Accountancy Futures
Accountancy Futures Critical issues for tomorrow’s profession Edition 11 | 2015
| Edition 11
Stephen Heathcote Executive director – markets stephen.heathcote@accaglobal.com
Jamil Ampomah Market director – Sub-Saharan Africa jamil.ampomah@accaglobal.com
Mark Cornell Market director – Americas and Western Europe mark.cornell@accaglobal.com
Stuart Dunlop Market director – MENASA stuart.dunlop@accaglobal.com
Lucia Real-Martin Market director – emerging markets lucia.realmartin@accaglobal.com
Andrew Steele Market director – partnerships & recognition andrew.steele@accaglobal.com
In the pipeline Unprecedented challenges in oil and gas sector put premium on finance talent
Electronic and iPad versions of Accountancy Futures are available at www.accaglobal.com/futuresjournal
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Plus: Bob Herz | Bangladesh auditor general | Future of audit | Accountant revolutionaries | Internal audit | Risk management | Whole of government accounts | CICPA secretary general | Africa’s innovators | Integrated reporting | Slovakia | FEE president
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Accountancy Futures
Accountancy Futures
Editor Lesley Bolton lesley.bolton@accaglobal.com +44 (0)20 7059 5965 Contributing editors Jo Malvern, Colette Steckel Sub-editors Annabella Gabb, Dean Gurden, Peter Kernan, Jenny Mill, Eva Peaty, Vivienne Riddoch Design manager Jackie Dollar Designers Bob Cree, Robert Mills, Zack StarkeyMcGrath Production manager Anthony Kay Head of ACCA Media Chris Quick Pictures Corbis Printing Wyndeham Group Paper Antalis Ltd. This magazine is produced on paper that contains certified fibres and is manufactured under strict conditions that allow the grade to carry the EU Ecolabel. The mill operates under the ISO 14001 certified environmental management system. ACCA President Anthony Harbinson FCCA Deputy president Alexandra Chin FCCA Vice president Brian McEnery FCCA Chief executive Helen Brand OBE ACCA Connect Tel +44 (0)141 582 2000 members@accaglobal.com students@accaglobal.com info@accaglobal.com
Major new oil reserves often lie in countries with unstable political regimes, causing concern in the industry (see page 6).
A list of ACCA offices can be found on the back cover. ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, firstchoice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. We support our 178,000 members and 455,000 students in 181 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills needed by employers. We work through a network of over 92 offices and centres and more than 7,110 Approved Employers worldwide, which provide high standards of employee learning and development. Accountancy Futures Edition 11 was published in September 2015. Accountancy FuturesŽ is a registered trademark of ACCA. All views expressed in Accountancy Futures are those of the contributors. The Council of ACCA and the publishers do not guarantee the accuracy of statements by contributors or advertisers, or accept responsibility for any statement that they may express in this publication. Copyright ACCA 2015 Accountancy Futures. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or distributed without the express written permission of ACCA. Accountancy Futures is published by Certified Accountants Educational Trust in cooperation with ACCA. ISSN 2042-4566. 29 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3EE United Kingdom +44 (0)20 7059 5000
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Editorial board Chiew Chun Wee Head of policy, Asia Pacific chunwee.chiew@accaglobal.com Chris Quick Head of ACCA Media chris.quick@accaglobal.com Arif Mirza Regional head of policy, MENASA arif.mirza@accaglobal.com Edition 11 | 83
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he oil and gas industry is facing some unprecedented challenges. But while the crash in oil prices may look like a threat to the industry, it could prove to be an opportunity for finance professionals working in the sector. While there is a debate by economists as to if or when the price will recover, there is no doubt that financial professionals have an ever more challenging role to play in the industry in the years ahead. A new ACCA state-of-the-industry report spells out key issues on the future agenda. Read the article beginning on page 6 and for the global economic perspective, our article on page 10. Professional accountants may not often view themselves as rebels, but Australian author Jane Gleeson-White sees them as potential revolutionaries with the power to save the planet. In an interview coinciding with the publication of her book Six Capitals, she explores the concept that existing systems fail to account adequately for our challenging, complex times. Read her views on page 24. The six capitals in the title of the book, of course, refer to the capitals named in the International Integrated Reporting Council’s framework launched in 2013. The IIRC is now working to create the conditions for IR to flourish (page 49). We cover a wide range of issues in this 11th edition of Accountancy Futures. They include corporate governance; risk; the future of audit; corporate reporting; the public sector; capacity building in emerging markets; and diversity. We also talk to senior finance professionals from across the world, including US accounting luminary Bob Herz and the comptroller and auditor general of Bangladesh, Masud Ahmed. Lesley Bolton, editor You can find out more about ACCA’s research and insights activities at www.accaglobal.com/ri
Denotes ACCA’s research and insights reports
Global forums ACCA’s 11 global forums bring together experts from the public and private sectors, public practice and academia. They aim to further thinking on current and future issues, and look for opportunities for the accountancy profession. www.accaglobal.com/globalforums
Chair: Alan Johnson FCCA, Board member, Jerónimo Martins Accountants for Business Global Forum
Chair: Ng Boon Yew FCCA, Executive chairman, Raffles Campus Accountancy Futures Academy
Chair: Faris Dean FCCA, Solicitor, Lyons Davidson Global Forum for Business Law
Chair: Adrian Berendt FCCA, Independent consultant, Global Forum for Governance, Risk and Performance
Chair: Stephen Emasu FCCA, Public financial management expert, IMF Global Forum for the Public Sector
Chair: Robert Stenhouse FCCA, Director, national accounting and audit, Deloitte UK Global Forum for Audit and Assurance
Chair: Rosanna Choi FCCA, Partner, CWCC Certified Public Accountants Global Forum for SMEs
Chair: Lorraine Holleway FCCA, Head of financial reporting, Qatar Shell Global Forum for Corporate Reporting
Chair: Tom Duffy FCCA, Consultant and partner, Affecton Global Forum for Taxation
Chair: Michael Kelly, Director, KPMG and chair of the Living Wage Foundation Global Forum for Sustainability
Chair: Sara Harvey FCCA, Director, Hines Harvey Woods Global Forum for Ethics Edition 11 | 03
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17 Bouncing back Companies that are not resilient are on course to go out of business. The answer is ‘continuous resilience’
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14 Taking control Regulatory changes should be seen as a benefit, not a burden
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11 All change CFOs need to adapt quickly to the complex demands of the modern world
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10 Winners and losers What can the world expect from a prolonged period of cheaper crude?
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06 In the pipeline As the oil and gas sector faces huge challenges, how can finance professionals add value?
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20 Opportunity knocks China is seeing a rapid expansion in the role of accounting, driving career opportunities 22 Small matters Good corporate governance should apply to small companies as well as large ones
| Smart finance 24 Rebels with a cause Do accountants have the power to save the planet? 28 Forward thinking Future funding scenarios for SMEs were the focus of a series of ACCA roundtables 31 Innovation within Why there is an overwhelming need for intrapreneurial finance professionals
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35 Competencies call How to address China’s accountant shortage
44 American vision Bob Herz, former FASB chair, on corporate reporting in the US
37 Viewpoints CFOs on what it takes to be successful
46 Raising finance A new reporting toolkit will help SMEs use their intellectual assets
| Tax 41 All or nothing Countries should not be allowed to cherrypick from the OECD’s BEPS action points
49 Getting ready The IIRC is preparing the ground to boost integrated reporting
‘CFOs are so used to seeing
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52 A special case Rich Sharko is the man behind a new IAASB audit quality project
60 Crunch time Why accountancy has a key role to play in tackling climate change
55 Evolve or die The audit profession has to adapt to survive
63 Local heroes Africa’s new wave of innovation
58 Skills skirmish The battle for internal audit talent has never been more important than now
66 Modern man Bangladesh’s auditor general, Masud Ahmed, is modernising accounting methods
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68 War on talent Without a pipeline of qualified accountants, businesses in emerging economies will not be able to prosper
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| Public value 76 The big three Petr Kríž, president of the FEE, on his top three priorities
71 Full steam ahead Turkey’s growing accounting sector has been boosted by a strategic partnership with ACCA
78 Open to all The ACCA-X project will lower the cost of professional education, opening it up to people who previously had no access
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73 State of change When Slovakia was formed 22 years ago, Katarína Kaszasová played a key role in reorganising its accounting
80 All on boards Companies where women are strongly represented at board level perform better
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74 An important tool How whole of government accounts could prove to be an invaluable tool for public policy decision makers
82 In brief ACCA’s new headquarters, global economy survey, gender inequality, and ACCA luminaries on camera. ■
Today women in Pakistan
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Accountancy Futures | Risk and governance | Oil and gas
In the pipeline
As the oil and gas sector undergoes significant change, how can finance professionals add value in an industry that needs them more than ever?
L
ast year’s oil price crash may look like a threat to the industry, but it could prove to be an opportunity for finance professionals working in the sector. Depending on which industry pundit you talk to, the price will recover to its previous level – or it won’t. But where there is no disagreement is that finance professionals have an ever more challenging role to play in the industry in the years ahead. Of course, there have been finance stars who have risen to play key roles on the boards of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies. Yet there is a lingering sense that finance professionals have not always exercised as much influence as they might. Historically, the engineers have often called the shots when it comes to decision-making in many energy majors, argues Colin Pearson, oil and gas tax partner at EY. Given the formidable technical complexity of major extraction projects, that is hardly surprising. But times are changing. ‘With pressures to manage costs and cash, standardise processes, and manage everything more effectively, the balance of power will shift to finance professionals,’ Pearson predicts. Simon Constant-Glemas, vice president corporate and UK country controller at Shell, believes that finance professionals have a big opportunity to provide the analysis and insight that can help to inform better decisions in the future. ‘We are a bit of a spider in the web in that sense,’ he says. There is little doubt that the oil and gas industry is facing some unprecedented challenges. A new ACCA state-of-the-industry report, Oil and gas – priorities and challenges for the CFO enterprise, spells out key issues on the future agenda – managing the volatility that hits firms’ cost bases, capex and funding; developing better forecasting and decision-support capabilities; handling new corporate reporting challenges; and forecasting the impact of asset impairment and stranded assets. Dealing with all these issues will put a premium on the talent available in the finance function at a time when many companies have offshored key elements of their finance functions. Offshoring has enabled finance functions to demonstrate they are able to cut their own
Of concern to the industry is that major new oil reserves often lie in geographically challenging locations or in countries with unstable political regimes.
‘I think the CFO is in a
golden age in the oil and gas sector, but they are going to be asked very challenging questions’
costs – a confidence-building step when demanding other departments trim their budgets. But it has meant that professionals joining a finance function in an oil or gas company with considerable offshoring may find they receive less breadth of experience as they develop their careers. No wonder a senior industry finance professional says: ‘Many oil and gas companies are beginning to get a bit concerned about where the next CFO might come from.’ This ought to be a genuine concern for the industry’s major players, as senior management teams will need to tackle a whole range of new issues. Those CFOs who can rise to the challenge may find they play a more strategic role than ever before. ‘I think the CFO is in a golden age in the oil and gas sector,’ says Dr Steve Priddy FCCA, a former ACCA director of technical policy and research who now leads the London School of Business and Finance’s oil and gas programme. ‘But they are going to be asked very challenging questions. They’re already fantastic experts in what they do, but that’s going to be stretched to the limit.’
Pressure point Take the question of cost and cash control. Return on capital has taken a big hit in recent years, points out Pearson. The pressure may increase in the future as the industry embarks on increasingly ambitious projects to recover more inaccessible assets. Because every drilling project is different, it is not easy to impose the kind of one-size-fits-all processes typically found in manufacturing, says Pearson. ‘When you’re dealing with oil and gas fields – all of which have different geology, chemical components and pressure in them – to what extent you can standardise is a big question mark in my mind,’ he says. There are no easy answers, but Alison Baker, head of UK oil and gas at PwC in the UK, argues that one of the challenges for finance professionals is to help companies reshape their operating models. She sees technology being a key driver of the innovation and collaboration needed to take out overhead cost. ‘For example, if a number of operations are extracting oil from one field, why can’t they share some back-office costs in the field?’ she asks.
Serious disconnect Baker acknowledges that it is not easy to change direction once capital projects are agreed. And that poses a problem, because while projects are measured in years – even decades – oil price
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fluctuations are measured in months, sometimes weeks or even days. There is, in effect, a serious disconnect between the horizons for capital investment and revenue projection. ‘When there’s a need to save money, finance professionals are first going to look at what can be deferred,’ argues Baker. ‘But once projects are decided, it’s difficult to change them because of capital commitments, not to mention commitments to governments.’ But she argues that decision-makers could seek to break long-term projects into modules. ‘You could give yourself a bit more agility rather than having to commit to a 20-year project,’ she says. There is a significant focus in the industry at the moment on how best to conserve cash. ‘There is a lot of modelling around portfolio realignment and optimisation,’ says Baker. ‘There’s an appreciation that there is a finite amount of cash, so there needs to be more focus on how to use it.’ Constant-Glemas agrees that there is a lot of industry
On tap: a worker collects crude oil sample at an oil well operated by Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA in Morichal, Venezuala.
attention on what is driving the various cost bases. Developing better analysis and deeper insights in these areas can help a business understand more about the choices that could be on the table at different levels of revenue. This is an area where finance professionals could be playing a more vigorous role – thereby placing themselves at the heart of the strategic debate within their companies. It is no surprise that the short-term focus in the oil business has been on how to react to the slump in price – and also therefore on revenues. Models that show the price creeping up to its previous level, after time, may or may not prove correct. But what is probably more significant are the longer term trends that have big financial implications – such as the fact that major new oil reserves lie in geographically challenging locations or inside countries with unstable political regimes. Then there is the growing threat to carbon fuels from renewables. Priddy believes this ought to be higher up oil and gas companies’ agendas. ‘The cost of producing energy from solar is coming down faster than anyone predicted,’ he says. He notes that it is forecast that the cost of generating solar power in the US will reach ‘grid parity’ – the point at which it is as cheap to generate power from solar as from oil or gas without subsidies – in the next two to three years. ‘If I were the board director of an oil major, that issue would be perplexing me a lot,’ he says. ‘I would switch investment plans more into renewables than is currently the case. And I’d be looking to recruit people who know about renewables because there could be a major skills shortage.’ Yet despite predictions of tough times ahead, there seems to be no loss of desire to invest in oil and gas or in the appetite for M&A activity, as this year’s Shell takeover of BG illustrates. And the new investors on the block are expected to be hedge funds and private equity houses. One industry watcher expects private equity houses to start investing heavily in the industry in the next 12 to 18 months. If that proves correct, it will put more pressure on
Helmut Hauke FCCA ‘As very fittingly put by Simon Constant-Glemas (UK country controller – Shell) we are like “spiders in a web”. That puts us in a strategic position, both internally and externally – a position that, for far too long, has been allowed to go unused. I believe that the current environment presents a watershed moment. It forces those of us who haven’t already done so, to break out of our confined “silos” and use our position to effect the necessary change. A key part of that change will focus on communication.’ CFO, Freemont Resources, and director, Center for Energy Asset Management Studies, based in Calgary, Canada
Nathalie Kirk FCCA ‘The sustained downturn in oil price has led to a strong focus on finance and it now has the opportunity to show that it is a valuable business partner. But the biggest challenges are not just whether finance can help steer the companies away from short-term knee-jerk reactions into long-term sustainable cost-management initiatives, but also whether it can break the industry’s engineer-dominated world. Finance needs to impose itself at the top table and remain a valued business partner or it risks being ignored again post crisis.’ Support services accounting lead, Nexen Petroleum UK 08 | Edition 11
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finance professionals to improve forecasting and decision-support capabilities. Typically, private equity features activist investors with a passion for detailed monthly numbers. They seek precision and granular detail. They will be heavily focused on driving costs down as well as maximising revenue, although they may find that even their alchemic skills at revenue generation are thwarted if there is a prolonged collapse in the oil price. One issue that will certainly be on their agenda – as well as that of traditional investors – is the question of asset impairment and stranded assets. One industry insider points out that the last round of impairment testing took place in January 2015, when oil prices were more buoyant than now. Depending on price movements between now and January 2016, there could be some disagreeable surprises. There is also concern about whether the worldwide drive to meet global-warming targets may mean that some existing assets may have to remain in the ground indefinitely, unless scientists develop effective ways to handle waste gases from carbon fuel burning.
