Category: Buying & Selling

Islamabad, November 09, 2021 (PPI-OT):The formation of the new Board is welcomed by ACCA (the Association Chartered Certified Accountants) as a historic and vital next step in clarity for corporate reporting, as the professional body also publishes a policy paper ‘Principles for connected corporate reporting standard setting’.

Helen Brand, chief executive of ACCA and co vice-chair of the Value Reporting Foundation Board, says about the ISSB: ‘This development means we now have a once in a lifetime opportunity to help shape global reporting standards for the benefit of investors, economies and the public good.

‘In December 2020, we expressed strong support for the creation of the ISSB. This is needed to address the scale of global environmental and social challenges today, accelerate the necessary reallocation of capital, and drive positive changes in corporate decision-making.’

As co-vice chair of the VRF Board, Helen Brand adds: ‘With the global reach of the International Integrated Reporting Framework and the SASB Standards, the VRF can help the ISSB to achieve much-needed consistency in reporting across the world. The IFRS Foundation’s commitment to build connectivity between financial and sustainability reporting using the principles of integrated reporting is particularly welcome. We believe that this is vital to high-quality connected corporate reporting.’

ACCA has also published today a policy paper called Principles for connected corporate reporting standard setting which calls for a consistent and connected set of global reporting standards and aligns to much of what the ISSB and the VRF will be doing. The paper calls on policymakers, regulators and standards-setters to:

Develop requirements for high-quality reporting outside of the financial statements that is coherent and connects with financial reporting requirements

Cooperate multilaterally to ensure that reporting requirements are consistent and interoperable across borders

Align requirements with the global standards produced by the IFRS Foundation and the International (IR) Framework

Base requirements on shared definitions for key terms, including ‘sustainability,’ ‘sustainability reporting’ and ‘enterprise value’

Consider the cost and benefits in mandating reporting requirements and avoid disclosure overload

Leverage technology but without losing sight of the context of companies’ governance, strategy, and business model

Connect reporting requirements with other policy levers to ensure that business resources are not focused on reporting compliance but on transforming business models for a just and green transition.

For more information, contact:
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Pakistan (ACCA)
Office No. 5, 2nd Floor, SNC Centre,
Fazal-ul-Haq Road, Blue Area, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-111-222275
Fax: +92-51-2876605
Email: info@pk.accaglobal.com
Website: www.pakistan.accaglobal.com

Islamabad, November 01, 2021 (PPI-OT):ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Pakistan, Bangladesh, Middle East and Sri Lanka organised “Global Ethics Week 2021” bringing together top international industry experts for a five-part webinar series of discussions, spanning over three days, focused on ethics and its impact on life and society, especially businesses.

Partners of the Global Ethics Week 2021 were CFA Society Bangladesh, CFA Society Pakistan, CFA Society Sri Lanka, Habib Bank Limited, ICMA Pakistan, Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance, Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited, Pearl Initiative, The Pakistan Business Council’s Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (CERB) and The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors.

Key messages from Helen Brand (ACCA CEO) and partners – Margaret Franklin (President and CEO, CFA Institute), Ehsan Malik (CEO, Pakistan Business Council) and Muhammad Aurangzeb (President and CEO, HBL) – revolved around how finance professionals are both well placed and trained to promote public good and make a real contribution to ethical sustainable businesses.

The panel conversations unanimously endorsed that ethics is the global currency to build trust and sustainable economic growth. Moreover, all speakers reaffirmed that the role of accountants and finance professionals (in today’s uncertain and fast evolving world) is key to ensuring confidence of stakeholders, creating transparency in the business dealing and driving a culture where people are encouraged to call-out unethical behaviours.

Special video messages were sent by Imran Ismail (Governor Sindh), Walid Iqbal (Senator), Taimur Jhagra (Finance and Health Minister KP), Asif Peer (CEO, Systems Limited), Asim Siddiqui (Country Managing Partner, EY Ford Rhodes) and Dr. Amjad Saqib (Founder, Akhuwat Foundation) – to show their support for ACCA’s efforts towards creating an ethical environment for businesses and industries to prosper.

Sajjeed Aslam – Head of ACCA Pakistan stressed the importance of the role of accountancy professionals in creating a more ethical and sustainable world. He said, “Trust, accountability, and integrity are fundamental to ensuring trade, building societies, and supporting economies across the globe. Strong ethical principles and good ethical behaviour will be important enablers to build trust in the digital age. Professional accountants are in a unique position to drive ethical and sustainable business decisions leading to an overall positive impact.”

