Karachi, November 30, 2024 – The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is marking a historic milestone, celebrating 120 years since its establishment on November 30, 1904.
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LCCI, ACCA team up to advance financial literacy among SMEs in Pakistan
The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) have teamed up to advance financial literacy among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan.
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ACCA conference highlights challenges faced by public sector
A conference hosted by Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) highlighted the challenges faced by public sectors and gave solutions
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ACCA backs green budgeting for public sector
KARACHI: ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) backs green budgeting for the public sector everywhere to implement climate commitments and achieve their environmental goals, according to a statement received here on Thursday.
In Green budgeting: a toolkit for public sector finance professionals published today, ACCA sets out the reasons for considering green budgeting and the methods that can be adopted. It highlights the crucial role that finance professionals must play in making action on climate change a reality.
John Lelliott, OBE, FCCA, chair of ACCA’s Global Forum for Sustainability and former finance director at the UK Crown Estate, wrote a foreword to the toolkit. He says: ‘Action to address the climate crisis requires change across the entire public sector. Climate considerations must be central to public sector organisations’ decision-making processes. The budget cycle is at the heart of the way organisations implement their objectives.’
Green budgeting supports progress towards national and international climate commitments and goals; promotes environmentally responsive policy making; fosters transparency and helps investors as they look to fund sustainable activities through financial instruments such as green bonds.
The toolkit identifies three important conditions to support successful implementation: political will; building on existing processes; and adopting green budgeting across the whole public sector – half of all public spending on climate and the environment is at sub-national level.
The report also sets out five key steps to adopting green budgeting: develop a baseline; prioritise spending with the most impact; categorise and monitor spending; ensure external review and then learn and improve.
The toolkit highlights how finance professionals are at the heart of green budgeting and can enable public sector organisations to turn goals and ambitions into costed plans.
Assad Hameed Khan, head of ACCA Pakistan, says: ‘Climate change, as experienced through the recent floods, is already having a profound impact on Pakistan. Government is at the forefront of the response to climate change including the need to integrate and mainstream climate action in every public sector organisation.
Accountancy and finance professionals in the public sector will be essential to this task. It’s a great opportunity for public sector accountants to step forward and make a real difference’.
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ACCA, IFAC release guide on public financial management reforms
A new joint guide by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) released at the World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) aims to boost PFM reforms across the globe by defining for the first time the idea of professionalisation specifically in the context of public sector finance.
The guide also features case studies of good practice from Tanzania, the UK, Cyprus, the Philippines, Pakistan, Malaysia and Wales.
A global guide for professionalisation in public sector finance provides a definition of what professionalisation means in public sector finance, sets out the benefits of professionalisation, and offers a high-level roadmap to support global good practice in professionalisation.
Discussing the global guide ahead of a panel discussion at WCOA, Joseph Owolabi, ACCA president, said: “Professionalisation brings credibility, trust and confidence in public finances by supplementing the systems and public finance processes with the right skills for accountability, transparency, good governance and external scrutiny.
A professionalised workforce within a finance function supplies more than accounting information. It brings wide value to public sector finances – providing improved revenue collection, effective budgetary controls, and the data required to support policy decision making.”
Kevin Dancey, IFAC CEO, said: “We are looking to rebalance the focus so that it is not only on the process, but also on the people. The value of the accountancy profession, whether in the public or private sectors, comes from the experience, skills, judgement and ethical behaviour of its people. By increasing the number of professional accountants working in the public sector, we will no doubt add to the credibility and effectiveness of PFM, and reinforce trust in public services and spending.”
Achieving professionalisation brings multiple benefits to the economy, governments and individuals. It means greater financial credibility for economies, improved financial management discipline for governments, and greater access to diverse career options for individuals.
Alex Metcalfe, ACCA’s head of public sector, said: “Political leadership and commitment for professionalisation is the most important factor for sustaining PFM reforms over time. In some countries, there is a lack of recognition that change is needed at all. In other countries, PFM reforms have concentrated on moving from cash-based to accrual-based accounting. But now more effort is urgently required to professionalise public finance staff and provide opportunities for training for professional qualifications.”
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ACCA hosts conference for Pakistan sustainable growth
KARACHI: The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) hosted a large-scale corporate conference in Peshawar, themed ‘Rethinking a better world – Sustainable Growth for Pakistan,’ featuring representation from the country’s top businesses, thought leadership and policymakers.