Inside Shell Watch our video of Simon Constant-Glemas explaining the key priorities of Shell’s finance function in the current financial climate. Go to www.accaglobal.com/ab/222
Strategic partnerships As finance professionals become involved in dealing with this broad range of future issues, they need to become a strategic partner to the chief executive and the board, argues Baker. But, she points out, being a strategic partner involves the ability to manage a wider range of stakeholders than finance professionals normally do. Communication skills will become increasingly important, she suggests. For example, how do you help them understand that what is inherently a longterm business is going through a short-term price correction? And, in the light of that, how do you make the case for continued investment, for employee training and for new asset acquisition? These are big questions and will take some finance oil and gas industry professionals outside their traditional comfort zone. Yet providing positive answers could be the key
to success 10 years or more downstream. In the past, the oil and gas industry has reacted to price corrections by cutting back on graduate and other recruitment. As a result, companies have sometimes been faced with a kind of talent ‘generation gap’ a few years later. Baker says that finance professionals should play a positive role in persuading the business to hold its nerve so that it continues with essential investment and is, therefore, in a better position to reap returns when the upside comes. So does all this mean that the industry needs a new breed of finance professional? Accountants who reach the higher levels of oil and gas majors will tend to be those with genuine leadership capability and the ability to communicate how they are adding value to the organisation, says Pearson. But finance professionals who want to move up in the industry must demonstrate that they can get the basics right first, says Constant-Glemas. ‘We get paid a lot of money to make sure the numbers make sense, and a lot of that comes from executing processes right first time, showing it was fit for purpose, strong governance, as well as a strong risk-management and control framework.’ The ability to handle ambiguity and uncertainty is part of a new mindset that successful oil and gas industry finance professionals need in the future, ACCA’s report points out. Opportunities there may be, but it will take accountants with vision and determination to seize them. ■ Peter Bartram, journalist Read ACCA’s state-of-the-industry report, Oil and gas – priorities and challenges for the CFO enterprise, at www.accaglobal.com/ab/200
Kevin Nolan FCCA ‘The energy company finance professional needs to become more than just a partner to the business; we need to be leaders in the business. Our role is changing to focus on driving a competitive and sustainable cost structure, understanding and leveraging value drivers, whilst balancing risk. It is not enough for finance to understand this; we must lead business with effective communication and educate when necessary. We must develop our partnership skills beyond the finance function into key areas such as procurement, commercial, strategy, innovation and R&D.’ Finance manager, central platforms, Shell Finance Upstream International
Natasha Hardie FCCA ‘This could be an opportunity for finance individuals to really demonstrate what they are capable of and to shine like never before. Yes, it’s a challenging time but often these times bring out the best innovation and ideas. Forecasting and budgeting will carry far more emphasis and businesses will be more receptive to suggestions of cost savings, working smarter and less value-added wastage. I am quite sure we can rise to this challenge and you never know, the finance individuals could help save the day.’ Britannia controls coordinator, Chevron Edition 11 | 09
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High on the see-saw
With a downswing in the oil price pushing the health of the global economy up, what can the world expect from a prolonged period of cheaper crude?
T
he physicist Nils Bohr once quipped that prediction was very difficult ‘especially if it’s about the future’. His scepticism applies doubly to oil price forecasting. The ultimate in chaotic systems, the crude market can be swayed by disruptions in any one of a dozen large producing nations, shifts in demand in rich consuming countries, or simply a change in sentiment among speculators. While anticipating short-term price swings won’t get any easier, two trends have recently converged that seem to promise cheaper oil for the foreseeable future. The first is new drilling techniques that have unlocked previously inaccessible oil deposits. The second is that the OPEC cartel of oil exporting nations appears to have abandoned its promotion of high prices. ‘OPEC is broken,’ says Tom Biracree, an energy analyst at consultancy IHS. ‘If you combine this with the extra supply from shale oil, the entire energy game has changed. The upshot is that we are unlikely to see a sustained return to US$100 a barrel oil any time soon.’ This has far-reaching implications for the global economy. Let’s start with growth. All else being equal, the price of oil should have no effect on growth. After all, every dollar gained by oil consumers is a dollar lost by drillers – leaving zero net impact on demand. However, while the elites in oil-rich states tend to hoard in sovereign wealth funds the tsunami of extra cash that floods in during periods of pricey oil, oil consumers typically spend about half of their windfall from cheaper oil over the course of a few years, says Andrew Kenningham, a global analyst at Capital Economics. The sums involved are significant. A fall from US$100 a barrel, the average price of oil in 2014, to around US$43, the price in August, reduces the global oil bill from US$3.3 trillion to US$1.4 trillion, transferring US$1.9 trillion from producers to consumers. Each US$10 per barrel fall in price, Capital Economics calculates,
Buried treasure: geologist studying a graphical display of oil and gas-bearing rock on screens.
should boost global demand by around 0.2% of GDP. The gains are naturally skewed towards those nations with the largest net imports relative to the size of their economy, many of which are in Asia. Other benefits of cheaper oil for energy-hungry nations like India include bringing down the nation’s worryingly high inflation rate, allowing the central bank to cut interest rates. There are also notable sectoral winners. One unlikely gainer is agriculture, which is roughly five times more energy-intensive than manufacturing, according to the World Bank, due partly to the reliance of farmers on fossil-fuel based fertiliser and modern agricultural machinery. Other winners include the airlines, freight businesses and car makers. Many economists are hoping that longer-term structural improvements will also flow through, including deep cuts in the US$550bn the world’s governments spend on subsidies for fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency. Such subsidies have been politically difficult to withdraw until now, since they raise the price of driving for millions of citizens. Of course, there are also losers from falling oil. The main question is whether the pain inflicted on a smaller number of petro-states will end up disrupting financial markets and the global economy. The reassuring answer is: almost certainly not. For a start, many of the biggest producers are financially well off. Saudi Arabia, for example, had accumulated net foreign assets of around US$737bn as of August 2014. Yet some nations could be pushed over the cliff by the plunge in oil prices. The most obvious example is Venezuela, which gets over 95% of its hard currency revenue from oil. It needs oil at US$90 a barrel just to balance the government budget, according to Deutsche. ‘A day of reckoning is fast approaching for Venezuela and a debt default looks likely,’ says Win Thin, an emerging markets analyst at Brown Brothers in New York. A crisis in Russia, another nation with a heavy reliance on oil exports, is a somewhat bigger worry for investors. The economy is on track to contract by about 2.7% this year, according to the World Bank. Still, here again, international exposure to Russia is considered containable by most analysts. The bottom line is that while cheaper oil will cause acute problems for a handful of oil producers, the overall impact on the global economy should be extremely benign. ■ Christopher Fitzgerald and Fernando Florez, journalists
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Future CFO | Risk and governance | Accountancy Futures
All eyes on the future
A new report from ACCA and IMA finds that CFOs and finance functions need to adapt quickly to the complex and changing demands of the modern world Edition 11 | 11
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he role of the CFO is becoming more complex and demanding as the business world responds to economic volatility and innovative technology changes the way we all work, according to a new report. The study, Tomorrow’s finance enterprise, is based on the views of 1,631 ACCA and IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) members from around the world on the priorities for current and future CFOs and the skills they will need to meet future demands. It found that CFOs and their organisations are preoccupied with economic volatility and risk; the participants named these as the two most significant influences affecting the top finance job (see chart). Organisations are seeing not only economic uncertainty but more competition and disruption, with new market
The assets driving corporate wealth have changed; intangibles such as data, branding and talent have become central to value creation
Most important technical skills needed
entrants and radically different business models. Senior leaders are looking for more and better information to help plan a strategy in a world where they are forced to take more calculated risks and encourage innovation in their own organisation to drive growth.
Broader risks to the fore CFOs see this happening – the report found that 79% agreed that the finance function will be focused on broad business risks and not just on finance risks in the future – but the forces that are bringing about the change are also impeding CFOs’ ability to help. Amir Hafiz, CFO of TDM and one of the senior finance professionals interviewed in depth for the study, said that CFOs are increasingly in the spotlight over ‘the performance gaps between what the business wants to achieve and what it actually does achieve. To make sure that strategy is translated into results is an integral part of the CFO’s role.’ The report argues that economic volatility and a fast-changing world decrease the capacity of the finance function to plan and forecast, and impair the ability of CFOs to give rapid and accurate support to the rest of the C-suite in their decision-making. The need for the CFO and the finance function to adapt to a world of far greater ambiguity is a theme that runs right through the report. Quin Thong, finance director, Greater China, for Baronsmead Consulting, sums up the dilemma: ‘CFOs are so used to seeing things in just black or white, but we don’t have the luxury of that any more.’
Smarter service delivery 1 Strategy validation, formulation
2 Finance insight and analysis
3 Financial planning
4 Risk management
Most important management skills
1 Leadership skills
2 Communication skills
3 Change management
4 Strategic thinking
Most important relationships
1 The CFO
2 The board
3 Business heads
4 Investors
The report argues that the smarter delivery of finance services is essential. There is already evidence that CFOs are placing more emphasis on their role in business strategy, but the report makes the point that it is imperative that the finance function has the right operating model – one that is agile, scalable and capable of meeting the ever changing needs of the organisation. The finance team, says the report, ‘must ensure the right processes, systems and metrics are in place to aid strategy execution, deliver richer information insights, and drive cost and process effective finance operations’. The report goes on to identify a number of areas where finance professionals will have a critical role to play in the near future. One feature of modern business is that the assets that drive corporate wealth have changed in the knowledge economy. Intangibles such as data, branding and talent have now become central to value creation. This has a number of implications for the finance function, which are discussed in the report. Data quality and collection, for example, will be central to success and the finance function, says the report, ‘will have a critical role to play in getting their organisation’s basic data right as a starting point for better decision-making’. ‘Enterprises that use the data at their disposal drive
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Most important influences on the future CFO role Economic volatility Risk challenges Technology and information Growing regulation Access to capital and funding 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
30%
40%
50%
Top five interventions necessary for developing future CFOs Effective succession planning Exposure to coaching/mentoring Mobility to and from finance Strategic workforce planning Transparency of career paths 0%
competitive advantage,’ agrees Jamie Lyon, head of corporate sector at ACCA, but challenges remain in finding data that will enable finance functions to track, report and help the organisation take the right commercial decisions.
Technological transformation Technology will also transform the finance function itself over time; 78% of the CFOs interviewed said they thought many standard finance processes would eventually be automated. At this stage, though, the rate of innovation is creating too much confusion. ‘The current finance technology landscape remains overly complex for most, and simplification is sought,’ says the report. ‘The CFO function needs to get better at influencing the business on the information that really matters. It must articulate the outcomes it is trying to drive and use the right data to report effectively.’ Rita Purewal, CFO of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, makes the point that the availability of data, and our improved ability to analyse it, has raised expectations of what finance professionals should deliver. The finance team is more than capable of rising to the challenge, but it is also important to understand that the skills – and especially the leadership qualities – demanded of finance professionals have changed. The report says that volatility, risk, customer centricity and other challenges are demanding new levels of leadership performance: ‘For the CFO function, the classic challenge now is how to transform talented
10%
20%
individuals from having a narrow focus on functional perspectives to embracing the broader strategic CFO leadership capabilities needed in this environment.’ Communication skills and the ability to think both strategically and innovatively are becoming prized skills, and the CFOs interviewed for the report acknowledged that they now needed a far greater understanding of business than they did in the past – or at least to know enough and have the confidence to gather people around them who together produce the best result. ‘The scope of a CFO’s responsibility has become so big that you cannot be an expert in every area,’ said Holger Lindner, CFO of TÜV SÜD. ‘Do you need to have experts? Yes. Do you need to understand what they say? Absolutely. But do you need to be able to be the expert in every area? I don’t think so.’ The report concludes that traditional finance career paths should now ‘rest in peace’ and that finance departments need to think quickly about how they ‘future-proof’ the potential talent gap. ‘One of the biggest questions facing the future CFO is this: where will your future finance leadership talent come from?’ says Lyon. ‘It’s a critical question, and businesses need to think very carefully about how they will develop the next generation of finance leaders.’ ■ Liz Fisher, journalist Read Tomorrow’s finance enterprise at www.accaglobal.com/ab/188 Edition 11 | 13
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Accountancy Futures | Risk and governance | Regulation
Taking control
CEOs cite regulatory changes as the prime disruptive trend they face, but the way forward is to see regulation as a benefit not a burden, says PwC’s Marco Amitrano
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ome industries and sectors are highly regulated and others are not. But one thing is clear: no one is untouched by the impact of regulation. Striking a balance between identifying and complying with existing regulation and preparing your business for new regulatory changes remains a perennial concern. The key question is – who’s in the driving seat? Are you letting regulation happen to you, or are you actively embracing it, influencing and exploiting the opportunities compliance can bring? Regulation can pose difficult questions for businesses and is fast becoming an issue of increasing concern for CEOs. This message is crystal clear in PwC’s 18th Annual Global CEO Survey, launched earlier this year on the eve of the World Economic Forum at Davos. Polling over 1,300 CEOs in 77 countries, the survey, A marketplace without boundaries? Responding to disruption, shares CEOs’ views on the global economy, business strategies and the outlook for their companies and industries in the years ahead. Although the majority of CEOs see more opportunities than they did three years ago, they paint a picture of an increasingly fluid and disrupted environment. It’s not simply economic fundamentals that worry CEOs – an ever-increasing range of risks is emerging from more sources than ever before. National deficits, talent shortages and the speed of technological changes are just a few examples. However, regulatory changes are seen as the prime disruptive trend over the longer term, with 78% of CEOs concerned that over-regulation will threaten business growth prospects – up 6% from last year. And these concerns are not limited to industry-specific regulations but go much broader into areas like trade and employment. Some industries are undergoing more upheaval than others, with financial services poised for the greatest change. Regulation, not surprisingly, is the biggest driver of change. The emerging competitive landscape reveals the tension between the conditions needed for businesses to thrive and the existing framework of national and international regulations within which they operate. New models of competition, crosssector, networked and decentralised, are straining against policies designed for a different world. And while global businesses are more connected than ever
Marco Amitrano heads PwC’s UK risk assurance services practice and is the firm’s global assurance markets leader.
before, geopolitical trends seem to be moving in the other direction. The survey results show that CEOs are divided as to whether collaboration between governments or between the public and private sector is improving the ability for businesses to compete across borders. Getting government and business on the same page requires a change in mindset, starting with the ability of both sides to understand each other’s perspectives. Business leaders clearly accept the need for regulation but want it to be more effectively designed and implemented. Governments, meanwhile, understand the need for better regulation but must deal with a legacy of policies
While global businesses are
more connected than ever before, geopolitical trends seem to be moving in the other direction designed to address very real problems of the past. Responding to business excesses in the wake of the financial crisis is a case in point: the large body of regulations put in place at the time were an answer to societal demands and a means to create a badly-needed trust mechanism. Trust is also key to ensuring more balanced policy outcomes. Trusted collaboration with government can strengthen the ecosystem of partnerships that businesses need to effectively leverage their capabilities. Working together as true partners, businesses can engage in continual dialogue with policymakers, bring proposals to the table and help craft solutions that are proportionate, accountable, consistent, transparent and targeted. On another note, the private sector could be doing more to anticipate regulation and get ahead of it. A food company claiming health benefits could self-regulate its marketing and disclosures, for example; while a technology player that facilitates financial transactions could selfregulate its information security. Heading off potential regulatory concerns is plainly the best first option; government intervention is often driven by the perception that the right behaviours don’t exist in the marketplace. Anticipatory actions would
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Regulation | Risk and governance | Accountancy Futures
also go a long way towards protecting reputation and maintaining customer trust. However, getting too far ahead risks committing the organisation to unnecessary or ineffective measures. There’s another challenge for businesses. They not only have to focus on what’s coming from their own governments, but deal with the emerging web of global regulation focused on privacy, cybersecurity, resilience and critical technology platforms. However, the ability to leverage a strong risk management programme can help companies avoid the biggest pitfalls, enhance profitability and improve performance. The goal is to mesh strategy, enterprise risk and business continuity systems to generate company-wide risk resiliency, allowing you to exploit opportunities to gain competitive advantage while minimising the downside.
