium-sized businesses and their agents being hit the hardest'.

Roy-Chowdhury added that all the organisations are keen to work with HMRC on online filing, hoping that the letter will have an impact and that action will be taken.

'HMRC should take swift action to advise taxpayers and agents of refinements to the implementation plan, and should issue clear guidance on how the current problems arising from non-delivery or late delivery of software are being addressed,' he said.

'If HMRC continues with its 1 April deadline, it will impose a significant business cost on a large number of firms that will dilute, if not destroy, the message that iXBRL should be a positive long-term step for UK businesses.

Board diversity: is gender the missing link?

2011-05-24T05:50:00.001-07:00

Board diversity: is gender the missing link?

ACCA Pakistan organised discussion forum 'Board diversity: is gender the missing link?' on 24 May 2011 in Karachi as gender diversity on boards has become an international discussion theme.

The panelists of the forum were Mr Arif Masud Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan, Mr Khawar Saeed Ansari, Pakistan Corporate Governance Project Manager, IFC Pakistan, Mr Asif Malik, Vice President Corporate HR & Life Sciences, ICI Pakistan, Ms Jehan Ara, President, Pakistan Software Houses Associations (PASHA), Ms Shafqat Sultana, President, First Women Bank Limited .The discussion was be moderated by Dr Afra Sajjad, Head of Education and Policy Development, ACCA Pakistan.

Mr Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan commented, 'Women constitute 43% of ACCA global membership and ACCA was the first accountancy body to admit women to its membership, in 1909. The discussion paper by presenting a business case for gender diversity based on the premises of fair access and routes to progression, endorses ACCA's core values of opportunity and diversity'.

Mr Asif Malik, Vice President Corporate HR & Life Sciences, ICI Pakistan said that organisations may like to build support programmes and provide access to role models (men and women), networks and mentors (men and women) to help women in middle and senior-level management to overcome perceived obstacles and to succeed in reaching board positions.

While giving her opinion, Ms Shafqat Sultana, President, First Women Bank Limited said that even though more women have entered Pakistan's paid workforce in the last decade, from the small number of professional, qualified and experienced women directors, it appears that there is a need for greater understanding of the potential business case for gender diversity on boards of publicly listed companies.

Ms Jehan Ara, President, Pakistan Software Houses Associations (PASHA) elaborated on the role of social media and information technology in creating awareness of the business case for having women on boards.

Mr Kanwar Anwar Saeed, General Manager Human Resources, Engro Fertilizers Ltd said that business leaders who are already championing gender diversity on boards within their organisations may be encouraged to assume an ambassadorial role, promoting the benefits of gender diversity on boards at public forums.

The participants of the forum were key personals from public practice, corporate and public sector.

Audit changes must be meaningful not superficial warns ACCA

2011-05-20T03:21:00.001-07:00

Audit changes must be meaningful not superficial warns ACCA

International inquiries into role of audit raise concerns

ACCA, in a policy paper Audit under fire: a review of the post-financial crisis inquiries, addresses the issues which have been raised during investigations by the UK House of Lords, the European Commission and the US senate. In Singapore and elsewhere, regulators are also actively engaged in stakeholder consultations to assess how audit can be enhanced. The EC has promised legislative changes by the end of 2011.

Arif Masud Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan said: "Audit is under unprecedented scrutiny in the UK, Brussels and the US, following the global financial crisis. We have already had the European Commission promising that 'the status quo is not an option'. In this paper we examine the various proposals put forward in the course of these inquiries and set out some recommendations for positive reform. Audit plays a vital role in the global economy by instilling trust in company reporting and we believe it needs to be enhanced for the greater benefit of investors and business.

"But it is essential that the changes made add value and are not motivated by the need to be seen as 'doing something'. Any changes need to meet an appropriate public interest test. Some of the suggestions that have been mooted during the various inquiries, would be, we believe, ineffective and costly."

Several recurring themes have emerged from the various inquiries including audit concentration, going concern issues, joint audits, mandatory audit rotation and the effect of International Financial Reporting Standards. ACCA is concerned that the political imperative for visible change may result in the wrong measures being adopted.

Arif Mirza concluded: "Policymakers and legislators have had every right to ask tough questions of auditors in the aftermath of the financial crisis. We believe enhancements to the role of audit can and should be made. But the changes which ultimately arrive as a result of all the inquiries need to bring real benefit and not be costly tinkering."

ACCA TV

2011-05-10T03:57:00.000-07:00

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Join the thousands of people watching ACCA.TV

If you're thinking about career choices - then take a look at our 'Why Accountancy' video. Or maybe you're already an ACCA student in which case you won't want to miss our live or on-demand 'student engage' interviews. For our members we encourage you to watch the 'Fit for the Future' video or get involved and join the AGM live!

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