October
AUSTRALIA
‘The Australian' interviewed Dr Judy Henderson, who chairs important international and Australian organisations whose charters are to improve corporate social responsibility. The article reported that more firms are taking account of non-financial reporting guidelines and made mention of ACCA research which reported the findings of an in-depth survey on sustainability reporting with 16 leading Australia companies.
CHINA (MAINLAND)
An interview with Ada Leung, Head of Strategy and Development of ACCA Hong Kong and Bernard Chan, Program Director of ABRS Professional Learning Services appeared in ‘Job Market' and ‘Oriental Daily News' discussed the education and career path of professional accountants.
An interview with member Ao Yanjie, CFO of GSR Ventures appeared in International ‘Financing Magazine'.
ACCA's forthcoming forum for small and medium size enterprises of Asia-Pacific Region in Vietnam, to which interested Chinese enterprises were invited to attend, was reported on the CPA View website and in ‘Private Economy News'.
The China Business Council for Sustainable Development (CBCSD) and ACCA held a joint workshop on GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines as it has become a new trend that enterprises issue sustainability reports and this was covered in ‘International Finance News',and ‘Sohu website'
‘Jinan Times' reported that ACCA has commissioned a survey regarding the training and career development of finance professionals.
EUROPE
ACCA President, Dennis Yeates, was featured in the ‘EU Reporter' which said that while ACCA supports the aims of the Working Time Directive, the safeguards which protect individuals through a maximum weekly working time, defined rest breaks and annual leave, must include a degree of flexibility with the system to meet the legitimate interests of both employer and employee.
HONG KONG
ACCA HK President, Dilys Chau wrote two articles. The first offered advice on tackling group interviews and appeared in ‘Ming Pao'. The other article in ‘SCMP' discussed the increasing proportion of female accounting professionals in the field. The President mentioned that young professionals joining the industry must be ready for extensive travel to the mainland, however, the struggles which women face in the field are no different to those of other professionals particularly for striking a work-life balance.
The ‘Hong Kong Economic Journal' carried an interview with ACCA member, CFO, Asia Pacific of Texon International Group Ms Siew-Quen Thong and shared her road to becoming a female leader. She obtained her accounting qualification in Malaysia but the qualification was not recognised after she moved to Hong Kong. She then took the ACCA exam and worked up the career ladder to Chief Financial Officer. She also shared her tips on becoming a successful leader.
The ACCA HK President also appeared in ‘Sing Tao Daily', which featured her response to the suggested salary increment of 2.5% next year by the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong. She mentioned that employees group with 3-4 years' experience has the highest turnover rate and the salary increment is impressive. According to the recent survey conducted by ACCA and Michael Page, about half of the employee respondents said they received 2 to 4 offers last year, and in general, a salary increment of 20% would be needed for successful talent retention.
Morison Chan, Deputy President of ACCA Hong Kong was interviewed in ‘Job Market' and discussed the broad career opportunities that are available for accounting professionals with ACCA qualification. He also mentioned about the launch of the new ACCA syllabus 2007 in response to the ever-changing need in the business world.
‘Ming Pao Daily', ‘Sina.com' utilised ACCA for expert opinion on the recent news of possible relocation of HSBC headquarters due to heavy taxation in UK.
ACCA top affiliates Stephanie Kwan and Rebecca Chu were interviewed by Chinese University for ‘Sing Tao Daily' on their outstanding performance and discussed their education and career path in the accounting industry as Chinese University alumni.
‘Oriental Daily' printed a summary of comments on the Chief Executive of HKSAR Policy Address made by different political parties and representatives, including ACCA Hong Kong was reported. ACCA commented that the government should have addressed and evaluated the policy to tackle poverty.
‘Jiu Jik', ‘Recruit' carried an interview with Ada Leung, Head of Strategy and Development of ACCA Hong Kong and Bernard Chan, Program Director of ABRS Professional Learning Services discussed the trend, as well as the education and career path of professional accountants. The fact that a record number of students attempted the June 06 Exam and ACCA's growth was mentioned, along with courses and programmes at ABRS.
IRELAND
‘Irish Independent' reported that accountancy bodies, including ACCA, have warned the Government that Ireland's complex and outdated tax system is hampering competitiveness and reducing its ability to attract inward investment. CCAB-I, the accountancy bodies' umbrella group, said that the problem was the costs of tax compliance, rather than the outright charges levied.