Staying on top of regulation It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume and complexity of regulation. This is made worse by an environment that can be multi-regulator and multijurisdiction, where non-compliance varies in impact and the regulatory landscape is constantly evolving. So, faced with this abundance of regulation, how do you stay on top of it? The reality is, many organisations don’t. Interpreting regulation and finding the right balance between responding to it and delivering ‘business as usual’ can be a struggle. If you don’t get your act together, the impact can be damaging – not just financially, but in terms of stakeholder trust, reputation in the market and regulatory focus. You need to find a way to navigate regulation. It may seem like a paradox, but if you sort it out and do it well, a good regulatory response buys you a lot of freedom, allowing you to invest in your business with less scrutiny. Being seen as a regulatory high-performer is a great way to be viewed by your regulator. In addition, being a good regulatory citizen should underpin your broader business goals. Leading organisations that are regarded as good regulatory citizens are those that embrace regulation, recognising that it drives resilience, good practice, control, competition, governance and performance. Not all regulation is equal – some carries greater penalties and has greater impact. The distinction is key. Be clear what regulation matters now or in the future. * Keep an eye on the horizon: It’s understandable that regulatory focus tends to be on the here and now; however, keeping an eye on what lies ahead, deploying an early warning system and engaging with the regulator throughout the process is key. * Behaviours need to be part of your DNA: Too often businesses try to meet regulatory requirements without embracing the people dimension. Everyone has a role to play in controlling the business and you won’t be able to sustain compliance if the right behaviours aren’t part of your organisation’s DNA. * Don’t forget the data: The key to good reporting often lies in the quality of your data. You need to
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The key concerns of CEOs across the globe PwC’s 18th Annual Global CEO Survey polls over 1,300 CEOs in 77 countries on the global economy, business strategies and the outlook for their companies
Top threats
78%
73%
72%
Over-regulation
Availability of key skills
Government response to fiscal deficit and debt burden
Key threats Over-regulation
78%
Availability of key skills
73%
Government response to fiscal deficit
72%
Geopolitical uncertainty
72%
Increasing tax burden
70%
Cyber threats including lack of data
61%
Shift in consumer spending
60%
Social instability
60%
Speed of technological change
58%
New market entrants
54%
Annual averages Average % of CEOs expressing concern about threats 62%
57%
52%
47% 2012
2013
2014
2015
know which data matters and what impact systems and human intervention have on the data on its journey to your reports. It’s important to shift the emphasis from the report itself as an output, to the process and controls used to generate it. * Stakeholder trust is key: Greater consumer power has come with the rise of social media, making it harder for organisations to maintain their reputations and customer trust. Those that regulation seeks to protect now have a greater voice for their concerns, and this is driving new regulation. Proactively communicating your regulatory performance – good or bad – to stakeholders can enhance your reputation and build trust. Taking charge of your regulatory destiny offers countless benefits, including cost efficiencies, increased stakeholder confidence, freedom from scrutiny by regulators, and a greater organisational resilience to absorb and respond to new regulation. Here are a few things to consider: * Regulatory resilience cannot be viewed as a one-off activity or initiative; it’s ‘baked in’ to business-asusual, even when changing the business, through outsourcing, offshoring or partnering, for example. * An outcome-based focus on regulatory compliance is key, making maximum use of processes, controls and enablers. It needs to be an aligned, prioritised response to strategic objectives, supported by frequent and open communication. * It’s also important to bear in mind your partnerships with third parties. You need to look beyond your organisation’s boundaries to the extended enterprise and the responsibilities of third parties in order to keep up with your regulatory promises and standards. * Board-level understanding of the regulatory landscape, horizon and strategic impact is critical, as is strategic engagement with regulatory bodies. At its core, regulation has an uncomplicated, even noble, purpose: to protect. Covering public safety and welfare, industry and revenue generation – we’d all agree that protection is a positive motivation. But the way you respond to regulation reflects the level of control you have in your business. Successful businesses are those where the board has adopted a different mindset to regulation and control and, in doing so, created significant value and opportunity. Getting your regulatory response wrong can mean fines or even worse. Getting it right is the only option. It’s time to look again at regulation and see it as a benefit and not always a burden. In today’s challenging business environment, where trust and transparency are highly prized, getting on to the front foot with your regulatory response with a well-executed and communicated approach can bring significant opportunities. ■ Read insights from PwC’s 18th Annual Global CEO Survey at: www.pwc.com/ceosurvey. Learn more about how business leaders are dealing with risk at www. pwc.com/riskassurance
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Continuous resilience | Risk and governance | Accountancy Futures
Ready for anything
Companies that are not resilient are on course to go out of business. Experts Paul Walker and Dan Sharp discuss how to go from ERM to ‘continuous resilience’
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walk through the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley reveals a simple message: innovate, respond to innovation, or cease to exist. The museum is full of success stories but also of companies that created great ideas or products that no longer exist. Today’s rapidly changing environment requires that successful organisations be resilient, which means they anticipate and respond effectively to the increasing number of serious changes in their markets. The ISO 31000 risk management standard notes that risk management should be part of decision making, be timely, based on the latest information, and take cultural factors into account. The ISO framework and process identifies a separate step for establishing the context to help evaluate the significance of a risk. This context can be internal or external. Internal context includes costs, personnel, supply chain, and so on, while external includes political, legal, regulatory, economy, society and social change, as well as natural events like weather. Continuous resilience (CR) – a method for which Dan Sharp has copyright pending – aims to establish both the external and internal context and manage these potential game-changing risks. Specifically, CR is a company’s ability to anticipate and respond quickly and competitively to any change in its markets. Importantly, it can be tied into an enterprise risk management (ERM) process (or any other risk management system).
Anticipating change Today, companies frequently operate in many locations in multiple countries and have to manage an evergrowing set of risks that can vary from location to location. One of many lessons from the 2008 economic crisis is that problems in one country quickly flow over to another. CR focuses and builds the discipline of anticipation, with the aim of learning about emerging changes in markets before competitors. CR does much more monitoring than ERM or most other risk management systems. It also teaches companies to respond faster and more effectively than competitors. Additionally, instead of an enterprise risk map (composed of snapshots of existing risks), CR provides a moving picture of emerging risks. Furthermore, it links these risks to strategy, overcoming the common complaint expressed by ERM adopters about the difficulty of doing this within ERM.
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CR requires two elements. First, an internal early alert system that monitors a company-specific checklist of the major driving forces and issues in each company’s markets where an important change can create risks and opportunities for the company. Second, a highlevel committee that performs extra functions to those found in most ERM or other risk management
NASA computer model of Hurricane Sandy, which disrupted businesses in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut when it struck in 2012.
processes. The committee can be a standalone CR committee or its functions can be made a part of an organisation’s risk management committee. Among its roles are: * Managing the early alert system and the responses to its alerts. * Assuring that each department/function of the company has an adequate preparedness plan that is up-to-date and exercised at least annually. * Running an annual exercise responding to a potential disaster. * Becoming the command centre for a company’s response to a sudden major market change. The committee should meet just once or twice a year (unless an unexpected event means it needs to become the command centre), and its meetings should involve scenarios and/or reviews of early-alert system reports that highlight the most important changes in risks, opportunities and driving forces, with a proposed immediate action plan for the highest priority changes. No box-checking, no big documents to review, just short action-oriented sessions. The committee should include senior executives from strategy (to ensure the risks and opportunities feed directly into strategy) and other key functions. The kinds of changes that the committee will learn about from its early alert system include changes in the local economy, government law and regulations, disruptive technology, attitudes of customers, workers/ unions, plus emerging pandemics or other health or environmental changes of great significance. The way in which a company responds to such changes creates a competitive advantage (when the company responds more quickly and effectively than its competitors) or disadvantage.
Risk list For the early alert process to begin, a checklist must be created listing the major risks to monitor and report to the committee. This should be no longer than two pages and cover about a dozen major risks. It must be very company-specific and therefore its preparation requires collaboration with key executives at corporate level and with local managers in each reporting unit. General categories of risks are often appropriate, for example, economic, political, social, environmental, health, society, customers, labour, technology and cybersecurity, with sub-categories that could be more specific. The specifics will often emerge from a combination of a SWOT analysis and a driving forces analysis of those forces of greatest importance to the company in each market. Only by monitoring all the driving forces, risks and opportunities can a company count on being resilient and prepared for any important change in its markets, whether that change is sudden or predictable. As an example, consider a company that competes in the office equipment market. Its driving forces start with technology, including the introduction of 18 | Edition 11
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possibly disruptive new competing technology and the company itself developing or acquiring new technology. Other driving forces include changes in office routines, attitudes of office workers, the ability to import/export finished products and supplies, transborder data flow restriction and local laws, all in addition to the more general driving forces of the economy, political stability, taxation and other laws and regulations, environment and health. Each of these elements would be likely to go on the checklist for this company.
Identifying driving forces The process of creating the checklist for each reporting unit (often a country, state or city) begins by asking the local management ‘what drives your business?’ This is a distinguishing feature of CR and is different from creating a checklist of risks. By initiating the process bottom-up from where the local knowledge exists, the local manager is in a position to inspire trust. When the planning process is top-down,
Dr Paul L Walker co-developed one of the first courses on enterprise risk management and has done ERM training for executives and boards around the world. His books on risk and ERM include Improving Board Risk Oversight through Best Practices.
annual reports, consolidated at regional headquarters and then globally at corporate headquarters, can become a prime basis for strategic planning. To illustrate this point, for years American companies were aware that there was a European Commission (EC) but hardly any of them took it seriously. However, because Xerox set up a monitoring system with a checklist that included international organisations, especially those related to trade and business, the company learned of an important and profitable opportunity much sooner than its competition. Over a period of two years of using its early alert system, several Xerox companies in Europe noticed that there was growing interest among businesses in their countries in transforming the EC into an important organisation that would control business activities in Europe. This was long before this became front-page news and was identified by most US companies. When Xerox’s European regional consolidation of priority changes in driving forces was prepared for the
With bottom-up planning, local managers are in a position to
inspire trust because of their better knowledge of the local market local managers are often forced to disagree with headquarters because they have a better knowledge of their markets. The important value of this bottom-up early alert process is that it gives the company a knowledgebased continuous moving picture of the most important trends and changes in the forces that drive its profits and success, and reduces the lead time for responding to those changes. Once the checklist is compiled, each decentralised unit of the company designates a senior executive to monitor its business environment on an ongoing basis, looking for any important changes in any item on its checklist. At least once a year, and whenever the change is sudden or significant, that person prepares a brief report for the company’s headquarters. The annual report is usually just two pages: one page of up to 10 priority changes, and a second that answers three critical questions about the top priority risk: what is the change? How does it impact our company? What are we doing about and/or what should we do about it?
Ahead of the game In between these annual reports there might be a flash report of a sudden change, consisting of one-page answers to the same three questions. Those reports go to regional headquarters where they are consolidated with reports from other units in ways that often show emerging patterns of interest. Flash reports go up to regional and/or global headquarters depending on urgency and where the action needs to be taken. The
company’s annual strategy exercise (based on this CR type monitoring system), the progress towards an EC was listed almost two years before the EC became a reality. This was because the gradual changes were deemed to be of potential interest to Xerox by the local managers, though not yet by the regional or national executives.
Threat or opportunity? Dan Sharp is a recognised thought leader and practitioner of continuous resilience. He is on Fortune magazine’s 25 Who Help the US Win list and has taught in major business schools in the US, UK and Canada. sharpdan@gmail.com
Once this had been identified as an emerging important change in the driving force of international organisations and regulatons, Xerox saw it as a threat if it failed to act, but more importantly, an opportunity if it did act earlier than competitors. When the global consolidated annual CR report was presented to senior management, they agreed with its importance, and implemented a new speedy European response – they regionalised their supply and distribution activities (more than a year ahead of competitors) leading to a significant profit and cost advantage. A company that is not resilient has a long-term strategy of going out of business. A CR process can help complete or enhance an ERM process by using local knowledge not only of risks, but also of opportunities and not only of presently identifiable risks/ opportunities, but also those that are just emerging. CR can also help a company respond to changes in a timely way and link its response to a strategic one. Becoming continuously resilient can avoid a going-outof-business strategy and instead, increase profits and chances of survival. ■ Edition 11 | 19
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Accountancy Futures | Risk and governance | China
Greater expectations
A rapid expansion in the role of accounting in modern China is driving career opportunities in the sector just as remarkably, says Professor Wei Minghai
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he role that accounting plays in the economy and society significantly impacts career opportunities in the sector. In China, especially in the early days of reform, it was generally accepted that accounting had only two main functions: to record enterprises’ economic activities, and to supervise them. China’s accounting legislation explicitly requires accountancy firms and professionals to keep the books and to exercise that supervision. In the post-reform period – and as the economy opens up with the promotion of market reform and the transitioning of government in China – the function of accounting has gradually expanded to include a responsibility to provide information. Accounting systems not only need to measure the economic activities of entities but also to convey relevant and credible decision-making information to a range of stakeholders, including investors, creditors and managers, as well as customers, suppliers, regulators and tax authorities. Supervision, that other primary function of accounting, now provides the micro level of internal control within organisations as well as the macro level of national administration.
Professor Wei Minghai is vice president of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. He has published over 100 research papers on accounting, corporate finance and corporate governance as well as 11 books, including Accounting Theory, a textbook for Chinese accountancy students.
As the role of accounting in China has changed, so career opportunities in the sector have increased remarkably. Audit, property assessment, tax and management consulting have all experienced rapid expansion over the past decades. According to data from China’s accounting services industry, the accounting services market took over CNY50bn in revenue in 2013. The top 100 certified public accountancy (CPA) firms in the country accounted for 61.7% of the whole market. The number of CPA firms that reported annual earnings above CNY100m and CNY500m is 44 and 14 respectively. The number of CPA firms that reported revenue above CNY1bn and CNY2bn is 10 and five respectively. Compared with the dramatic growth of the Chinese economy, the role of accounting is somewhat underplayed and restricted. As a result, accounting professionals still encounter a ‘career ceiling’.
Governance role China is currently promoting its second round of economic and social reforms, which deepen the first-round reforms and implement comprehensive governance legislation. The key goals of the reforms are to transform enterprises and bring about sustainable development, to improve national governance systems and modernise governance capability, and to build a society that is wealthier at all levels. In line with these goals, the governance role of accounting is expanding at a micro and a macro level. Accounting is a remarkable mechanism for corporate governance, in particular when financial information is used to make strategic decisions, or to design, execute and evaluate management’s incentive mechanisms, or to enhance internal controls and reduce opportunistic and fraudulent management behaviour such as insider dealing. Financial information can also increase resource allocation efficiency and offer protection for investors. Accounting also plays a national governance role. This takes place when financial information is used in policy-making, public resource allocation, and budget design and execution. Financial information is also an important public resource that citizens and communities can make use of in ordering society and beefing up the supervision of government and enterprises. Financial information is an important element in building a fair, just and transparent society in China’s new era.
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Rise of the enterprise: the CCTV Tower in Beijing’s Central Business District (opposite). Scent of success: the Christian Dior store inside the International Finance Center mall in Shanghai (above). Driving the future: electric sports car from CH-Auto Technology (left).
Professional plus This expanded governance role not only shows that accounting is playing an increasingly important role in the Chinese economy, but also implies rapid expansion in the audit, accounting, tax and management consulting services market, helping enterprises, public bodies, government and civil societies to achieve their economic and social goals. The market expansion will usher in more and more valuable career opportunities in the accountancy sector. As the demand for accounting services rises rapidly, so the customer base will spread from enterprises to government and civil society. According to data from China’s accounting services
Art of entertainment: Vincent van Gogh’s Vase with Daisies and Poppies was recently sold to Wang Zhongjun, chairman of Huaiyi Brothers Media, for US$62m (right).
industry, the market capitalisation of accountancy firms is forecast to rise by more than 35% year-on-year over the next decade. What’s more, the demand for expert and value-added accounting is expanding its share of the total market, and could even hit 40% by the next decade. Finally, as ever more government departments, enterprises and civil societies look to hire executives with an accounting background, the glass ceilings that currently exist for accounting professionals could be smashed one by one. As accounting roles expand and those glass ceilings break, more and more windows of opportunity for accounting professionals will be opened. ■ Edition 11 | 21
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Accountancy Futures | Risk and governance | SMEs
Small but significant
Good corporate governance should not be the domain of large companies; it is important for organisations of all sizes, says ACCA’s Rosana Mirkovic
N Rosana Mirkovic is head of SME policy at ACCA.
