Insights
The ACCA President’s Debate revealed how the ASEAN Economic Community and the EU can learn from each other, and the vital role of the finance profession, says Alexandra Chin
This article was first published in the May 2016 international edition of Accounting and Business magazine.
I’ve been thinking recently about globalisation and how the profession – and especially ACCA members – are so adept at working across borders and time zones.
When I speak at ACCA member events, I am often reminded how connected we are as a membership body. The collected wisdom we have is truly exceptional. For example, an ACCA member in the UK can advise an ACCA colleague in Sri Lanka about importing and tax issues. A member in Singapore can advise on budget issues in their market to colleagues around the world. We can be a huge support to one another, offering insights, advice and wise counsel not only to our clients and within the businesses where we work, but also to each other. I wonder how many of us tap into one another’s expertise?
I was reminded of this global interconnection recently at an event that ACCA hosted in Kuala Lumpur (see also page 60). Annually, for the last five years or so, ACCA has held its President’s Debates in the European Union (EU), shadowing the six-monthly term of the EU presidencies that rotate around member countries. We’ve held events in Athens, Brussels, Cyprus, Dublin, London and Warsaw.
We’ve debated – sometimes heatedly – numerous issues, such as financial stability and financial contagion; diversity, inequalities and discrimination in the workplace; and, more recently, in the light of austerity and financial instability, how to strike the right balance between discipline, accountability, growth and solidarity.
But for 2016, I wanted to take the debate wider. So we decided to hold the very first ACCA President’s Debate outside the EU, discussing the future of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the EU. The fundamental question we debated was: ‘Will fitting the EU’s teeth give the AEC the bite it is lacking?’
Two European policy experts joined us – Dr Steven Everts, senior adviser on EU-ASEAN and the Asian Regional Forum alternate senior official for the Asia Pacific Department, European External Action Service; and Dr Fraser Cameron, director of the EU-Asia Centre. And it’s because ACCA is so well connected that we could bring together these experts.
ACCA and I have been following the development of the AEC with a keen interest. As a global professional body, we wanted to understand better the similarities and differences between these two economic communities. Can the AEC learn anything from the years of experience of the EU project? Can the EU gain insights from the newly formed AEC?
The outcome of the afternoon’s session is that yes, lessons can be learned: that clear plans need to be adhered to and communicated well; that economic communities can and do face challenges, so the foundations need to be strong; that working together towards common interests is vital. We also agreed that cross-fertilisation of ideas and policies is crucial.
So at the opening of the event, I asserted that the EU and the AEC can indeed learn from each other. All attendees agreed that the accountancy profession plays a vital role in ensuring economic communities thrive and grow.
And this is where our esteemed profession comes in. Whether you work as a small practitioner, in a Big Four firm or in a corporate environment, never forget the impact you have on economies, societies and therefore the wider public. Good economies need good accountants, and that’s why I am proud that we as ACCA members have an important part to play in capacity-building and financial stability.
Alexandra Chin runs her own practice in Sabah, Malaysia