Reputation and influence
ACCA Pakistan Talent Management 2007 took place in Lahore in September 2007. The main aim was to gather employers and trainee students under one roof so that they would engage with each other. Top management representatives from the accountancy profession and industry were present at the event to make presentations to more that 180 ACCA students. Several organisations also set up information desks to disseminate information to students about various training opportunities available within their organisations. Employers with stalls at the event included:
- Ford Rhodes Sidat Hyder and Co, Chartered Accountants
- KPMG Taseer Hadi and Co, Chartered Accountants
- Anjum Asim Shahid Rehman and Co, Chartered Accountants
- ICI Pakistan
- Packages Ltd
- Bank of Punjab
- Escorts Group of Companies
- M Yousaf Adil Saleem and Co
- Techno beavers
- Nishat Chunian.
There was extensive coverage of the event in the local newspapers, which was also held in August in Karachi, where three of the Big Four accounting firms were present as well as another big national practice representing RSM in Pakistan. The event was attended by 150 ACCA and CAT students.
ACCA Pakistan has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA), set up by the Government of Pakistan with the aim of assisting SME growth. Under the terms of the MoU, ACCA and SMEDA will work together to develop the accounting and taxation skills and knowledge of SME owners and managers. In 2007, six workshops were organised in different cities of Pakistan that were attended by more than 100 SME owners and managers. Workshop topics included taxation, accounting and bookkeeping, access to finance, and corporate social responsibility. The SME members committee conducted the workshops.
Since 2002, ACCA has been working with WWF to organise the ACCA-WWF Pakistan Environmental Reporting Awards. A total of 30 companies (the highest since the inception of the awards) submitted their reports for the 2006-2007 Awards. Malik Amin Aslam Khan, Minister of State for Environment, was the chief guest at the awards ceremony held in April and the scheme was endorsed by IUNCN and the Ministry of Environment. The 2007-2008 Awards were launched in August at three information sessions held in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, where audiences were addressed by representatives of ACCA, WWF and past award winners. All the events received extensive media coverage.
ACCA, along with the UK Institute of Directors, organised a 'Directors Excel' workshop in August on best practice in corporate governance. The workshop was attended by senior directors of top 100 listed companies of Pakistan. The participants commended the interactive and participative nature of the workshop, which received media coverage.
Chas Roy Chowdhury, ACCA head of taxation, made a presentation on e-filing, money laundering and ethics to the Federal Board of Revenue in March.
In September, Andy Wynne, ACCA head of public sector (technical), gave presentations at the Auditor General Office of Pakistan, the Controller General Accounts Office and the Audit and Accounts Training Institute, on internal controls and corporate governance in the public sector.
IFC, along with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance, commissioned a Survey of Corporate Governance from ACCA Pakistan, with the final survey report published in November. Roundtables to discuss draft findings were held in July in Lahore and Karachi, and were attended by all the major stakeholders. The roundtables and the survey received comprehensive media coverage. It is hoped that the recommendations outlined by the Survey will provide the basis for the revision of the Code of Corporate Governance.
In June, ACCA Pakistan organised roundtable discussions in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad on the Exposure Draft of IFRS for SMEs. The discussions were attended by all the relevant stakeholders and were covered in the press.
DFID and the State Bank of Pakistan have initiated a five-year Financial Inclusion Programme that aims to increase access to finance for poor people of Pakistan. In November, ACCA Pakistan was awarded the first project of the programme, which aims to provide the baseline for future projects.
During the year, meetings were held with: the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue; Minister of State for Environment; Secretary of Finance; Secretary of Education; Auditor General of Pakistan; Controller General Accounts of Pakistan; the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan; the chief executive of the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance; the chief executive of the SME Development Authority; Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Commissioner and directors; president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan; chairman of the Karachi Stock Exchange; president of the Institute of Cost Management Accountants of Pakistan; as well as many other public and private sector officers.
ACCA Pakistan published a discussion paper entitled Sarbanes-Oxley: The Way Forward, in August. The paper was acknowledged by stakeholders and covered by the press, and outlines recommendations for improvement in the Code of Corporate Governance.
ACCA Pakistan published a research report entitled Access to Finance for female entrepreneurs in Pakistan, which was launched in September, at an event attended by relevant stakeholders. The report was covered widely by the print and electronic media.
Putting Small Business First, a booklet in English and Urdu, has been developed by ACCA to make small business owners and managers aware of the need to maintain proper accounting records.
Over 20 ACCA members in Pakistan are working in very senior positions in different multinational and large local organisations. They are all designated either as CFOs, directors, partners in Public Practice, or general managers or heads of finance. ACCA members are also working in the State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Central Board of Revenue, Auditor General's Office, and the IFC and World Bank.