o one would deny that corporate governance is important to businesses. Done well, it protects both the future of the business and the interests of its owners and investors by setting the framework for monitoring the actions and performance of management. But when we talk of corporate governance, what type of business are we talking about? For most of us, the answer is large listed companies. The very name ‘corporate governance’ is a subconscious hint – unincorporated or family-owned businesses need not apply. Good corporate governance should not be the domain of large companies; it is important for organisations of all sizes, irrespective of their legal form. Some of the most significant gains from good corporate governance, arguably, are to be had by SMEs, which are often seen as the section of the business community that is the least rigorous in its implementation. The benefits, though, of stronger corporate governance are many, including: * Less risk of conflict between family members, or between owners who are active in the business and those who are not. * Improved access to credit – because investors have more confidence in the business. * Faster business growth (of which more later). * Greater protection from fraud, theft or financial mistakes – because internal controls are stronger. The problem for the SME sector in general, however, is that even those companies that want to improve their corporate governance are hampered by the fact that existing frameworks and guidelines have been developed with large, listed companies in mind. The various corporate governance frameworks around the world rarely reflect situations where a company’s owner is also its manager, or where a company is owned by a small group of family members. Instead, frameworks tend to focus on the agent-principal approach, where a company’s managers are agents for the shareholders. Corporate governance in that context means establishing a system and controls that encourage management to act in the best interests of shareholders. More recent developments have extended governance to wider society, such as the stewardship of environmental assets. All well and good, but in SMEs the agent-principal relationship, if it exists at all, is less likely to be significant. For SMEs, corporate governance is mainly about improving efficiency and business performance and less about monitoring the actions of management. And while there are many sources of guidance
on corporate governance in SMEs – such as the
Corporate Governance Guidance and Principles for Unlisted Companies in Europe from the European Confederation of Directors’ Associations – the advice is largely ad hoc across jurisdictions. So what can be done? A new ACCA report, Governance for all: the implementation challenge for SMEs, aims to open the debate about what corporate governance means for SMEs. The report draws extensively on material discussed during a seminar organised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and held at ACCA’s offices at the end of 2014, as well as the views of the ACCA Global Forum for SMEs. The report points out that it is entirely natural that corporate governance frameworks will vary from one company to the next, depending on their set-up and needs. So it asks what good governance for SMEs should look like and suggests a number of essential ingredients, including clear reporting lines and clarity about how decisions are made and risks controlled, appropriate internal controls that are related to key risks, and a framework that promotes understanding of roles and responsibilities and the limits of authority. The report argues strongly that many SMEs would benefit from the creation of a company board – an important element of corporate governance for larger companies. Certainly, the outside perspective and extra skills and experience that external non-executive directors can bring, as well as their network of contacts, could be enormously beneficial to many SMEs. One speaker at the ESRC seminar cited UK research which suggested that family-owned firms that had boards with greater gender diversity and more experienced members with multiple directorships were less likely to fail. One of the most interesting points made in the report is that businesses do not exist in a static state, but are constantly evolving. This is especially true for SMEs. I think that this is the key to understanding what they need from a corporate governance framework. SMEs are, by their nature, heterogeneous – and that means that any corporate governance framework for SMEs has to be adaptable and flexible in its application. We could go further. Would corporate governance guidance that takes into account the different points in a business lifecycle – rapid growth, preparing for an initial public offering, and ultimately preparing to transfer ownership of the business – be more useful? The report points out that there are numerous existing triggers for corporate governance change in SMEs. One of the biggest tends to be the emergence of a younger
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generation in the business. When this generation gets involved, the business as a whole has to think about how the role of the founder or existing owner will change. They may take a step back from the day-today operations and focus more on strategic decisionmaking; other family members or even managers brought in from outside may take over the daily running of the business. The need for external finance is another common trigger for corporate governance change, whether it comes from a new investor, a bank, or the increasing numbers of other sources. Yet it is not unusual for SMEs to resist adopting corporate governance measures fully as the business evolves. Part of the problem is a lack of understanding about how company boards and non-executive directors work, as well as the difficulty in finding high-quality non-executive directors. The cost of these directors is another barrier:
the report suggests that one way of tackling this is to link their rewards to the performance of the business, through shares or share options. More often than not, though, the biggest barrier to improving the corporate governance framework of SMEs is simply that they have other, seemingly more pressing priorities. This is where we come in as SME advisers. We need to explain clearly how SMEs can benefit from strong corporate governance, and why the benefits will exceed the costs. And we need to show that we all take corporate governance as seriously for small businesses as we do for the largest. â– The Governance for all report can be found at www.accaglobal.com/ab/226. The presentations from the ESRC seminar can be found at accaglobal.com/ab/227 Edition 11 | 23
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Accountancy Futures | Smart finance | Revolution
Rebels with a cause
In her latest book, Australian author Jane Gleeson-White asks whether accountants have the power to save the planet
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est-selling Australian author and accounting historian Jane Gleeson-White sees accountants as potential revolutionaries with the power to save the planet. Now, there’s a thought. They need to be creative, however. And while such tactics are generally associated with the Mafia and corporate crooks, laundering the proceeds of drug cartels or squirrelling profits out of sight of the taxman, Gleeson-White challenges this perception. In her view, accountants need to be creative to trigger ‘the revolution capitalism has to have’. Of course, the public generally views accountancy as a rather bookish and mild-mannered profession and hence an unusual home for rebels. But Gleeson-White points out that accounting is a powerful tool in running businesses and steering
economies. After all, the failure of both traditional macroeconomic and corporate entities to consider ecology ‘encourages nations and enterprises to pollute, burn, extract and chop with little regard for the consequences’. To reform such wasteful policies, accounting practices must be changed, she says. Can accountants indeed save the planet? In her latest book Six Capitals – a follow-up to her best-selling history of accounting, Double Entry – Gleeson-White explores the concept that existing systems fail to account adequately for our challenging, complex times. It is an issue that is increasingly under discussion, both outside and within the accounting industry. The author points to the key conundrum of economics: ‘The fact that neither nations nor corporations account for the damage their lawful activities inflict on
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nature and society is considered to be a problem of “externalities”,’ she says. As long as the focus of government and corporate reporting remains solely on financial value, other sources of value are ignored, argues Gleeson-White’s book. A more holistic system would measure man-made or manufactured capital, intellectual, human, social and natural capital as well as financial capital (hence ‘six
‘If you put a price on water, it
might mean it goes to the rich mining company instead of to a thirsty but poor local community’ capitals’). Gleeson-White avoids the notion of ‘costs’, since she argues that economists and executives take the relationship between business and the natural world more seriously by emphasising value. The accounting industry is certainly shifting in this direction. In August 2010 the Prince of Wales’ Accounting for Sustainability Project and the Global Reporting Initiative launched the International Integrated Reporting Committee (now ‘Council’). The aim is to create a global framework for integrated reporting (IR) of financial and non-financial information in one report. The International Integrated Reporting Framework, released by the IIRC in December 2013, asks companies to tell their story by considering their relationship with the six stores of wealth highlighted in Gleeson-White’s book, which charts the rise of IR from its first appearance early in the new millennium. The author is also optimistic about the launch of the US’s Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) in July 2011 to create standardised measures for all kinds of capital: ‘SASB’s place in the heartland of finance was cemented in May 2014 when former SEC chair Mary Schapiro became its vice chair – together with Michael Bloomberg, the founder of the financial information empire as chair,’ Gleeson-White points out. The SASB is unabashedly focused on capital markets, but ‘making sustainability information cogent for investors is breaking new ground’, she says. In traditional economics, the environment and the wider community are seen as being outside the workings of commerce. This is mirrored in the way the world is valued, as was famously demonstrated by Raj Patel, a former World Bank economist, in a thought experiment called the ‘$200 hamburger’. He argued that the reason burgers sell for a fraction of this figure is because their price does not reflect the real cost of producing them, such as their carbon footprint, impact on water usage and soil degradation, or the costs stemming from dietrelated illnesses such as heart failure or diabetes. ‘Traditional accounting models do not take these costs into account, but they still have to be paid,’ writes Gleeson-White in Six Capitals. If the food producers
don’t foot the bill, society as a whole does – in the form of extreme weather events, the depletion of resources and rising costs for health systems. She is far from being alone in her views, of course. US senator Robert F Kennedy said famously in 1968 that gross domestic product (GDP) ‘measures everything, except that which makes our life worthwhile’. And 40 years later, the 2008 Living Planet Report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) calculated that humans are running a planet-wide ‘ecological debt’ of more than US$4 trillion annually. Gleeson-White has recently returned from New York, where she was invited to speak to members of the Accountants Club of America and to meet hedge fund managers and journalists. ‘I had a receptive audience. Many American accountants and fund managers are really interested in ways to make accounting respond to the pressing issues brought by the idea of sustainability.’ She believes Hurricane Sandy, the storm that shook New York in 2012, underlined the risks posed by climate change, but also that such concerns have special resonance in accounting, where many senior professionals believe the industry needs reviving. In a commercial world dominated by branding and goodwill, where often only 20% of a company’s actual value is written as tangible assets in the books, GleesonWhite says it’s time economists stopped ‘looking down on accountants as mere number-crunchers’. So many bookkeepers actively invite change in company policies, she adds. As an accounting historian, Gleeson-White takes a long view and says the time is ripe for a sea-change in how business and government is reported in numbers. Humanity has already seen two major economic revolutions: the agricultural one in the 18th and early 19th centuries, then the industrial one in the 19th and 20th centuries. Now it is dealing with a third: information technology and the internet. Since Luca Pacioli in Venice codified double-entry bookkeeping in 1494, accountancy has adapted to new industries and business models. Gleeson-White cites Josiah Wedgwood, who in the 1770s built the world’s first industrial pottery factory in England. Encountering serious cashflow problems and overflowing stock during a recession, he turned to his accounts and discovered the distinction between fixed and variable costs, uncovering the economies of scale, cost accounting and commercial benefits of mass production. ‘After Wedgwood’s first foray into cost accounting, it took accountants and business people more than a century to work out how to apply Italian mercantile bookkeeping to factory production, but it did adapt,’ says Gleeson-White. It is only logical then that ‘in the information age accounting has to adapt again’. Which is fine in principle – but tough in practice. Gleeson-White admires Karl Marx, not necessarily for his politics, but for his merits as an economic historian and his courage to challenge the establishment of his time. But unlike the self-assured Marx, she struggles
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Jane Gleeson-White Born in Sydney, Gleeson-White studied English, French literature and philosophy at the University of Sydney, followed by an internship at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. Back in Sydney, she took a Bachelor of Economics and thanks to a charismatic accounting lecturer was introduced to the connection between Venice and the origins of modern accounting. So her love of Venice, art and beauty got ‘flipped in most nefarious ways into a passion for accounting’. Her book Double Entry: How the Merchants of Venice Shaped the Modern World – and how their invention could make or break the planet, was published in 2012 and Six Capitals: The revolution capitalism has to have – or can accountants save the planet? came out in 2014. janegleesonwhite.com
with the potential impact of her own ideas. Accounting for unpriced nature brings back the risk of its commodification, she says. ‘If you put a price on water, it might mean it goes to the rich mining company instead of to a thirsty but poor local community.‘ When Puma, the German sporting goods manufacturer, developed an environmental profit and loss account in 2011 by putting a nominal monetary value on its impact on nature along the entire supply chain, it found it had used €145m worth of nature – more than two-thirds of its net profit of €202m. In this way, accounting has the power to demonstrate the immense unpaid costs of how nature’s free goods and services are consumed through commercial activities. And while this is positive, says Gleeson-White, there is a risk that by pricing nature financially, people may cease to value it for itself. And, of course, it is one thing to start pricing nature, but quite another to do so well or efficiently. The experience of the European Union, with its emissions trading scheme (ETS) attaching a financial value to each tonne of CO2 emissions to make it tradeable, worries GleesonWhite. The ETS may have placed climate change on
the agenda of European businesses, but rock-bottom prices for emission allowances have given industry little incentive to diversify away from fossil fuels. ‘There are no clear-cut answers when it comes to natural capital accounting and pricing externalities,’ she admits. Gleeson-White’s latest book is certainly empirical, calling for full accounting for all six forms of capital. This, she argues, would give rise to entire new industries in recycling, saving and reallocating resources. And financial markets like the bigger picture offered by holistic accounting: ‘Accounting for more than the financial value is also good management.’ It might also help to win the war for talent: many gifted young people prefer to work for corporations that try to rein in their environmental impact. What’s more, she explains, better accounting of the socalled externalities will create more work for the sector and potentially enhance the prestige of the profession. Rebels come in all kinds of disguises, after all. ■ Barbara Bierach, journalist based in Sydney Edition 11 | 27
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Accountancy Futures | Smart finance | SME funding
Crystal ball gazing
Rosanna Choi brings together the results of global roundtables that looked at future funding scenarios for SMEs and the role of accountants in this brave new world
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onsidering future scenarios is an important aspect of running sustainable organisations. As the Economist Intelligence Unit identifies in its report Long-term macroeconomic forecasts: key trends to 2050, major changes are underway. By 2050, China’s GDP could exceed that of the US, while each of the largest three economies in the world (China, the US and India) will be richer than the next five put together. Asia overall could account for 53% of global GDP. Other research has also attempted to see into the future. A report, In safe hands? The future of financial services, published by Long Finance with the support of the Qatar Financial Centre, looked at the future of financial services globally up to 2050. It developed four
scenarios based on varying assumptions about the longevity of the Washington Consensus (where policies support liberal democracy, free markets and trade, financial codes and standards) and about the future of human connections. For example, might a future global crisis result in nation states being replaced by a group of dominant cities, or in the rising importance of global affinity groups (for example, religious or political)? What could happen if global market integration continues rapidly and disruptive technology challenges current ways of living and conducting business? Inspired by such forward-thinking analysis, ACCA conducted a number of roundtables around the world, in conjunction with SAMI Consulting, specialists in
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Gabriel Low FCCA ‘The transformation of SME funding is happening already. It used to be based on traditional bricks and mortar funding from a bank. Now it’s very much based on intellectual property, technology, software, intangible assets, but banks struggle with lending in those situations. Because of that, crowdfunding is becoming a transformative way of funding SMEs. Accountants need to influence governments to develop good frameworks for governing this – regulatory systems that embrace crowdfunding. Accountants also need to be better trained to value intellectual property-based business models. Stock exchanges have moved fast in this direction, but the accountants are behind the curve. Accountants need to develop skills so they can support SMEs with these new business models and help them in accessing finance.’ CFO, GEA Westfalia Separator Ltd
Ellis Quinlan FCCA ‘It’s extremely difficult to value intellectual property and any intangible assets, but if you know there’s enough of a market for your product that people will fund it, then you know you’ve got a decent business concept. In this way crowdfunding has the potential to validate a business idea for a potential product or service. ‘Banks have seen the mistakes they made in the past in terms of asset-backed funding and are now more interested in repayment capacity. Your repayment capacity is about your future, not what’s happened in the last 18 months or five years. So there are a great deal of opportunities for accountants to get into this space – to learn about valuing intellectual property and using information available through crowdfunding, and in doing so provide much better support to SMEs.’ Ellis J Quinlan & Co
Anne Kimari ‘In developing countries like Kenya there has been a lot of innovation in business funding in the last few years, with financing coming from non-traditional sources. A lot of telecoms companies are forming alliances with financing institutions that are not necessarily banks and providing access to funding in an innovative way. We also see crowdfunding, which depends on internet connectivity, but there are some programmes that potentially will revolutionise access to funding. There are challenges, however, because funding comes with risk for the recipient in terms of how the money will be paid back and around whether recipients really understand the payback process and what happens if funders don’t get their money back. Accountants are key in trying to guide entrepreneurs in accessing these new sources, and in influencing government policy on how non-traditional financing can be encouraged.’ DCEO, African Academy of Sciences
strategy and scenario planning. The roundtables considered how a number of different future scenarios could affect the way that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access finance, how the role of accountants in this process might change and therefore the skills they would need to develop. ACCA’s Global Forum for SMEs has also discussed these issues, including emerging challenges around assessing business prospects and valuing businesses.
Accountants as translators Such discussions highlighted how professional accountants have traditionally been called on to translate financial information for entrepreneurs. Business owners draw on a variety of information sources when running their businesses, but don’t necessarily use their financial statements as effectively as they could. It is important that accountants, as SMEs’ trusted advisers, make sure that entrepreneurs understand and take account of the current financial position of their business, particularly when it comes to making decisions about funding. This role is likely to become even more important in
Rosanna Choi FCCA is partner at professional advisory firm CWCC and chair of ACCA’s Global Forum for SMEs.
the future, particularly as business models become increasingly dependent on intangible assets. For example, Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles; Alibaba, the world’s most valuable retailer, owns no inventory; and Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate. Traditional providers of SME finance such as banks struggle to lend when they can’t secure their loans against borrowers’ physical assets. Accountants need to develop new ways of evaluating the future cashflows that intangible assets will deliver. In this way, they can help SMEs to demonstrate their repayment capacity, and so provide the necessary comfort to lenders. The inability of banks to finance new business models is in part being addressed by the rise of innovative funding models such as crowdfunding, whose importance is only likely to increase. Crowdfunding models vary, but a powerful version involves individuals being willing to lend relatively small sums in return for rewards in the form of novel products or services. By definition, where crowdfunding succeeds in raising the finance an SME needs, the business has identified a valid demand for its product or service. There are also emerging
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Francis Chittenden FCCA ‘The traceability of money, people, assets and transactions will be transformed in the coming decades. For example, Bitcoin is a novel exchange mechanism where each Bitcoin has its own identity and can be traced. So the custodial roles of accountants – in auditing or checking that assets exist – are going to become largely irrelevant. Big data will hold huge reserves of traceability for all kinds of assets and people. If you want to judge how well equipped an entrepreneur is to conduct their affairs, you will be able to observe many things about their lifestyle and habits. That’s going to have a big influence on access to finance. ‘Accountants need to become skilled in capturing and understanding this kind of information, as it will help inform decisions about businesses. There’s an opportunity for accountants here, but also a requirement to learn new skills.’ ACCA professor of small business finance, Manchester Business School
Dr Ng Boon Beng ‘The capability of computer systems to generate non-financial insights already exists, but it’s the application and usage of those non-financial numbers to cross-produce the necessary revelation about the business that will create real value in the financial information presented in any financial reports. It means there shall be no fixed format or prescribed template to complete. Every report will be tailor-made, based on a business’s condition, situation and circumstances. Usage of big data derived from social media will be a key element. ‘In future, banks may be looking for business insights, instead of purely focusing on financial statements. The bankers will be looking into the owners’ philosophy for creating a sustainable enterprise and a business that excites them so they share the business risk.’ FD – Malaysia and Indonesia, Oracle Corporation
Ng Boon Yew FCCA ‘Big data is a trend that cannot be ignored. Collected through devices and technologies such as credit and loyalty cards, the internet, social media, WiFi sensors and electronic tags, big data has the potential to radically change how businesses operate, how they are assessed and the roles accountants play. At the moment, the analytical tools and skills required to make the most of big data – characterised by its volume, variety and velocity – are still developing. As professional accountants, we need to be at the forefront of this activity – looking for ways to use big data to enhance business success. SMEs seeking to raise finance will increasingly find that their big data profile influences investment and lending decisions. Accountants will need to advise entrepreneurs on how to manage that profile in order to present their business – and themselves as business owners – in the best light.’ Chair of ACCA’s Futures Academy and executive chairman, Raffles Campus
forms of supply chain finance. For example, the ability of e-commerce platforms to finance businesses based on knowledge of their past trading and payment activity is potentially hugely powerful.
