March
AUSTRALIA
A visit to Australasia by ACCA's head of tax to discuss “Flat Rate Tax” gained coverage on Sky Business News, ABC TV, Sky Business Week and in The Australian, Australian Financial Review and AFR (Australian Financial Review).
CAYMAN ISLANDS
Cayman News covered the first local chapter meeting of ACCA focusing on new requirements for continued professional development in the association. An ACCA Cayman Islands Representative said there is already a large existing ACCA local membership of 150 in the Islands and also provided the results of a local survey that indicated the majority of members were interested in more technical training. ACCA Business Relationship Manager talked about the continuing professional development requirement.
CHINA (MAINLAND)
The ACCA award to Chinese Auditor General Li Jinhua for outstanding achievement in the accountancy profession was covered by Finance News, Beijing Business Today, China Securities Daily, CCTV-9, People Daily, Dakungpao, Accounting Messenger and various websites including: CPA View, E521, NetEase, China Jilin, Fayhoo, YCWB, Xinhua, Tom, Sohu and QQ.
The CICPA website reported that Chinese deputy finance minister Wang Jun and CICPA president Liu Zhongli met ACCA President Christopher Forster on 20 March in Beijing.
International Finance News said that ACCA's recent report provides guidance on evaluating the impact of new accounting standards and suggests possible measures.
Sina website reported that public appraisal of outstanding CFO of China 2005 has commenced and that both ACCA and CIMA are providing assistance.
HONG KONG
An interview with the president of ACCA HK on Goods and Services Tax (GST) was reported in the Oriental Daily.
Salaries tax was covered in an article by ACCA HK Technical Services in the Apple Daily.
South China Morning Post reported the “ACCA Hong Kong Job-Hunting Competition” with interviews including the Head of Marketing (Greater China), ACCA. A Finance Consultant from Michael Page International gave contestants interview tips. The ACCA HK Job-hunting Competition was also covered in Ta Kung and Hong Kong Economic Times.
Hong Kong Economic Times (Career Times) ran a half-page “Uncommon Denominator” advertisement. There was also an advertisement for the ACCA HK Annual Conference 2006 in the South China Morning Post.
POLAND
The monthly magazine for financial directors, ‘Financial Director Polska', published an article written by Tomasz Zadroga, ACCA Senior Member, and member of the Board of Adidas Poland Ltd titled “Shared service centers - there is nothing to worry about”. The magazine also ran an article about financial controllers with a profile on the ACCA Senior Member Krzysztof Wieslaw, Regional Financial Controller of Radisson SAS Hotels.
RUSSIA
Accounting Tax Law magazine ran an interview with ACCA about development in St Petersburg during Business Education Fair in the city. ACCA was also interviewed in IFRS Application about the difference between Russian DipIFR and ACCA. The article questioned: what are the practical implications of allowing a tax deduction for treasury shares? Are there grey areas it hasn't addressed that could lead to much confusion? And will the government's decision affect the way companies operate? Will this hurt or benefit shareholders? ACCA, together with PwC, KPMG and a local firm were invited to give their views at the BT Investment Roundtable.
An article on business education for senior managers in Economics and Life magazine mentioned ACCA qualification. Epigraph (Novosibirsk) also mentioned the ACCA qualification in an article about transition to IFRS.
St Petersburg Times covered a recent review of St. Petersburg salaries by the ANCOR recruitment agency which showed that Financial managers and Chief Accountants are amongst the top six most highly-paid specialists. Natalya Martikainen, project manager of the Salary Survey group at ANCOR recruiting agency, said: “Of high value to accountants and financiers is education at the expense of the employer, for example ACCA, MBA and other programs.”
SRI LANKA
ACCA Sri Lanka presented the prestigious ACCA Sustainability Awards 2005 to joint winners: John Keells holding and Diesel & Motor Engineering Company Ltd . This was covered in the Sunday Times, Financial Times, Financial News, Daily Mirror Financial Times, Daily News and Sunday Leader.
UNITED KINGDOM
The UK Budget featured in the media and ACCA's input pre-budget featured in the Week and there was also an interview on BBC TV ‘News 24' with ACCA's Head of Tax about the likely announcements. Post budget the Chancellor's lack of action on stamp duty and inheritance tax, plus the prospect of a new tax on development was labelled a “triple whammy” for the housing market by ACCA, and reported as such in the Daily Mail and Scottish Daily Mail. The Times, The Irish News, the East Anglian Daily Times, the Scotsman, Birmingham Post, Daily Express and PA News all reported ACCA's view's on the outcomes.
Proposals to make companies file tax returns at the same time as their accounts would create an extra burden on businesses, ACCA warned; “We feel the proposals being put forward would not bring about any meaningful reductions in burdens. If anything, the opposite is more likely to be the result.” Financial Time.
After looking at on-line services the Carter Review put forward recommendations that imply that UK income tax payers will have to file their tax returns up to four months earlier from 2008. ACCA issues a statement that “It is draconian and unacceptable that people unable to use IT systems are being penalised by bringing forward their deadlines in this way” and was quoted in the Financial Times, Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Times
The Financial Times carried a supplement entitled “International Accountancy”, which included a list of the passed finalists from ACCA's December 2005 professional scheme examinations and a series of articles including comments from ACCA experts. ACCA Head of Business Law commented on the fact that the European Commission is trying to co-ordinate accounting and audit practice in Europe. The article also mentioned ACCA's recently launched European Manifesto, which urges the Commission to seek a level playing field with respect to financial disclosure and corporate governance, not only in the 25 EU members states, but also within the US.
Sky News, Sunday Times interviewed ACCA's Head of Tax regarding the working of HM Revenue and Customs tax investigations, and he also commented on the investigation into the tax affairs of David Mills, husband of cabinet minister Tessa Jowell.
The Mail on Sunday mentioned a report, which has been written by ACCA for the All Party Parliamentary group for Building Societies and Financial Mutuals looking at the true cost of demutualisation. Later in the week the report also received coverage in City AM, Daily Telegraph, Express, Financial Times, The Scotsman, The Herald (Scotland), The Independent, The Guardian and Sunday Telegraph.
An article in Guardian Public by head of public sector technical issues at ACCA highlighted research by ACCA in Northern Ireland, which shows that the additional information coming from resource accounting and budgeting is not being widely used.
Company Pension schemes were mentioned in the Daily Telegraph, Birmingham Post, Yorkshire Post, Press Association, Aberdeen Press & Journal, Teletext and North West Evening Mail with ACCA calling on the Government to act to save long-term decline. In a letter to Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton, ACCA's Chief Executive asked for the government to support employers, and suggested that the Government's White Paper on pensions reform offered the chance to “affirm meaningful and tangible support to the role of occupational schemes.”
HM Revenue and Customs produced a report, which proposed tighter measures to monitor and catch errant taxpayers. ACCA expressed concern about that ministers might be given wide-ranging statutory powers that shift the balance of power in tax disputes dramatically in favour of tax inspectors, views which were reported in The Financial Times and the Guardian.
UGANDA
ACCA Uganda's election of a new executive committee received coverage in the Monitor. Ms Jackie Lutaaya, from the Centre for Professional Development, an accountancy training centre takes over as the new president of ACCA Uganda. Lutaaya who becomes the first woman to head the body in Uganda will be deputised by Marble Akooza of PricewaterhouseCoopers.