The global economy continues to experience difficult conditions as the effects of the financial crisis on corporate cash flows and access to credit persists. Market volatility and issues concerning measurement and disclosure of exposures to sovereign debt of distressed countries, continue to create uncertainty in the capital market. The impact of these issues and uncertainty has wide-ranging financial reporting implications that often extend beyond national borders.
These and other current economic conditions present unique challenges for management of organisations, especially the role of Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) and those charged with the role of corporate governance, in meeting their responsibilities, including assessing an entity’s ability to continue to drive sustainable development in the present business climate.
In view of these developments and as a step to ensure that PAIB are able to respond to the increasing demands of the marketplace, especially in these times when financial regulatory requirements are growing in complexity, the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) organised the first Accountants in Business (AIB) Symposium 2012.
MIA reminded its members of their responsibilities in responding urgently to the increasing demands from investors for information relating to financial, governance, environmental and social, and recommends how PAIB can better support their organisations in responding to these demands, and ultimately improve the management of an organization.
“Professional accountants both support and fill leadership roles in management operations and control and in stakeholder communications. They are also well placed to apply accounting discipline and rigor to the collection, analysis, and reporting of strategic data, and to support the incorporation of these information into their organisation’s management processes, systems, and reporting,” said MIA President, Datuk Mohd Nasir Ahmad.
He also added that the involvement of the accountants in commerce in improving the relevance and quality of their organization’s internal and external business reporting will be critical in meeting the myriad challenges brought about by the increasing demands of investors.
Prominent speakers at the symposium include Mohammad Faiz Mohammad Azmi, Chairman of the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB), Mohamad Rafique Marican, CFO of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB); Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan, President of Transparency International Malaysia; Dr Yeah Kim Leng, Senior General Manager & Group Chief Economist of Ram Holdings Berhad; Denis Pratt, Head of Accounting Policy, External Positioning, Strategy Group CPA Australia and Wayne Soo, Managing Partner, Fiducia LLP Singapore.