Ahead of the curve Both crowdfunding and e-commerce finance models represent a move away from the use of intermediaries. This has implications for accountants and the skills they require. Although accountants won’t necessarily be making approaches to lenders on behalf of clients, they could still have a vital role in guiding SMEs through the range of loan finance options available. They will also need to play a role when SMEs seek equity finance. This is expected to become more widespread, particularly among SMEs in fast-growing Asian economies. Professional accountants will need to help SMEs in presenting their businesses in a way that appeals to investment banks, and find methods (as already highlighted) to ensure that businesses based on intangible assets receive appropriate valuations. This will require professional accountants to draw on all the new and extensive information being
created through the use of modern technology – the huge reserves of ‘big data’. Business transactions and the actions of business owners will become increasingly traceable (for example, through Bitcoin transactions or Facebook postings). This information will be increasingly used by investors and lenders when making funding decisions. Professional accountants need to make sure they too know how to use this data most effectively, so maintaining their relevance to SMEs and funders over the coming decades. Predicting the future is difficult, but ongoing developments in technology and innovations in funding models will change the business landscape. Professional accountants need to stay ahead of the curve and develop the skills they need to help SMEs access the finance they need. ■ Long-term macroeconomic forecasts: key trends to 2050 is available at tinyurl.com/pdm9b3e In safe hands? The future of financial services is available at www.samiconsulting.co.uk/5insafehands. pdf
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Intrapreneurship | Smart finance | Accountancy Futures
Innovation from within
The need to develop more intrapreneurial finance professionals was the unifying theme at a series of ACCA conferences, says ACCA’s Chiew Chun Wee
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he drive towards developing more intrapreneurial finance professionals has emerged as an overwhelming force across the industry in Asia Pacific, shaping the way companies operate, innovate and grow. The importance of innovation driven by intrapreneurs – individuals who put entrepreneurial skills to work within their organisation – was the unifying theme of the ACCA annual summits in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur through May. An overwhelming 95% of professionals polled across these events said the industry should ‘work towards building an intrapreneurial finance function’. The lowest percentage, 93%, was in Singapore, while the highest, 98% , was in Shanghai. At the same time, across Asia Pacific, 42% of professionals believed that finance is often perceived as an ‘innovation blocker’. The numbers were higher in the more developed finance centres of Singapore (48%) and Hong Kong (42%) while only a significantly lower 20% of respondents in mainland China agreed with the statement. These figures, together with the comments of dozens of top-level professionals, suggest that now, more than ever, innovation and finance are inextricably linked. The idea that financial professionals stifle innovation may have been true once upon a time, but ‘now we are promoters of innovation, organisers and integrators of value management’, said Fan Songlin, finance director of Baosteel Metal, one of China’s largest state-owned companies, speaking during the summit in Shanghai. An important goal for finance professionals is to support ‘collaborative innovation’, said former ACCA president Anthony Harbinson, who opened the conferences in the various Chinese cities. ‘It means applying basic principles of entrepreneurship and innovation inside a company. This definition is very important and coincides with Forbes’ definition promoting innovation and entrepreneurship as if one owns the company,’ said Harbinson. ‘All companies need to have such internal entrepreneurs to cope with their daily work and remain invincible in the era of innovation.’ Internal financial entrepreneurs are self-motivated and decisive as well as being strong executives. ‘CFOs need to innovate in two ways: in the way they do things; and in the way they influence,’ said Qin Rongsheng, secretary general and president of the Beijing National Accounting Institute, during the event in Beijing.
CFOs can use the detailed financial information at their disposal to provide companies with the foundations to make and implement strategic decisions. At the same time, financial professionals can provide the necessary risk-awareness to make companies more resilient. CFOs should also have the expertise to process data and information to distill insights that can help their companies grow as well as the ability to work with a mix of people. ‘We need talent to carry out innovation and therefore talent issues are an integral part of any discussion about corporate and financial innovation,’ said Chen Yugui, deputy president and secretary general of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, during the summit in Beijing. ‘In my view, China is still facing a severe shortage of talent, in particular, senior level, high-value talent.’ A key point, one repeated in myriad ways in both polls and comments throughout the events, is that innovation and finance are not mutually exclusive. Speaking in Beijing, Si Haijian, vice president of Hanergy Holding Group and executive president of Hanergy Global Solar Power Solutions Group, was among those who made the point: ‘Finance ensures rigour and compliance and serves as a solid foundation on which innovation can be carried out. They [finance and innovation] definitely do not run contrary to each other. It is like constructing a building, no matter what kind, what colour, shape and form, you will always need a solid foundation before the building can be properly erected.’
Chiew Chun Wee is ACCA’s head of policy, Asia Pacific.
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Global innovation: Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel (wearing blue jacket) and delegates look at a computerised model of the earth while visiting Tokyo’s National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in March 2015.
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Challenging innovation There is clearly a preconception about finance that needs to be overcome, including the expectations of some business leaders that finance should not stray from its controllership and accounting scope. Financial innovation is, however, critical to companies seeking breakthroughs. ‘Financial innovation is the biggest innovation,’ said Wang Yingchun, assistant president and deputy chief accountant at state-owned China TravelSky Holding Company. ‘Many people believe that the role of finance is to keep records, not drive innovation.
Brave new world: a boy looks at a digital art installation ‘Light in Dark’ created by teamLab, a collaborative group of Japanese digital artists, at Tokyo’s National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.
Nothing could be further from the truth. ‘Finance has access to the widest range of information, which allows them to identify innovation hotspots and key hurdles,’ continued Wang. The upshot, said ACCA head of policy, China, Yuki Qian, is that finance professionals ‘should acquire a breadth of knowledge in finance, accounting and industry’ in order to be effective as a business partner. She emphasised that for a company to be innovative, ‘innovative ideas should flow freely’ and that ‘every department and every employee need to internalise and “own” innovation.’
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said social researcher and author Michael McQueen, who spoke at the events in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Beijing. ‘The role of accountants continues to transform, and we can no longer act simply as a scorekeepers, we should play the role of a coach, which means we must actively participate in all business decisions,’ McQueen said. ‘We must constantly adjust what we do, and how we do it.’ Technology can help this process, said Li Kouqing, president of the Shanghai National Accounting Institute, who co-hosted the conference in Shanghai. ‘With technological advancement, our everyday lives, our operations become “smarter”. Smart finance, therefore, is an inevitable development,’ Li said. ‘CFOs are trendsetters and must keep up and inject innovation into finance operations.’ He further suggested that finance leaders should build upon their traditional strength in risk management and professional judgement to support organisational goals of pursuing innovation and new ventures. ‘There will be perceived conflicts, but those who address such conflicts effectively will discover exciting new paths for career enhancement.’ Finance professionals are involved in most aspects of innovation, some far from their traditional expertise. For companies, particularly large and complex ones, it is difficult to make strategic decisions without the involvement of the CFO. ‘Innovation or any kind of improvement has to tackle the customers’ “pain points”. Only then will your products and services attain widespread popularity and market acceptance,’ said Yu Hao, general manager of the financial centre at Shenzhen Agricultural Products Co and a member of the ACCA professional expert forum in China during the event in Guangzhou. Finance professionals can help make the distinction between what is useful and what is a drag on productivity – not always an easy distinction to make.
Open to ideas
Speaking in Beijing, Marina Hu, CFO of Autonavi under the Alibaba Group, said: ‘In Alibaba, change is constant and change is fast. One of our core values is embracing change. Under Alibaba, we have many business units, from Taobao to T-mall, from Taobao Group-buy to Ali-cloud, all operating under significantly different business models. A rapidly evolving tech company requires partnership with a non-traditional finance function.’ All this means that finance leaders are much more than the accountants of yesteryear. They are business strategists, innovators and agents of transformation,
‘I believe innovation cannot be trained. What we can build up is our openness, then influence innovation,’ said Lam Wai-chun, CEO of CEC International Holdings and co-founder of retailer 759 Store, at the Hong Kong summit. However, innovation does not exist in a bubble: ‘Some investment is necessary. It could be expensive. But you have to be always prepared so as to go further,’ he added. ‘Being innovative means you need to have the bravery and wisdom to take risks,’ said Roy Chung, co-founder and non-executive director at Techtronic Industries. ‘Our finance staff need to understand that.’ ‘Nowadays, innovation comes from the bottom up and also from the top down,’ said Ted Suen, head of information technology at MTR Corp, which runs Hong Kong’s transit system. ‘Frontline staff have first-hand knowledge of the problems that need to be solved and they are in a better position to come up with
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Finding the right mix As many as 91% of CEOs see CFOs as strategic partners and rank them higher than other C-suite executives, said Yu Zhiwei, VP of marketing at LinkedIn China and a member of the ACCA professional expert forum in China. The focus of CFOs and other finance professionals is to create value for the organisation, so they must have creativity, a wealth of ideas and the ability to put those ideas to good use. They can strategise and are not afraid of challenges or change, said former ACCA president Anthony Harbinson ‘With every step they take, they become more resolute about their final goal,’ said Harbinson in Shanghai. ‘The way they act reflects the qualities of confidence and humility, instead of stubbornness and dogmatism.’ ‘Innovations often fail due to internal obstacles,’ said Chun Wee Chiew, ACCA’s head of policy for Asia Pacific. He suggested four steps: think digitally, like a tech company; use the power of data analytics to scan the business environment for emerging trends and justify investments; create a corporate culture that allows intrapreneurs to develop and prosper; design key performance indicators aligned with the strategic objective of nurturing innovation. All this is key, but so is the ultimate goal of adding value, said former ACCA deputy president Datuk Alexandra Chin in Singapore. ‘This is especially pertinent in the current macroeconomic environment, in order to withstand and indeed surpass uncertainty and turbulence in markets,’ Chin said. Younger professionals may have an easier time with all this. ‘Finance has a lovehate relationship with innovation: on the one hand, we know it is great for the company; on the other hand, innovation brings about a heavier workload with all the adjustments, restructuring, budget updates and so on,’ said Yang Jian, CFO of China’s Kingdee International Software during the event in Shanghai. ‘Financial professionals born in the 1980s and 1990s tend to adopt a different stance towards innovation. They are digital natives and much more willing to embrace innovation.’ Additional reporting by Alfred Romann, journalist
something which is innovative in their areas of responsibility.’ ‘Investment is important and management needs to take a long-term view,’ said John Lo, senior vice president and CFO at Tencent Group, who also spoke in Hong Kong. ‘It may take four years to see any form of return on that investment.’ Organisations rely on the finance function to navigate complex business environments, said former ACCA deputy president Datuk Alexandra Chin speaking in both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. ‘The function isn’t just an organisation’s financial steward but also it is a catalyst for growth. As such, for finance leaders to be effective, they need to embrace and enable intrapreneurship,’ said Chin. ‘[Intrapreneurs] allow ideas to germinate in their minds and then figure out how to make things happen… it is not bravado that drives them but an inner confidence that every step is a step closer to their goals.’ ‘If someone comes up with an idea, don’t dismiss it. Don’t be a ministry of no but a ministry of yes,’ said Johan Khoo, managing director for communications, media and technology at Accenture Strategy, speaking in Kuala Lumpur. ‘We do want to be business partners. In fact, I would say that we want to move beyond business partners to be transformation agents within our businesses,’ said Richard McLean, regional CFO at SAP Asia Pacific Japan, also at the event in Kuala Lumpur. There was a note of caution, however: the drive for innovation cannot overwhelm everything else. ‘While the case for innovation is clear, finance professionals must balance this with the need to fulfil their traditional control functions. We have to make sure we have the right balance. We can’t lose sight of the basics,’ said Jamie Lyon, ACCA’s head of corporate sector, in Singapore. ‘This culture of learning, of understanding the business and innovating is what we want to start doing,’ said Wong Lai Ping, regional finance director for Asia Pacific at element14, speaking in Singapore. Supportive management that is tolerant of failures is crucial, added Ravi Arumugam, CEO of professional services firm RT LLP: ‘Only then will true innovation take place in the accountancy and finance sector.’ ‘The good failures happen fast enough to avoid financial loss and are small enough to avoid any damage to the brand, but most importantly you must make sure the organisation learns from all failures,’ said Luciano Pezzotta, managing director at global innovation and strategy consulting firm ECSI Consulting. ‘Innovation entails significant risk-taking, said Leong Soo Yee, director – Asia Pacific, ACCA. ‘A crucial role that CFOs and senior finance professionals must play is to help their organisations strike the balance between encouraging innovation and managing the associated risks. It is not easy, but in a saturated global economy, innovation is sometimes the only engine of growth.’ ■
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Professional development | Smart finance | Accountancy Futures
A matter of competence
Addressing the shortage of professional accountants should be linked to improving competence, says CICPA secretary general and deputy president Dr Chen Yugui
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nnovation depends on the support from competent professionals, who in fact play a major role in making any innovation possible. At present, the development of China is in desperate need of them, especially at the top levels. In the past few years, the accountancy profession itself, as well as other industries, has been experiencing a shortage of practitioners. This has become a common challenge for all industries. Currently, there are hundreds of millions of accounting practitioners in China, and hundreds of thousands of accounting graduates who enter the job market each year. This has been the case for years. In addition, over 10,000 students graduate with a master’s degree in accounting on a yearly basis. Thus it’s fair to say that we
Dr Chen Yugui Dr Chen has worked for the Ministry of Finance in China since 1986, serving as deputy director, director, deputy director-general of the Accounting Regulatory Department, and deputy secretary general of the China Accounting Standards Committee of the Ministry of Finance. He also serves as the head of the Office of the CPA Examination Committee of the Ministry of Finance. In 2002, Dr Chen became the secretary general of CICPA; in 2010, he became deputy president.
have a large base of accountants. So why is there still a shortage of accounting practitioners? The reason is that our accountants still lack the required competencies. Therefore, we should focus now on enhancing the talent pipeline,
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cultivating quality and improving the comprehensive competence of accounting professionals instead of simply producing as many undergraduate and graduate students as possible, people who pass the certified public accountant (CPA) exams or obtain professional certificates. The IES (International Education Standards) issued by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) include details about competence for accountants, which can be seen as the competence framework. The Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CICPA) published the Guidance on Competence of Chinese CPAs in 2007 as well. From these, we could sum up three elements of competence for accounting professionals: knowledge, skills and values. These serve not only as the standard for evaluating accounting professionals, but also the guidance for their training.