The conference provided a platform for the region’s key stakeholders and brightest minds to engage in interdisciplinary, forward-thinking conversations to propose an agenda to revitalise the private sector and kick start an era of sustainable, inclusive economic growth.
The event was attended by many prominent names in the corporate sector, as well as leading policymakers and provincial cabinet members.
At the conference, ACCA shared insights, practical guidance, strategies, and solutions to enable businesses and policymakers to embrace new technologies and create a conducive environment for innovation and entrepreneurship. Featuring contributions from forward-thinking thought leaders, the conference program included a future-focused panel conversation on the KP Roadmap to Pakistan’s Economic Recovery- Challenges and Way Forward.
The conversation leaders for the segment included Henna Karamat – Director Planning, KP Education Foundation, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohsin Khan – Director IM Sciences – Peshawar, Ali Gulfaraz – MD/CEO Bank of Khyber, Jehan Bahadar – Collector – KPRA, Asim Khan – Project Director NIC Peshawar.
Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra, Minister for Finance, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shahid Khattak – CFO, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC), Ali Ibrahim – Head Communications & Marketing, Fayyaz Jarral – Executive Director – FF Steel were among the keynote speakers who shared their insights and proposed tips for organizations to become future-ready.
National University for Security Sciences, SKANS, SOS Pakistan Pvt. Ltd., and TMUC Pakistan joined ACCA as Strategic Partners. The Bank of Khyber and Mobilink Microfinance Bank were the Platinum Partners, DHA Peshawar, Evyol Group, LMKR, Mukhtar A Sheikh Hospital, Professionals’ Academy of Commerce (PAC), and Simplifiers joined as Gold Partners.
City University, DigiKhata, ICMAP, IM Sciences, KP IT Board, KPRA, Pakistan Stock Exchange, P@SHA, Rehman Medical Institute, SMEDA, and KP Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry joined as Supporting Partners. Bera, CXO Global Forum, Connected Pakistan, NIC Peshawar, and Toyota Khyber Motors joined as Community Partners. Nutshell Group powered the conference as a Knowledge Partner.
ACCA is the world’s leading body for professional accountants, with more than 241,000 fully qualified members and 542,000 future members worldwide. It uses its unrivaled connections across the globe to connect people with fulfilling careers, organizations with the best finance talent, and economies with the ingredients for growth.
With strong partnerships with top employers and the social sector across the globe and an award-winning Professional Insights program offering ground-breaking future insight, ACCA is at the forefront of finance talent development and creating future-proof careers.
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Global economy to witness weak growth: ACCA survey
KARACHI: The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has conducted the Q2 Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS).
According to the statement issued on Friday, all the main global indicators fell in the Q2 GECS, pointing to a decisive deterioration in the global economic outlook.
The Q2 GECS points to a decisive deterioration in the global economic outlook due to the effects of war in Ukraine and the surge in inflation across much of the world. But while risks have risen, indications are that a global recession will be avoided.
While confidence among financial professionals has dropped sharply, the level remains above the low-point reached at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ MORE: ACCA suggests imposing income tax on landowners
The two “fear” indices reflecting level of concern that customers and suppliers may go out of business were little changed in the Q2 survey, both edging slightly higher. Both indices have fallen back from the extreme levels seen in 2020 but are still above pre-pandemic levels.
The largest fall in confidence occurred in the Middle East, a region more exposed to trade with Russia/Ukraine while North America and Western Europe recorded especially large falls due to big jumps in inflation in recent months.
Elsewhere the falls in confidence were still significant, but more modest. Only in North America has confidence fallen back to levels seen during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
READ MORE: ACCA, IMA global economic conditions survey released
While the outlook has darkened, the drop-in confidence is much greater than in orders. Indeed orders a lead indicator of economic activity are above their long run average. The employment index is also well above its long run average, despite dropping in Q2. Jobs markets are tight, and employment is rising in many economies, providing some offset to the effects of high inflation on real incomes.
In a list of top concerns since the Q1 survey, financial professionals have swapped concerns over COVID for worries about inflation and rising interest rates. But for the third GECS in a row, supply shortages and supply chain issues have remained the highest ranked risk. Hopes are that this issue would fade in importance as this year progressed are fading.