Munster has produced two of the world's top three new accountants the ‘Irish Examiner' reported. Griffith College Cork (GCC) students Stephen Gahan, 22, from Grantstown in Co Waterford and James Bradley, 25, from Barrack Street in Cork received top scores in their ACCA exams.
POLAND
The Warsaw conference organised by ACCA, which explored financial management in SMEs, was covered in ‘Biznes Warszawski'. The event was attended by over 200 participants (mainly presidents, CFOs and financial directors of SMEs). Henryka Bochniarz, the president of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers was a main speaker. The gala dinner was attended by Prof. Leszek Balcerowicz, who gave a presentation on Poland and system leaders.
RUSSIA
‘Kommersant' reports that DipIFR-Rus is being used for client training by the Big Four and second-tier accountancy firms and examined by ACCA in many cities throughout Russia.
SINGAPORE
Detailed coverage of the partnership between ACCA and the Securities and Investment Institute (SII) and the launch of SII's office in Singapore appeared in ‘Smart Investor'. ACCA Chief Executive Allen Blewitt was interviewed at length on the partnership. The article also mentioned the launch of ACCA Career Pathways.
Sundarabalan, the youngest ACCA student to have qualified in Singapore, was interviewed in ‘Tamil Murasu'.
‘Today' ran an article discussing ACCA and Singapore Environment Council (SEC) collaboration to stage a premier awards dinner to honour organisations dedicated to the protection of the natural environment, and recognise companies that are committed to environmentally-sustainable business management practices. ACCA Head of Singapore, Penelope Phoon, was quoted as saying that the collaboration will send a strong signal to the business community about both bodies strong commitment to drive home the importance of sustainable business practices for a better tomorrow. The gala event will be held in March 2007 and will be attended by the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources.
Corporate social responsibility was also covered on the ‘AsiaOne' website, which reported that ACCA was part of a panel of experts invited to participate in a climate change roundtable by Shell and Singapore International Institute of Affairs (SIIA). In the article, all participants highlighted the fact that drivers for CSR are not in place in the region. ACCA also commented that bread and butter issues were still more important and that CSR was left to the last.
UNITED KINGDOM
An article by Allen Blewitt about the future of the finance professional in 2020 was featured in the ‘Financial Times'. Later in the month the ‘Financial Times' published the opinion of ACCA's Chief Executive again with a letter to the newspaper, which stated that the government's decision to abandon the businesses review provisions of the Companies Bill calls into question the consistency of its thinking on narrative reporting. A new clause calls on businesses to disclose information about their essential contractual relationships, but is framed in general terms and companies will have no statutory guidance to assist them in interpreting it.
The ‘Financial Times' also quoted ACCA's Tony Osude, Head of Employer & Professional Body Partnerships, who was quoted on the fact that the number of Polish accountants is increasing within the finance sector. The Head of Employer & Professional Body Partnerships said that east Europeans have been more willing to take on compliance- type jobs, eschewed by Britons seeking more “strategic” work. The extensive article, which included comment from recruitment professionals, and the big Four, also included a case study.
ACCA's Head of Business Law, John Davies, is by-lined in a ‘Derby Evening' ‘Telegraph' / ‘Express & Echo' article about work-life balance and the Department for Trade and Industry's proposal to add another eight days statutory leave entitlement onto the current four weeks
‘Bright 106.4 FM', ‘Wolverhampton Express and Star', ‘Walsall Express and Star', ‘Bournemouth Echo' all covered a news release from ACCA on buying a home to avoid student debt.
A ‘Financial Times' article which looked at the fine line which companies must tread because of red tape mentions ACCA's report on the cost of capital in Europe, which suggests there have been benefits from regulation. ACCA's report says that the equity cost of capital in the UK was lower than it was in the rest of Europe following the implementation of stringent accounting standards in the country during the 1990s. Richard Martin, head of financial reporting at ACCA, is quoted in the article.
The ‘Financial Times' featured comments from ACCA's Head of Tax Chas Roy-Chowdhury, on tax proposals by the Conservative party, which would result in inheritance tax being abolished and being replaced with a short-term capital gains tax at death. He stated that the plan would provide an incentive for people nearing death to put all their wealth into a new home so it could be passed onto dependants tax-free. The Head of Tax was also quoted in an extensive article about Inheritance tax in the ‘Mail on Sunday'.