and when to withdraw are all part of the socialist core value system. For accounting professionals, value has a special occupational meaning. This is because accounting professionals possess expertise and skills that other people do not have. Numerous people make economic decisions based on accountants’ judgments. Without being guided by professional values, accountants are subject to errors in their professional activities and judgments, which is more likely to impair public interest than protect it. So what are professional values? First, putting public interests before those of the individual. This should be the main principle for any professional activity or judgment. Second, being honest and responsible, respecting the truth and never voicing any opinion without sufficient evidence or logical reasoning. Third, taking a lifelong learning approach and only
Numerous people make economic decisions based on
the judgments of accountants. Without being guided by values, accountants are subject to errors which are more likely to impair public interest than protect it Based on these elements, we can identify deficiencies in the accounting profession. In terms of knowledge, much emphasis is put on knowledge of accounting, auditing and financial management, while less importance is attached to knowledge of economics, finance, law, science and technology, society, organisation, and culture. Speaking of specialised knowledge, the focus is on institutions, standards, provisions, methods and equations, but not enough attention has been paid to professional concepts, theories, and logic reasoning. Besides, although the value of knowledge itself has been taken into account, translating that knowledge into capability and the methodology of applying knowledge have been discounted. Skills basically refer to the ability to apply knowledge in practice and find solutions to problems. Such skills include intellect, technology application, communication and management. For accounting professionals, the most essential skill is the ability to make professional judgments, which is the decisionmaking skill based on specialised concepts, theories, logic reasoning and regulations with economic facts, phenomena and data at hand. This could be categorised as an intellectual skill, and also an integration of all other skills. A prominent weakness of accounting professionals is not daring to, or not being able to, make decisions. This is in part due to the restrictions imposed by regulatory policies and the environment. But the major reason still lies in the lack of professional competence of accountants. The ability to weigh up gains and losses, to distinguish right from wrong, and to know when to take action
offering opinions on areas of expertise. Fourth, staying independent, objective and impartial. Accountants should not take on professional tasks that have a conflict of interests, or follow instructions that violate laws or professional standards. In this respect, there’s still a long way to go in cultivating professional values in accounting professionals. To enhance the competence of accounting professionals, joint efforts are needed. In the accountancy profession, integrity should remain at the core of professional development. The three elements of competence detailed in the Guidance should be further encompassed in professional standards, exams, training, oversight and rewards. As for a CPA, an in-depth understanding of serving as a professional should be developed. CPAs are protectors of public interests. Pursuing excellence in both moral integrity and skills should be their life goal. People should be fully aware that social recognition and economic gains come from upholding integrity and improving expertise rather than from others. As for accounting education in universities, it should no doubt be enhanced in terms of knowledge, skills and values. Academic education is the starting point for the accounting profession, but it exerts significant influence on their future development. The increase in the competence of accounting professionals depends on the improvement of the talent environment, but what comes first and foremost is still self-actualisation.■ This article is based on Dr Chen’s address to the ACCA Beijing summit in May
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Viewpoints | Smart finance | Accountancy Futures
Embracing change
Finance leaders give their views on what it takes to be successful in their role – with adaptability, creativity and the ability to think strategically at the top of the list
Simon Dingemans ‘Being a CFO is a question of what you want the role to be. The role of the CFO has become much more strategic and a partner to the business. Perhaps historically it has been more of a controlling/reporting function. And there are plenty of companies where that is appropriate and adequate for what they want. Increasingly CEOs are looking for more of a partnership with their CFOs and that brings a requirement for a broader and more engaged skillset and approach.’ Full interview at www.accaglobal.com/ab/238 100 Group chair and CFO of GSK, UK
Grzegorz Mączyński FCCA ‘The best finance guys are the ones who start in the accounting department. Accounting is always the base – you can gain a better understanding of the business. Professionals should supplement that experience with audit and site controlling. Then you have the full picture. When I work with my team, I always try to explain the situation and the environment. If people understand what the company wants to do, then they can make the right decision about what they should do and why.’ Full interview at www.accaglobal.com/ab/240 FD, Alstom Konstal, Poland Edition 11 | 37
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Catalina Cotoara ACCA ‘To be successful you have to embrace change, communicate numbers in a simple and effective way and respond and adapt quickly to new technology. For newly appointed FDs, at the end of the day you need to ask yourself what you did that day to improve your skills and help your company, and whether there was anything you could have done better.’ Full interview at www.accaglobal.com/ab/235 FD, Simply Media, owners of Readers’ Digest
Andrew Copestake FCCA ‘The essence of business partnering is the challenge element, challenging our business cases and the development proposals. It needs a different set of interpersonal skills to be a good business partner and the old bookkeeper-type of accountant hasn’t fitted well into that. They’ve got to be able to hold their own with a group of general managers. My team are creative thinkers, challengers.’ Full interview at www.accaglobal.com/ab/237 FD, National Trust
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Siddique Ahmed ‘Auditing in microfinance is a different world. For every new auditor that we hire, their first question is, why do you have so many auditors? You see big companies who have an internal audit department of a few people. But then you see a small microfinance institution with a large team of auditors. It is the nature of the industry. The risks are in the field, not in the files sitting at the head office or branch offices.’ Full interview at www.accaglobal.com/ab/241 Regional audit manager, Africa and MESA, FINCA
Judith Fei FCCA ‘A luxury brand like ours is stylish and has a strong identity so it is well suited to first-tier cities. We have suppliers in Paris and retail shops in China; we have to make sure that the cashflow we generate from our daily operations can finance our future investment plan. Our strategy in China is to focus on a suitable market. It is important for us to choose the right partner and the right mall to open a store.’ Full interview at www.accaglobal.com/ab/236 CFO, Balmain Asia Edition 11 | 39
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Conor Lawler ACCA ‘It is crucially important to keep a clear financial overview but also to work with all other functions within the organisation to gain a real strategic understanding. I encourage an entrepreneurial and teamworking spirit: get people involved, develop their own thoughts and manage their own units – but within a predefined framework.’ Full interview at www.accaglobal.com/ab/239 Senior vice president finance, Atlantis The Palm resort, Dubai
Gary Forbes ‘Our managers have to be leaders of a totally different calibre. We encourage our teams to solve their own problems but not to feel as if they would be abandoned – or worse still, blamed – if they aren’t able to. The objective of the leadership team is to support the employees delivering services, and encourage them to improve every single day, while making it fun and rewarding to do so.’ Full interview at www.accaglobal.com/ab/242 Head, business service centre Kuala Lumpur, GSK
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BEPS | Tax | Accountancy Futures
All or nothing
ACCA’s Chas Roy-Chowdhury believes that countries should not be allowed to cherry-pick from the 15 action points in the OECD’s BEPS project
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re we entering the final straight of the BEPS project or is there a danger we could end up in a cul-de-sac? I ask the question because so far the speed at which the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has moved with its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) work has been impressive. But the hardest part is still to come. By the end of the year we will see the full fruits of the OECD’s labours, as this is the deadline by which the organisation’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs will have reported on all 15 of the action points agreed by the G8 back in June 2013, and endorsed by G20 world leaders in September of that year. The committee delivered on seven of the action points last year, with the remaining eight up for debate during 2015. But arguably some of the most difficult and fundamental issues are to be addressed in this second batch of action plans, and it is vital that we get these right, with full agreement and support, when they are delivered as a coherent package to the G20 finance ministers meeting this October. And in the meantime, one has to hope that any moves towards unilateral action by
Chas Roy-Chowdhury FCCA is head of taxation at ACCA. He is the staff expert on ACCA’s Global Forum for Taxation and worked in public practice before joining ACCA.
a single jurisdiction, such as the UK government’s diverted profits tax legislation, do not throw up any conflicts with the OECD’s work. Indeed, as reported by Forbes magazine recently, the US has been critical both of the OECD’s work and the legislative proposals coming from the UK and Australia. According to the publication, US Treasury deputy assistant secretary Robert Stack has said his government was ‘extremely disappointed’ in the OECD’s work, while adding that the diverted profits taxes in place or being planned in the UK and Australia were ‘a disturbing development for the OECD’. However, the article also suggested that other Treasury officials were saying that country-by-country reporting, as set out in the BEPS Action 13 on transfer pricing, could be introduced earlier than required, a move that would not be aligned with a government intent on scuppering the whole BEPS process. At the same time, we have seen the European Commission release its own action plan to reform corporate taxation, setting out a series of initiatives to tackle tax avoidance and secure sustainable
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revenues under its common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) proposals. But at ACCA, we believe that to be credible, such a comprehensive approach to corporate taxation, as proposed by the commission, must be fully compatible with the BEPS project. In fact, it has to make sense that work on CCCTB should only begin in earnest after the BEPS project outcomes have been finalised, in order to make sure that the CCCTB and other European Union measures are fully aligned with the OECD conclusions. Having at least two sets of rules just would not make sense. Interestingly, the OECD welcomed the EC’s plans, saying the move was ‘another major step towards international cooperation in the fight against tax evasion and avoidance’, and adding that the political impetus and support for establishing a fairer international tax system was ‘overwhelming’. Overwhelming? Probably. Universal? Possibly not. For if the whole project is to be successful, and successfully implemented, then there is a clear and pressing need to ensure that all jurisdictions are on board and more than willing to implement the action points, with an absolute commitment to the whole package, without dispute.
Yes, without dispute. But the issue of dispute could provide us with one of the key sticking points in the project. Action 14 aims to make dispute resolution mechanisms more effective. According to the OECD, the G7, along with a number of other jurisdictions, has agreed to mandatory binding arbitration, but there are other major players that have yet to accept this principle. My fear is that there will be a certain amount of cherry-picking from all the action points, leaving large gaps in the global tax landscape. Action 14 will be high on this list. Those that do not allow themselves to be subject to such a system will suffer in the long term as multinational companies choose where best to make their investments. A desire for tax sovereignty alone should not be used as an excuse. There will need to be proper structures in place to deal with those jurisdictions that effectively block multinationals from going to arbitration. There will be disputes, but jurisdictions need to have in place proper arbitration procedures. Local tax authorities might claim that a multinational would get a worse settlement if it were to go to arbitration, with the threat of successive, and more in-depth tax audits in the
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Timescale of the BEPS project 2014 deliverables (released in September 2014) * Action 1: address the tax challenges of the digital economy. * Action 2: neutralise the effects of hybrid mismatch arrangements. * Action 5: counter harmful tax practices more effectively, taking * * * *
into account transparency and substance. Action 6: prevent treaty abuse. Action 8: assure that transfer pricing outcomes are in line with value creation/ intangibles. Action 13: re-examine transfer pricing documentation. Action 15: develop a multilateral instrument.
2015 deliverables * * * * * * * *
Action 3: strengthen controlled foreign companies rules. Action 4: limit base erosion via interest deductions and other financial payments. Action 7: prevent the artificial avoidance of permanent establishment (PE) status. Action 9: assure that transfer pricing outcomes are in line with value creation/ risks and capital. Action 10: assure that transfer pricing outcomes are in line with value creation/ other high-risk transactions. Action 11: establish methodologies to collect and analyse data on BEPS and the actions to address it. Action 12: require taxpayers to disclose aggressive tax planning arrangements. Action 14: make dispute resolution mechanisms more effective.
Implementation In February 2015, the OECD and G20 countries agreed three key elements: * a mandate to launch negotiations on a multilateral instrument to streamline implementation of tax treaty-related BEPS measures (Action 15) * an implementation package for country-by-country reporting in 2016 and a related government-to-government exchange mechanism to start in 2017 (Action 13) * criteria to assess whether preferential treatment regimes for intellectual property (patent boxes) are harmful or not (Action 5).
future. Will BEPS be able to change this attitude? Any vagueness and opportunity to avoid mandatory arbitration will need to be removed from Action 14 if it is to succeed, and I hope to see a future proposal that takes a firm view in this area. An easy compromise, that would be acceptable to some governments, will not achieve this. It is the most fundamental action point underpinning the whole BEPS project; it should establish a sea change in thinking. We are not alone in thinking this. At the beginning of the year, the OECD published the initial reactions to its Action 14 draft discussion paper. It was 413 pages long. The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) and the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) teamed up to say that ‘the absence of a binding and effective proposal to improve dispute resolution mechanisms is a significant concern for our members’, adding that the proposals would almost certainly lead to a greater number of disputes arising as both tax administrations and taxpayers adapt to any new policy changes. The two associations said: ‘Unless there is an effective dispute resolution mechanism in place to mediate these disputes, it is likely that there will be a substantive
increase in the risk of double taxation without the necessary recourse for business to mitigate this risk.’ At its most recent briefing held in June, the OECD’s BEPS team set out its latest thinking on dispute resolution. On making dispute resolution mechanisms effective, it called for a minimum standard in relation to the resolution of treaty-related disputes so that treaty obligations are fully implemented in good faith and cases resolved in a timely manner. It also called for administrative processes that allowed taxpayers to access mandatory arbitration where eligible. It added that arbitration for willing countries would be included in the multilateral instrument (part of Action 15), and reminded us that the G7 has called for better and more effective dispute resolution mechanisms between tax administrations to ensure that the risk of double taxation does not act as a barrier to trade and investment. A step in the right direction, but I question whether, even now, the team has fully assessed the impact of this. Jurisdictions that do not want to be part of mandatory arbitration should not be let off the hook. Mandatory arbitration will be the glue that binds the whole project together. Without it, there is a risk that it will fall apart. This will also have a knock-on effect for Action 15, the development of a multilateral instrument for implementation. Such an instrument will lack credibility if jurisdictions have been allowed to cherry-pick. As one respondent to the Action 14 discussion paper sums it up: ‘First, countries must be willing to truly support the project. Second, business must be willing to fully accept its outcomes.’ Adopting a binding and universal arbitration framework should be an integral and inseparable part of the BEPS deliverables. I look forward to seeing a revised draft where every ‘could’ has been replaced with ‘should’, or even ‘must’. Arbitration is, of course, only one area of dispute. We continue to see discussion drafts issued by the BEPS team, alongside public consultations, and they are to be commended for their speed of delivery. And all the interested parties are to be commended for their swift responses, some critical, others much more supportive. Such speed and swiftness is driving the initiative forward, and it is certainly driving it on to the corporate agenda: according to a recent survey from Deloitte, some 90% of the firm’s multinational company clients are anticipating that their corporate tax compliance burden will substantially increase as a result of additional reporting requirements of the BEPS recommendations. Country-by-country and transfer pricing reporting were just two areas that figured in their calculations. Interestingly, more than half (55%) also believed that there would be significant unilateral legislative changes that would not be coordinated with other jurisdictions, leading 75% to anticipate cases of double taxation as a result of BEPS. Which is why those at the steering wheel need to ensure all parties stick to the one roadmap and not take any detours as they approach their final destination. ■ Edition 11 | 43
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Accountancy Futures | Corporate reporting | US
American vision
Bob Herz, Accounting Hall of Fame incumbent and former chairman of the FASB, explains his vision for the future of corporate reporting in the US
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household name in the standards-setting community, Bob Herz has made history on several fronts, not least as chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in the US during the rigorous process of harmonising International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and US GAAP. At the time, Herz described the process as ‘riding two horses at the same time’. Five years after his retirement from the FASB, Herz is again at the forefront of international accounting standards setting – perhaps in an even trickier spot – as a newly appointed member of the board of directors of the US-based Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). When Herz resigned as FASB chairman, early retirement was never on the cards. In his words, over the past five years since he left the US standard-setter, ‘my dance card has been full’. In addition to his lecturing schedule at Columbia University, Herz sits on the board of directors of Morgan Stanley, Fannie Mae, Workiva and others, and is on the advisory boards of several companies and regulatory bodies such as the Canadian Accounting Standards Oversight Council. His decision to take on the SASB role was clearly not because he was looking for something to do, but
The SASB The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board is an independent US-based accredited standard-setting organisation that develops industry-specific standards for voluntary use in disclosing material sustainability issues in filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A not-for-profit organisation based in San Francisco, the SASB is not affiliated with the Financial Accounting Standards Board nor the SEC. By early 2016, the SASB is expected to have developed provisional sustainability accounting standards for over 80 industries in 10 sectors. www.sasb.org.
‘The realm of integrated
reporting and accounting for sustainability represents a new frontier of accounting changes’ the result of a long-standing passion for improving corporate reporting worldwide. This new initiative, while seemingly left-field in terms of traditional standards-setting, is anything but a sideline. While most of us know Herz as the force behind standards reform in the US, his enthusiasm for non-financial reporting has its roots in his early career. In 2001, Herz co-authored a book with Bob Eccles (the SASB’s first chair and an honorary ACCA member), entitled The Value Reporting Revolution – Moving Beyond the Earnings Game, where he explains key non-financial performance indicators in relation to the value drivers of businesses. ‘I was kind of into that whole thing,’ says Herz, about understanding what are commonly considered the hidden or more intangible measures of corporate
value. ‘I’ve devoted a lot of my professional career to trying to improve the information that goes to the capital markets and I’ve had a long-standing belief that financial reporting is a very important part of that, but it’s not all that’s needed. ‘When it comes to determining the underlying sustainability of a company, or its capacity for growth, you’ve got to look at more than financial reporting if you want to understand what creates or destroys value over time. When I was a partner at PwC, and before I became chairman of the FASB or a member of the SASB, I advocated more systematic reporting of information on key value drivers, so my interest in the subject of sustainability reporting goes back a long way.’ He adds: ‘I am not a tree hugger or an environmental activist, just a citizen of this planet concerned about the welfare of future generations. So as someone with a passion for helping bring about positive changes in accounting and reporting, the realm of integrated reporting and accounting for sustainability represents a new frontier of accounting changes.’ Herz’s role as board member at the SASB is multifaceted, but, as he explains, his experience with the FASB adds an important perspective. The SASB has come a long way since it was established a few years back, and he says it has developed an effective set of processes for designing provisional standards on an industry-by-industry basis. ‘However, where I think I can add value from my standard-setting experience is to help develop a process to finalise those provisional standards, looking at how people view them, whether they’re cost-effective and can be done in practice, and, very importantly, determine what investors think.’ The SASB will soon be piloting its disclosures with various companies as part of a robust programme to finalise its standards. The SASB is around two-thirds of the way through the completion of its provisional standards to 2016. The road forward, as Herz explains, will be to determine
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occurs then the regulators may begin to consider mandating such reporting.’ Herz provides three key insights into things to come for corporate reporting in the US, potentially with the powerful backing of the SEC: ‘First, I’d encourage readers to go to the SASB website and learn about the process, read the standards and the accompanying industry briefs. You will see that we’re trying to get at finite sets of issues and metrics that really matter from an investment and value proposition on an industry-byindustry basis. ‘Second, while the sustainability folks in the company are usually involved in developing the information, ultimately it will have to be the finance function that makes the decisions on what they’re reporting in the 10-K [the annual financial report for the SEC] and on putting internal controls around that information. ‘Third, at the SASB we’re designing the sustainability reporting standards so that the information can be audited. If the markets want more assurance on this, then we would want the auditors to be able to provide that assurance. And ultimately, capturing the essence of material issues is the key consideration, along with
Bob Herz Bob Herz served as the chairman of the US Financial Accounting Standards Board from 2002 to 2010. Before that, he was a senior partner at PwC and a member of its global and US boards. He also served as one of the original members of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). He has served as chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ SEC Regulations Committee and the Transnational Auditors Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), and as a member of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force, the American Accounting Association’s Financial Accounting Standards Committee, and the International Capital Markets Advisory Committee of the New York Stock Exchange. He is currently director of two major public companies, on the Standing Advisory Group of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the Accounting Standards Oversight Council of Canada, a trustee of the Kessler Foundation, and executive in residence at Columbia Business School.