Jamie Lyon, head of skills, sectors and technology at ACCA said, “Post-pandemic recovery has now given way to negligible economic growth, elevated inflation, and extreme uncertainty. The war in Ukraine has given inflation a further boost by pushing commodity prices higher. But inflation was already high and rising before the war started in February: a strong rebound in demand fuelled by a massive monetary and fiscal response to the COVID pandemic had run up against supply shortages, resulting in a surge in price pressures.”
READ MORE: Sales tax rate in Pakistan highest in region: ACCA
Loreal Jiles, vice president of research and thought leadership at IMA added, “High inflation is resulting in falls in real disposable incomes putting downward pressure on private demand, especially household consumption. Prices of both food andenergy are rising rapidly. The result is a cost-of-living crunch on low-income households in advanced economies and across virtually all low and middle-income countries, where these two categories account for a high share of spending.”
Jamie Lyon concluded, “Risks of a global recession have increased but our central case is that growth will be positive if rather weak. Employment growth may support total consumption. Nonetheless, with the exception of the COVID recession of 2020, we expect global GDP growth this year and next will be the weakest since the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-09.”
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ACCA suggests imposing income tax on landowners
KARACHI: The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has suggested the government to impose income tax at 7 percent on landowners to increase the agriculture share in the GDP.
The ACCA in its proposals for budget 2021/2022 stated that agriculture (recently growing at 2.77 percent) has the potential to reach up to 55 percent of the GDP from the current levels of around 24 percent.
“There’s a need for large landowners to be taxed at minimal rates, i.e. 7 percent,” it added. The revenue generated through this should be used to subsidise seeds, fertiliser, water, electricity, fuel, etc. for the small farmers. The use of latest, sustainable farming technology and easy access to cheap or interest-free loans should be ensured.
It urged the government to reduce tax rates to a single digit and ensure broadening of the tax net by adopting Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence leveraging rich data sources at government’s disposal such as NADRA.
The proposals also talk about the importance of moving away from indirect taxes and calls for rationalisation, standardisation and automation of tax laws & administration to minimise harassment of taxpayers.
The suggested structural reforms include harmonisation of federal and provincial tax laws, issuance of a single tax return, reduction in the discretionary powers of tax authorities, predicating appraisals of FBR functionaries on growth of business sectors under jurisdiction to instil a mindset of using tax as a means for GDP growth, incentivising tax payers to promote a tax culture, and establishing an independent appellate forum at Commissioner Appeals level.
The proposals also hope for the government to have a long-term strategy for import substitution, call for more incentives to local industry and favours heavy duties on non-essential imports and luxury items. Tax benefits to businesses pioneering UN’s SDGs have been recommended.
The negative growth in sectors such as mining and quarrying (-6.49 percent) and electric generation (-22.96 percent) is also highlighted for the government to take immediate action.
Proper legislation and rationalisation can help improve the situation for mining and can also result in attracting FDI. Focus on bringing down line losses, improving energy mix with clear plan for transition to renewables, as well as revising the existing costly agreements, can help reduce the negative trend for the electricity generation.
The document lauds government’s interventions such as Roshan Digital Account and incentives to the construction sector and mega projects such as Ravi Riverfront and calls for their continuation and further enhancements.
The global body has shown concern about the growing unemployment (11.56 percent) among the youth aged 20-24 and urges government to make youth employment one of the focus areas with considerable spending in the budget 2021-2022.
Further innovations in the Kamyab Jawan programme and introduction of new skills development and entrepreneurship support programmes with focus on emerging technologies should be government’s priority.
Significant increase in education budget with new programmes by provinces to support girls’ education, as well as adequate spending towards health and communications infrastructure, has been termed the ‘need of the hour’ by the global body. ‘Facilitation of high broadband penetration is critical for the future-fitness of our education sector and public services delivery,’ said ACCA.
Segmented approach in programmes such as Ehsas to ensure benefits reach the most marginalised segments of community across the country should be adopted for an inclusive growth.
Close collaboration with the IT/ITeS sector is needed, and the sector should be offered with tax rebates to facilitate its expansion. Similar to CPEC, it’s believed that there’s a potential for something like ‘China-Pakistan Technology Zone’ to connect our innovation value chain with economies in the region.