Present at the event were notable names including, but not limited to – Aamir Khan (Chairman, SECP), Ahsan Jamil (CEO, PICG), Andrew Tarbuck (Head of Capital Markets, Al Tamimi), Arif Al Islam (MD and CEO, Summit Communications Bangladesh), Arif Masud Mirza (Regional Head of Policy, ACCA MESA), Barkan Saeed (Treasurer, P@SHA), Chaaminda Kumarasiri (Chairman, HCP Consulting Sri Lanka), Dr. Inayat Hussain (Executive Director, SBP), Dr. Mizanur Rahman (Commissioner, Bangladesh SEC), Fazeela Goplani (Head of ACCA Middle East), Md Shaheen Iqbal (President, CFA Society Bangladesh), Mohammad Shoaib (CEO – Al Meezan Investments), Narayanan Vaidyanathan (Head of Business Insights, ACCA), Nauman Asif Mian (CFO, Bayt.inc), Omer Zaheer Meer (Chairman MNP, ACCA Pakistan), Rashmi Peiris Paranavitane (Director, CFA Society Sri Lanka), William Tohme (Head of CFA Institute MENA), Zia Ul Mustafa (President, ICMA Pakistan) and Zinnia Huq (Director Finance Excellence, Unilever Bangladesh).

The event was broadcasted live on www.facebook.com/ACCA.Pakistan and https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/acca-pakistan, as well as on the market pages of Bangladesh, Middle East and Sri Lanka where it gathered not only a staggering amount of views and reach but also greatly positive views from the audience.

For more information, contact:
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Pakistan (ACCA)
Office No. 5, 2nd Floor, SNC Centre,
Fazal-ul-Haq Road, Blue Area, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-111-222275
Fax: +92-51-2876605
Email: info@pk.accaglobal.com
Website: www.pakistan.accaglobal.com

Islamabad, October 15, 2021 (PPI-OT):High global growth as countries bounce back from the economic effects of the pandemic weakened in Q3, but confidence and orders remain at high levels, according to the latest Global Economic Survey from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and IMA (Institute of Management Accountants).

Global confidence fell by nine points in Q3, with falls in Western Europe (-24) and North America (-41) pulling down the score. However, both regions are still at relatively high levels of confidence, as is the case globally. In fact, confidence jumped in Asia Pacific (+11) and South Asia (+20), after falls in the previous survey.

The Middle East was the only region to record improved confidence for the six months of Q2 and Q3.

As regards orders, which is a useful benchmark to measure real economic activity – there was a split between advanced regions and emerging markets. There were falls in orders affecting North America and Western Europe contrasted with modest improvements in emerging markets.

However, the wider economic prospects in developed economies remain brighter than in emerging markets, where low vaccination rates continue to drag on economic recovery.

And, apart from Africa, all major regions are now reporting order levels above their pre-pandemic level, indicating a continued global recovery.

Another positive indication from the survey are the two ‘fear indices’, which measure concern that customers and suppliers may go out of business. Both declined again in Q3 and are now back in line with their long-run average levels after spiking around Q2 2020.

Concern about operating costs is now at its highest level since the start of 2019 and increased five points in Q3. This is driven by higher transport and commodities costs, leading to higher inflation and weaker growth now.

Michael Taylor, chief economist at ACCA, said: ‘A moderation in growth was to be expected, as the pace set earlier this year could not be maintained indefinitely.

‘Although confidence and orders have lost momentum in regions including North America and Western Europe, we are still seeing an encouraging picture of global economic recovery overall.

‘Concerns about extra operating costs for businesses should prove temporary as the price mechanism operates to encourage increased supply and reduced demand. But for now, the effects are to moderate global growth from a rapid to a steady pace. Nevertheless, growth should be sufficient for more economies to regain their pre-pandemic level of activity by the end of the year.’

‘Although economic growth has slowed in many regions and the prevalence of the Delta variant of COVID-19 particularly in developed countries expectedly drove down global confidence, underlying demand remains strong,’ said Loreal Jiles, vice president of research and thought leadership at IMA.

‘As COVID-19 vaccinations continue to increase and we remedy supply shortages and increased prices in advanced economies, there is an opportunity for overall confidence to increase significantly.’

The full GECS report can be found here:
https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/professional-insights/global-economics/gecs_q3_2021.html

For more information, contact:
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Pakistan (ACCA)
Office No. 5, 2nd Floor, SNC Centre,
Fazal-ul-Haq Road, Blue Area, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-111-222275
Fax: +92-51-2876605
Email: info@pk.accaglobal.com
Website: www.pakistan.accaglobal.com