metrics that are useful for the investor community. The hope is: ‘As more people use the standards, they will become generally accepted, companies will see the benefits, and investors will ask for this information to be included in SEC filings.’ When asked whether he expects a more formal relationship to evolve between the SASB and the SEC, Herz points to the current make-up of the board: ‘Our vice chairman is Mary Shapiro, former chairman of the SEC, and we also have two other former commissioners, Aulana Peters and Elisse Walter.’ He adds that the SASB has been meeting regularly with SEC staff to keep them informed. ‘There’s clearly interest at the SEC,’ he explains, ‘but it has to be an evolutionary process. They first have to see that there’s growing market acceptance and uptake, and as that
cost benefit.’ When considering the potential future direction of corporate reporting in the US, it also helps to remember Herz’s long-standing relationship with the UK. As well as his close relationship with the IASB and its former chairman Sir David Tweedie, Herz is a graduate of the University of Manchester and articled with PwC in Manchester and London. In terms of his continued reach across the pond, Herz also explains his connection to the recently developed International Integrated Reporting Framework of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC): ‘I was fortunate to also be involved with the IIRC during the formative days of integrated reporting. When I was chairman of the FASB I was invited to the inaugural meeting of the IIRC in London and also became involved with the Prince of Wales’ Accounting for Sustainability project, which was one of the motivators for creating the IIRC.’ These connections with international organisations and individuals have had an effect. ‘I’ve become much more aware of the potential magnitude and severity of these threats to our ongoing economic, environmental, social and planetary welfare,’ he says, ‘and of the need for better measurement and reporting as part of a global effort to address these issues.’ As for the reunion of the ‘dynamic duo’ with Tweedie in directing the future of corporate reporting and disclosure, he says: ‘I don’t want to speculate but I would say we’re both suckers for what we view as a good cause. We continue to share a common goal of trying to improve information for the global capital markets, see each other regularly and remain good friends.’ ■ Ramona Dzinkowski is an economist and journalist. She is founding editor of sustainableaccountingreview.com Edition 11 | 45
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Accountancy Futures | Corporate reporting | Intellectual assets
Return on innovation
Mainstream finance has been slow to react to allow SMEs to use their intellectual assets to raise finance. A new reporting toolkit could change all that
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nvestment in intangibles has now overtaken investment in tangible assets, but companies, particularly SMEs, struggle to measure this investment and the returns it offers. As a result, they are not investing in the right things, fail to maximise the returns and struggle to raise finance for growth against that investment. Intellectual property (IP) is no longer a niche subject – it is recognised as a core asset in many businesses. Yet mainstream finance has been slow to allow SMEs to use their intellectual assets to raise finance. This market failure has been explicitly recognised in Malaysia, where the country’s innovation agency AIM
(Agensi Inovasi Malaysia) has been working with its UK counterpart Nesta to develop tools to help companies identify and manage their intellectual assets. ‘Industry doesn’t see the return on innovation clearly,’ says AIM’s CEO Mark Rozario: ‘There’s a perception that innovation requires large investments – in fact, innovation happens at all levels. And it’s not just R&D – it’s much broader than that.’ AIM worked with a bank in a pilot study to assess what an SME had to offer based on intellectual property rather than any other form of collateral they have. ‘The question is, how do I get finance from a bank if I don’t have tangible assets to offer,’ says Rozario. ‘Can
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The NCII Framework NCII identifies six main inputs into innovation:
Research and development Costs relating to scientific and technological innovation in commercial context, as well as patent protection.
Software All forms of custom (not off-the shelf) software.
Design Product, service and process design, graphic, userinterface and web design, plus design protection.
Organisational development and business process improvement Efficiency, effectiveness, quality, change or business strategy programmes.
Training and intellectual capital development All forms of learning and skills development plus specialist recruitment of new talent.
Branding/marketing and reputation Product launches, rebranding, packaging and market research. In some sectors copyright is also an important investment. Financial measures of return are grouped into four areas: * improvements in efficiency * new products and services * licensing incomes * incentives awarded, such as R&D tax credits.
we use IP as an additional credit risk factor? If you can clearly segregate the return from tangible assets then the difference is your returns on intangible assets.’ The agency has developed a toolkit, the National Corporate Innovation Index (NCII) to help companies identify their intellectual assets and their return on investment in IP. The toolkit tracks their investment in six core areas (see box) derived from 2009 research by Nesta in the UK investment industry. ‘We used them as a model to work with individual businesses,’ says Benjamin Reid, principal researcher in international innovation at Nesta. ‘If you take these six areas then you can imagine that different businesses
have a different mix of intellectual investments they are making and the intellectual assets they are creating.’ Companies can then compare their investments with the average for their industry. ‘It’s not that more is better, but whether you have got the balance correct,’ says Reid. NCII uses a number of different measures of ROI (return on investment): Reid says there’s no ‘magic bullet’ but companies do need to be able to say what scale of return they are getting. ‘These kinds of outputs were things they could use with other stakeholders, with senior management, with boards and potentially with the investor community,’ he says. ‘It can help them make the case for why they need to invest in intangible assets and innovation.’ Nesta and AIM found large companies needed quite a lot of support using NCII to identify IP investments. So they were keen to understand how the tool might work with smaller businesses which face different challenges and work with innovation in different ways. ‘We thought there must be a role for finance
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professionals to potentially help small businesses,’ says Reid. ‘It could be a new area that they can support businesses in, by going through this kind of tool.’ Working with ACCA’s member network in Malaysia, they developed and trialled a version of the tool for SMEs. ‘We knew that with quite a bit of assistance larger companies can do reasonably well, but what about SMEs with a much smaller level of intervention?’ says Martin Brassell FRSA, co-founder and chief executive of IP specialist Inngot, and co-author with Reid of the resulting report, Innovation, intangibles and integrated reporting: a pilot study of Malaysian SMEs. The simplified version was modified to make it easier to complete from existing accounting records – separating internal from external expenditure, for example; it also asked firms how easy it was to find the information. Brassell says the study led to several conclusions about the overall level of awareness and about professional development requirements for accountants. ‘It was much easier to say what innovation wasn’t than what it was: innovation is not doing more of the same thing,’ he says. ‘The forms of investment and expenditure that companies generally recognise through their standards and accounting systems are geared around existing business models, but those business models are changing quite rapidly.’ Brassell says it’s not just about how companies find these assets and recognise these areas of expenditure, it’s about how they can be encouraged to see it as investment for the future. ‘We encouraged companies to think about the anticipated lifespan of each category and apply that to their portfolio,’ he says. ‘It may feel like this year you’ve spent x amount on innovation. But if you were to represent that like you would an investment in tangible assets, over the expected period of benefit of that investment it was actually x minus y. Depending on the portfolio of investments, that could be a very substantial difference. It proved a very interesting conversation starter.’
Integrated approach The study also explores the link between accounting for IP investment and integrated reporting. ‘We wanted to think about what a detailed examination of your intangible assets means if you are going to take on a different way of reporting like IR, where you are looking at the flows of capitals within your business,’ says Brassell (see box). ‘Yes, your financial capital is being depleted when you’re investing in R&D, but you’d expect your intellectual capital and probably your human capital to be developed further as a consequence. It’s the notion that things are not lost in this process, that capital is being transformed rather than costs being sunk.’ There is a very high degree of compatibility between IR and the NCII tool. ‘If you were going through this kind of process you would find it much easier to articulate what the numbers were at different stages of the process and I think there are some similar disciplines
The six capitals of integrated reporting The six capitals that feature in IR are: financial capital; manufactured capital; intellectual capital; social and relationship capital; human capital; and natural capital. The integrated thinking model is that they act as inputs for the company and are then transformed through the business activities into outputs and outcomes. Source: The International Integrated Reporting Framework (IIRC 2013)
involved,’ says Brassell. ‘Frankly, if a company found it difficult to work with the NCII methodology they might struggle with IR as well.’ He believes that the growth of IR will get finance professionals more interested in highlighting both the value of intangibles and the role they play in creating value. The trial will now be extended to a wider sample of UK SMEs and will ask how this information on intangible assets could help companies with funding strategies. ‘It’s very evident that companies are investing in very different things,’ says Brassell. ‘Finance has to find ways to support that transition.’ Even if companies succeed in identifying intellectual assets, that may not mean they are exploiting or protecting them properly. According to Rosa Wilkinson, innovation director at the UK government’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO), companies are ‘wide-eyed and witless’ about managing their intellectual assets. ‘They don’t tend to think about them until something happens,’ she says. ‘Until the advent of things like Dragons’ Den, an awful lot of businesses never drew IP into mainstream conversations – it’s not on the balance sheet, it’s not physical, why would I think about it?’ To help firms communicate the value of their IP to potential funders, the IPO has worked with the financial services industry to put together the IP Finance Toolkit. ‘Financiers and companies are talking completely different languages,’ she says. ‘The toolkit helps take businesses through the process of documenting their IP assets and pinning a value to them in a way which will be understood and credible for the financial services industry.’ The IPO is also keen to encourage the market in intellectual assets: often firms develop IP assets that they cannot exploit themselves. ‘Any trade in IP tends to go on between people who already know each other – people aren’t sure where to find a marketplace for their IP,’ she says. Business insurance also needs to develop to include IP. As trusted advisers, financial professionals can help clients talk about these new additions to the balance sheet. ‘They can raise all sorts of issues with them and the issues they raise can radically alter their client’s potential for growth,’ she says. ‘IP can feel terribly scary, it feels technical, but the basic principles are very straightforward – you’ve created something and it’s yours.’ ■ Mick James, journalist Read the report Innovation, intangibles and integrated reporting: a pilot study of Malaysian SMEs at www.accaglobal.com/ab/234
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Preparing the ground
Following the launch of its integrated reporting framework, the IIRC is now working to create the conditions for IR to flourish, says Jonathan Labrey
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major innovation is taking place across the world: the evolution of corporate reporting towards a more integrated and inclusive system. Integrated, because silos lead to gaps and inefficiencies that today’s fast-paced and interconnected markets will not tolerate and will price accordingly. Inclusive, because long-term financial performance depends on the efficient and productive management of resources not currently measured by traditional accounting methodologies – human, intellectual, social and relationship, and natural ‘capitals’. It is clear that despite some tangible progress, especially in the field of environmental and risk accounting, traditional financial reporting must do more to open its doors further to the measurement and management of these multiple resources, to enhance the confidence of investors so that the best becomes the norm – and the norm becomes reporting that is concise, cohesive and complete. Integrated reporting (IR) is no longer a punt: it is the guarantor of the future relevance of corporate reporting and the umbilical cord that connects a business to capital market decision-making, economic progress and social wellbeing. Investors are increasingly seen globally as critical to solving the puzzle of how we move from an economic and capital market system based on short-term decisions towards something more focused on longterm value creation. In particular, we are witnessing market and regulatory initiatives designed to forge a more meaningful dialogue between boards and investors based on the critical factors that will encourage long-term performance. At the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), we are working to help businesses think holistically about their strategy and plans, make informed decisions, and manage key risks to build investor and stakeholder confidence and improve future performance to create a better understanding of the factors that materially affect an organisation’s ability to create value over time. The IIRC is a global coalition with high-profile council members and ambassadors leading the movement for IR adoption. There are now more than 750 participants in IR networks worldwide: in Japan alone, 180 businesses are currently practising IR. More than 1,000 businesses globally are using it to communicate with their investors and there is increasing interest in IR among pioneers in the public sector. When the International Integrated Reporting Framework was released, it caught the imagination of businesses, investors, regulators, standard setters,
the accountancy profession and NGOs the world over. Regulators in countries such as Brazil, Japan, India and the UK are among those who see IR as a route to more cohesive reporting and financial stability. Now the IIRC is working to create the conditions for IR to flourish. In the current world climate, we believe that three economic governance shifts are essential to create a more secure, stable and successful global economy. We express this world view with reference to three ‘system shifts’: financial to inclusive; short term to long term; and silo reporting to integrated reporting. We have underpinned each of these shifts by practical and actionable recommendations.
Financial to inclusive
Jonathan Labrey is chief strategy officer at the International Integrated Reporting Council.
Our view here reflects the thinking of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and many others who believe that
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financial innovation and deepening has limits. We need to acknowledge, through policy, the interconnection between finance, people, planet and knowledge. So we believe a broader, or more inclusive, perspective of value creation, based on the six capitals model, can help to encourage a more long-term perspective. At the core of any organisation is its business model, which draws on what we describe as the capitals (financial, manufacturing, human, social and relationship, intellectual and natural capital) as inputs and converts them, through value-creating activities, to outputs such as products, services, by-products and waste. Working within this view of the business model can provide fresh outcomes and stimulate evolution and change. As Mark Carney, chairman of the UK’s Financial Stability Board (FSB) and governor of the Bank of England, has said, if the global economy is to prepare itself to run an economic marathon, rather than a series of sprints, it
must learn to incorporate social capital considerations into financial capital allocation decisions. And so the IIRC’s role is to encourage governments, stock exchanges, central banks and others to recognise, first, the capitals model as an inclusive way of expressing value and, second, to recognise the interconnectedness of the capitals.
Short-term to long-term capital Our second shift concerns the capital markets and seeks to bring about a move from short-term to long-term thinking and behaviour. The IIRC’s view is that IR alone cannot deliver the shift in thinking and decision-making in capital markets: incentive systems and the quality of dialogue between boards and investors need to change too, and reports such as the Ito Review in Japan and the Kay Review in the UK have pointed to the value of reporting reform as part of broader capital market changes, such as the introduction of stewardship codes,
The IIRC The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), as the global authority on IR, strives to be market-led and evidence based, acting as a driver for corporate reporting reform. It is a global coalition of regulators, investors, companies, standard-setters, the accounting profession and NGOs. Together, this coalition shares the view that communication about value creation should be the next step in the evolution of corporate reporting. For more information on any of the developments mentioned please contact: info@theiirc.org
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which we welcome. We believe IR can provide the information architecture that underpins a constructive and meaningful dialogue between investors and company boards, one that is based on an organisation’s strategy and the decisions that flow from it.
Corporate reporting Our third shift relates to the corporate reporting system itself, from silo to integrated reporting, and we believe this builds on the economic and capital market shifts. We favour a principles-based and cohesive reporting system, reflecting integrated thinking and resulting in a concise communication about value over time. And to activate integrated thinking and the abolition of silos it encourages, we are calling on governments, regulators and standard-setters to facilitate innovations in corporate reporting. We are doing our bit with networks across the world plus regulators and stock exchanges as part of those discussions. We also engage with initiatives such as the Financial Reporting Lab (UK) and the Corporate Reporting Lab (Japan) which are market driven, albeit within the safe confines of the regulator or government.
Worldwide challenges Over the last three years we have shown that an integrated and inclusive corporate reporting system
can deliver practical benefits to businesses and investors. Now it is time to extend these principles to strengthen the quality of economic and corporate governance, and spread the rewards of IR to a much wider, global audience. We are continuing to work with other organisations internationally to do this. We are also gaining strength worldwide, with IR on the agenda of international bodies, for example the B20, which is taking an interest in IR as part of the answer to market challenges across the globe. As part of our list of priorities for 2015, we plan to contribute to recommendations to the G20/B20 process. This builds on the substantial report commissioned by the B20 in 2014 from the world’s major accounting networks, which recommended IR as a tool to encourage more long-term investment. This year we are part of the process as participants in each of the six taskforces of the B20. We are also focusing on contributing, through partners, to discussions around the Sustainable Development Goals and COP21 United Nations climate change talks. The aim is to advance the argument that to achieve sustainable development and financial stability, an information infrastructure needs to be in place that works to achieve those goals and a reporting approach founded on the principles of IR. Another key target for this year is to engage with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to encourage consistency between capital market regulation and the principles of IR. IR is part of the solution to today’s economic, capital market and corporate reporting challenges, but it is not a silver bullet. It fixes the ‘broken windows’ in the corporate reporting system, but more far-reaching changes are required to ensure IR benefits not just the business pioneers, but all market participants. This philosophical shift in the focus of capital market regulators towards encouraging good behaviour and best practice, as well as being the guardians of market culture in an era of complex interconnected economies, is important. It is consistent with another regulatory development: the spread of stewardship codes, which recognise that investors share responsibilities with management for the effective stewardship of the business and place real value on high-quality dialogue between boards and providers of financial capital. The legendary businessman and investor, Warren Buffett, once said: ‘Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.’ We hope our policy dialogue encourages changes through the economic, capital market and reporting chains that provide more meaningful signals, achieve better risk management and provide the conditions for higher performance and long-term returns. ■ Read the IIRC’s reports Creating value: value to the board and Creating value: value to the investors at http://tinyurl.com/iirc-creatingvalue Edition 11 | 51
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A special case
In light of the global crash, PwC partner Rich Sharko is leading an IAASB project focusing on audit quality in the large economy-driving financial institutions
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wC partner and American in Moscow Rich Sharko has joined the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) at a key time. With its major project on auditor reporting now completed, the board will be focusing on a range of new issues. Sharko’s talents will be put to good use, particularly his extensive expertise in the field of financial services audit. Sharko will be chairing a new IAASB working group focused on audit considerations relevant to financial institutions. The project’s scope is likely to extend beyond banking to include other financial services sectors such as insurance. ‘There’s a lot that can be done,’ Sharko says. ‘There have been a lot of requests from regulators and other stakeholders for us to look at this. Can we give guidance? Can we make some amendments to standards where things are unclear? Can we consider how auditors are going to deal with the changes resulting from IFRS 9 on financial instruments? There will be some forward-looking information to consider, so how do you audit that? This is all new stuff that we have to think about.’ When AB interviewed him, Sharko had just begun thinking about the likely challenges involved in the financial institutions project, with his first meeting with the board on the topic coming up. Initially he was expecting the discussion to involve some brainstorming on the direction the project should take, and some education on the likely issues. ‘You want to make sure everyone understands why we are doing this,’ he says.