It’s also pointed out that the past outstanding refunds have only been cleared partially. It’s important to strengthen the trust of the taxpayer as well as provide liquidity to businesses, especially at a time when businesses are recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
It’s reiterated that government needs to ensure openness and transparency to foster trust and cultivate a healthy tax culture in the country.
ACCA has also confirmed that it will be holding a number of seminars to discuss its budget proposals engaging country’s top business leaders and policy makers.
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ACCA, IMA global economic conditions survey released
KARACHI: The global economy is bouncing back in terms of confidence, orders, employment and spending, according to the latest ACCA and IMA Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS).
The survey of senior accountants and finance professional across the world recorded the biggest jump in economic confidence this quarter in the 12 years it has been running. The balance of those more optimistic minus those less optimistic increased by 26 points in this survey.
The GECS is consistent with the view that the global economy stands a good chance of reaching its pre-pandemic level of activity later this year.
The results for South Asia – including Pakistan – point to much improved levels of confidence, reflecting better domestic and global demand prospects. As a result, confidence rose sharply in South Asia with only North America recording a bigger increase. But latest spike in Covid-19 cases in India and Pakistan has further muddled the economic outlook for economies in the region.
When asked about the prospect of higher inflation, there is a marked contrast between the relatively high expectations of respondents in South Asia, Africa and North America and rather lower expectations in Western Europe.
Across South Asia, activity indicators in the region improved but by less than the global average. There remains a legacy of tens of millions of people in the region who have fallen into poverty as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan, comments: ‘Different levels of economic prospects in the largely optimistic global picture are attributed to three factors that heavily influence the economy – the rate of vaccinations, the amount of government fiscal stimulus and savings banked by individuals during restrictions and lockdowns.’
Michael Taylor, chief economist at ACCA, said of the global picture: ‘This survey paints a much brighter picture with confidence jumping by the most in the history of the survey. The approval and deployment of several effective vaccines has dramatically improved the prospects of an end to the Covid crisis. A very large US fiscal stimulus has also boosted global economic prospects this year.’
‘The global orders index also increased in the Q1 survey and is consistent with further recovery in the global economy into the second half of 2021. We now expect global economic activity to return to its pre-Covid level from Q4 2019, later this year.’
The survey also reported some more mixed results. The ‘fear’ indices, which track concern about customers and suppliers going out of business, are still above long-term averages, reflecting continued uncertainty.
And near-term cost concerns increased, to a balance of 33 in Q1 from 24 in the previous survey, reflecting higher commodity prices and other costs, as the global economy recovers. But cost concerns are still below their long-run average.
The prospect of a strong economic rebound has also raised questions about the possibility of sustained increases in inflation, with two-thirds of global respondents saying they expect it to rise within five years.
However, the report concludes that the effect of the recessions of 2020 will keep a lid on inflation for the next year in most countries, with an expected steady rise in the next three to five years. In the USA, predicted strong economic growth this year, could lead to inflation much quicker.
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Higher duty rates proposed for car, luxury items import
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been suggested to impose higher rates of duties on import of non-essential and luxury items in order to reduce current account deficit.
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in its tax proposals for budget 2019/2020 said that tangible measures should be taken to reduce the import burden.
“Heavy duties should be levied on all non-essential imports like expensive electronics, cars & luxury items.”
In addition incentives should be announced for local industry to encourage domestic products, it suggested.
In other key reforms, the ACCA said that agricultural sector needs to be re-evaluated.
Being an agricultural country its GDP share must be according to its volume. Currently its share in GDP is 24 percent while it has the potential to reach up to 55 percent.
Large landowners should be taxed at minimal rates i.e. 7 percent with that revenue used to subsidize seeds, fertilizers, water, electricity, fuel, etc. for the small farmers.
Cheap and low quality smuggling and imports from India should be controlled.
The ACCA said that for Pakistan, a country of 220 million people, human capital is a huge resource in new era, but unfortunately due to incompetent and poor policies we are unable to convert this power in to workable force, un-employment has increased to almost 6 percent and over 4 million people are unemployed.
Keeping in view the above indicators the government needs to encourage services sectors, new industries and agriculture.
Banking sector should be used to incentivize and promote a culture of entrepreneurship.
Incentives must be announced for Services sectors particularly Telecom, home based industries, young entrepreneurship programs with special focus on women.