Getting the best thinkers Two key drivers for the project stand out for Sharko: ‘The financial crisis and the change in accounting standards. If you put those two together, there’s a good reason for the “why”.’ The high degree of complexity in financial institution audits is another contributing factor. Project outputs are likely to include non-authoritative guidance in the form of an international auditing practice note (IAPN). ‘Being non-authoritative, you can get it out more easily,’ Sharko says. ‘You don’t need as much due process.’ Such an IAPN could be developed in a year and a half, he hopes. Another reason for issuing an IAPN is that auditing standards, like accounting standards, are meant to be industryneutral. Sharko acknowledges there may be a concern that ‘tomorrow the telecoms industry is going to come 52 | Edition 11
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knocking on the door’. However, he says: ‘I think regulators around the world realise that those large banking or insurance institutions, both internationally and nationally, drive the economy. You really do need to give some help, some guidance – and get some of the best thinkers on audit out there.’ The IAPN aside, some auditing standards could need revising to take account of the complexities associated with financial institution audits. For example, Sharko expects that ISA 540 on auditing accounting estimates will fall within the scope of his project. ‘That’s one where you probably have to enhance certain of the requirements,’ he says. He adds: ‘We also want to do something on how auditors interact with supervisory agencies, regulators. There used to be a practice aid on that, which over time was considered stale and withdrawn. So we will do something fresh, but similar.’ Other topics likely to come up during the working group’s discussions could include loan loss provisions (under IFRS 9), valuations and how to use specialists such as actuaries. Even though IAS 620 provides help on using the work of an expert, financial institutions may need more. ‘For insurers, pension funds, banks – you might have credit specialists who are state-of-theart specialists,’ Sharko says. ‘How do you bring them in? How do you rely on them? I think that’s an area we need to look at.’ What impact does Sharko hope his working group will have? ‘I hope audit quality improves,’ he says. ‘And based on our guidance and any enhanced requirements, I hope that helps the auditor address the risks that are facing financial institutions.’
Playing the long game The task isn’t likely to be easy, nor completed speedily. ‘Projects like this aren’t short-term,’ Sharko explains. ‘We won’t get anything out tomorrow. As a new board member, you want to get there and get something out. But I think this will be a one to three or four-year type of project. The first year is to find out about the issues and concerns. I am real interested in making sure we have a wide net, covering all stakeholders – regulators, standard-setters, auditors, audit committees, clients themselves. Some could say that things are great right now; some will say everything is wrong. Auditing standards are for everyone, so some will question how far we take an industry focus. People around the world will have different views on that.’ Sharko is also joining the IAASB’s working group on
quality control, which has just got under way. ‘This is something dear to my heart again – as an auditor, as someone who has been involved in risk management,’ Sharko says. He notes the increasing focus on the role of the engagement quality control review partner since the financial crisis. Many factors influence audit quality, Sharko points out. ‘Clearly standards can help. Training can help. Better execution can help. And there is a lot of focus on the review partner because that person is here to help establish and ensure quality. I can see that will be an important aspect of the quality control project.’ This is of particular personal interest to Sharko, who, he says, has reached an age where he has become ‘that type of person on engagements’ for PwC. Sharko is keen to bring this experience to the IAASB, alongside his skill in both technical accounting and auditing. He has developed and maintained expertise in both areas during his career at PwC, applying it to good effect in the audit field. Though an American who gained his Certified Public Accountant qualification in California (where he is still licensed), Sharko has spent almost half his 32-year PwC career working in emerging markets – mainly Russia, but also in Hungary and Ukraine. Broad technical and practical experience has been essential. ‘In emerging markets people come up to you and say, “I have this issue. How do you audit it?” If you know accounting, it should help you figure out what you need to do for auditing. And if you’ve seen the audit work, you can see how execution needs to be improved.’
An eye on developments As an IAASB board member, Sharko will be joining in discussions on audit issues such as the potential use of data analytics. ‘I say, show me the benefits,’ he says. ‘When people talk about it, I see it’s powerful. But I do wonder, will people really understand data analytics? I look at the wider group of auditors – would this be effective for everyone? I have an open mind and want to find out more about it.’ The potential for assurance on integrated reports is also something the IAASB will be contemplating. ‘If at the end of the day the users say they need this, you need to find a way to do it,’ Sharko says. ‘I think the big territories will provide the lead – the UK, the US, Europe.’ If users there demand broader information from companies, assurance may follow. Sharko believes auditors could develop the necessary skills, given the right training. ‘Most people will need to get a different mindset,’ he says. ‘It’s the same with audit reporting.
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Rich Sharko This year, Rich Sharko became a member of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. In 2013 his appointment as PwC’s chief risk officer for Central and Eastern Europe for a two-year tour of duty was his latest role in a 32-year career with the Big Four firm that began when he joined Price Waterhouse in 1983 in Los Angeles, California. In 1996, he became a Price Waterhouse partner, following stints in the UK, Hungary and Russia. He continues to work in London and Moscow, leading the Accounting Consulting Services team for Central and Eastern Europe. In 2009, he joined the PwC network’s global board (a four-year appointment that ran until 2013). Edition 11 | 53
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It’s a sea change in what we are doing there.’ Having issued its new and revised auditor reporting standards in January, the IAASB will be monitoring their impact closely. Sharko considers the project, completed before he joined the IAASB, a success and hopes auditors will rise to the new challenge. ‘Auditors need to be able to write in understandable language,’ he says. ‘Users need to be able to understand what it all means.’ Nevertheless, Sharko appreciates that standard-setters and regulators can’t assume that, just because new standards have been issued, auditors will automatically succeed in applying them as intended. It’s not just about ‘different wording’, he stresses. The fact that territories such as the UK and the Netherlands have already been experimenting with more expansive auditor reports is helpful. ‘Those are both great territories to lead because they try to put what’s right,’ he says. ‘Therefore the auditors and the audit committees have a little more flexibility. They think that if they try to do what’s right, then they don’t have to worry about the legal stuff. The concern I have is whether other jurisdictions will take that same mindset. In accounting you have national differences – I would hate to see that in this area.’
‘Auditors need to be able
to write in understandable language. Users need to be able to understand what it all means’
Investors can provide a positive influence by articulating what they want to see in auditor reports. ‘If you get user groups and investor groups saying that this stuff is important, if they say, “We want this information in language we can understand,” then that would be helpful,’ Sharko says. Awards for high-quality reporting can also have an impact. ‘I like the way that there are awards in the UK, for example,’ he says. ‘Good disclosures get recognised.’
A different type of animal Given that much of Sharko’s career has been spent in Russia, he is familiar with some of the tougher challenges an auditor can face. ‘There are positives and negatives to being an auditor in Russia,’ he says. ‘The positive is that clients look at you as a specialist. They didn’t necessarily grow up with people who were auditors, so you are a different type of animal. You have unique experiences, so you can give them interesting and unique advice. On the other hand, so much is state-owned.’ As Sharko points out, auditing standards are written on the assumption that auditors can get access to everything they need, but this isn’t necessarily so in Russia. ‘It’s challenging sometimes,’ he says. ‘You have to think about alternative approaches. And sometimes you can’t get there. There’s a lot of judgment involved and some of the training you need is the “kick the tyres” type training, but how do you get that? So the people with experience are really sought after.’ ■ Sarah Perrin, journalist
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Evolve or die
Imagine you had the audit profession in your office as a client. What course of action would you advise? Evolve or die, suggests Grant Thornton’s Nick Jeffrey
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nce upon a time I was asked at a party what I did for a job. It was a polite enquiry from someone I had just met – there was no hidden agenda. I am ashamed to say I ‘confessed’ to being a fighter pilot. The response to that – ‘You’re an auditor, aren’t you?’ – not only ruined my evening, it also provided my friends with plenty of ammunition in the weeks and months to come. This memory came back to haunt me when I was speaking at a series of ACCA/Grant Thornton roundtables on the future of audit. I find my job interesting and challenging, and I know it performs a public benefit, so why was I afraid that others would find it dull? Why didn’t I have pride in what
Nick Jeffrey is director, public policy, at Grant Thornton.
I did? Or at least insufficient pride to explain that to new acquaintances? Would my project with ACCA help auditors of the future avoid similar embarrassment and help them speak with pride and passion instead? In recent months, ACCA and Grant Thornton have jointly hosted a number of roundtables about the future of audit. We chose locations to cover a range of business environments with differing characteristics, in China, the EU, Singapore, South Africa, the UAE, the UK and Ukraine. We invited representatives from a range of stakeholder groups such as companies, providers of finance, and policymakers to a series of private open-ended discussions (under the Chatham House rule) to share their views and experiences. In November we will publish a deeper analysis of what we heard, together with more detailed implications and recommendations for policymakers and the accounting profession. Yet with a couple of roundtables still to go, some themes are emerging.
Enabler of growth Everywhere, audit was seen as an enabler of growth. At its most effective, it underpinned market confidence, mitigated the cost of capital, boosted capital flows and served as a cornerstone for the business environment. However, the impact of audit remains unfulfilled in some countries and nearing its use-by date in others.
Location, location, location For some people, the start and end point of a discussion about the future of audit is historical financial statement audit. For others, audit has a future as part of a range of assurance services that address a range of user needs on a range of data sets, not all of which are financial. The conversations we heard could be split between the two groups, depending on where the discussion was held. Broadly speaking, we found that what people think about the future of audit reflects the evolution and development of their local business environment. For some, audit is a comparatively recent offer, with finance providers mainly interested in financial
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information about a company and little else. There is limited interest in other assurance services that might replace or complement the audit. In such countries, the future of audit is all about building consistent quality and making the process more efficient for companies, users and auditors. The audit might be increasing in popularity, or demand for audit might outstrip supply. The auditing profession might be relatively small, making use of expertise from other countries, or in the early stages of moving from national to international standards. The quality of audits might be inconsistent, or there might be relatively few firms capable of auditing banks, utilities or the public sector. A consistent message was the need to get as much as possible from the audit. Equally important was the need to build user confidence and scale in the auditing profession before moving on to anything else – the market is not ready. For others, audit has been mandatory for a long period. There may have been moves to exempt businesses of certain types or sizes from the audit requirement. Companies may have more skilled finance teams, producing more trustworthy financial information. Finance providers may receive regular financial updates as a matter of course, so that the annual audit report is old news and only confirmatory. And they may receive a
The future of audit was discussed at a series of
roundtables in China, Brussels, Singapore, South Africa, the UAE, the UK and Ukraine, chosen to cover a range of business environments with differing characteristics regular, rich and varied range of information about the business, which is critical for investment decisions but is not financial and not part of the audit. In these countries, audit is seen as a critical bedrock for larger companies, but with no value other than confirmation of what is already understood about a business. For companies that are not large or publicly traded, there are significant questions being asked about whether the audit report is useful. And if not, whether it should be scrapped and replaced. This has important implications for standardsetters and regulators. Whatever your operating environment, a stable body of standards is essential. For the first group, a stable body of standards fosters understanding and improvement in audit quality. For the second group, there is a feeling that only marginal gains in the usefulness of an audit are available, which
Audit as a facilitator for growth *
Facilitate innovation through flexible, proportionate regulation and an avoidance of regulatory straitjackets. * Providers should listen carefully to users, and understand who the users are, what information they use, and what they use it for.
may be out of proportion to the effort required to capture those gains. While consistency of standards is important for international business, the implication is that standard-setters need to articulate the business benefit of changes.
Who, what, why Where doubt in the roundtables was cast on the continuing usefulness of an audit report, the common misgivings were about: * who: the report is addressed only to shareholders * what: the report is issued months after the period end and covers only historical financial information * why: the report is a standardised product with limited reference to particular user needs. In other words, the audit report misses a significant group of potential users, and would not give them what they wanted when they wanted it anyway. And for ongoing users, the audit report is not as useful as it used to be because it only confirms the basis for other more timely and impactful information previously published by the company. That is never a great combination if you are seeking steady and sustainable revenue growth. There was some speculation from roundtable
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Robert Stenhouse FCCA ‘Whilst “reports of the death of audit are greatly exaggerated”, to misquote Mark Twain, the audit profession cannot afford to be complacent. The real question is “what is the future of auditors?” By auditors, I mean finance professionals who can analyse business information, interpret it, use industry expertise and professional scepticism to challenge it, and communicate their findings. The ACCA vision is to be number 1 in developing professional accountants the world needs. The world will always need accountants with auditing skills; even if it decides it no longer needs audits.’ Chair of ACCA’s Global Forum for Audit and Assurance, and director, national accounting and audit, Deloitte UK
Sue Almond ‘For many years, the focus of standard-setters and regulators alike has been on audit, and especially setting the basis for consistent, high quality audit. This stems from the profession’s long-standing public value role in building trust and confidence in financial information. That role is just as important today, but perhaps in a broader context. With so much information available, and not just in a financial sense, users are working out what they need, and how reliable they need each element to be. Assurance may well be the way to differentiate quality, trustworthy information.’ Head of assurance at Grant Thornton UK and former ACCA external affairs director
participants about which other users could benefit from a form of report on a business. There were some ideas about what business information other users needed, what they would use it for, the degree of reliance they wanted to place on it, and when they needed that information for maximum benefit. No-one knew the answers, and there were no consistent themes. There was agreement that relying on information about a business implied a degree of confidence in the quality of that information. The greater the degree of reliance, the greater the required degree of confidence. At some point, on some issue, there would likely be a user need for independent confirmation from a skilled and trusted third party.
Doctors make the worst patients
– someone with an audit background – a degree of comfort that there will always be a need for some form of assurance on historical financial information. Even in a future of virtual currency, a business will fail if it runs out of virtual cash. Throughout my career, auditors have been dogged by an expectation gap, independence scandals and it being perceived as an increasingly unattractive line of work. In some countries the historical financial statement audit is thought to be a dying product because it is expensive but unvalued. All of which sounds like an extract from conversations that accountants have with clients every day. It is time for accountants to stop behaving like doctors who smoke cigarettes and drink to excess. If we were advising the audit profession, and faced with the circumstances in front of today’s audit profession, what would we advise our client to do? Clearly, it would be: evolve or die. As a public policy professional, these roundtables have given me renewed hope. They show a future for assurance that leaves behind the concerns about the expectation gap and the rest. A future where assurance skills are instead valued and demanded by the users of our assurance products. Where the product can be tailored and informative and respected. And a future assurance career which is the number one destination for our brightest people simply because it is the most varied, interesting, rewarding (in all senses of the word) and challenging. It is admittedly quite a stretch to imagine a complete turnaround where future fighter pilots hold themselves out to be business assurers. But I am sure that we business assurers will in future have greater pride in what we do. If only we knew what our customers want. But that is for another day. For now, I am off out with my nine-column, my pencil and my calculator. And my flying goggles. ■
The key to success is knowing what your customers want. There has been a lot of talk in Europe about the impact that increasing the audit exemption limits will have on the profession. These roundtables have given me
The ACCA/Grant Thornton report The Future of Audit is at www.accaglobal.com/audit-quality and also at www.grantthornton.global/
The conclusion? Assurance The future of audit is assurance. This is more than just a rebranding exercise to let auditors become providers of assurance services. It uses the core skills of what we refer to today as an auditor. These services collectively still offer a significant public benefit. But with assurance those skills are applied in a more flexible and proportionate manner to individual circumstances and specific user needs. Assurance therefore delivers bespoke services and products that should be much more rewarding for all parties from users to companies to firms and their people. This has implications for policymakers. The regulatory environment needs to facilitate innovation in this area, even to the point of keeping out of the way until there is evident demand for standards or independent oversight of providers. Providers and businesses should be free to develop these services unhindered by excessive standards, and remain flexible to respond to market demands, or even changes from one client to the next.
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Accountancy Futures | Audit | Internal audit
Skills skirmish
Given the expanding role of internal auditors and their importance in governance, the battle for talent has never been more important, says the IIA’s Richard Chambers
T Richard F Chambers is president and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors, the global professional association and standard-setting body for internal auditors.
here’s a war on for talent, and sooner or later it will fundamentally change the way companies attract, develop and retain employees. The lesson from this battle is not just that the right talent can create value for an organisation, but that holding on to that value will require more from employers than ever before. While most industries are on the battlefield, the internal audit profession soon may become one of the hardest hit. While tell-tale signs of a talent shortage within internal audit are just now coming into focus, the problem may already be acute. In the US and Canada, for example, a recent survey by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) indicates that almost 30% of chief audit executives plan to increase internal audit staffing levels in the coming year, while only 3% expect to downsize. Many of those looking to expand their rosters will likely be disappointed because just as demand for
internal audit talent is growing, the pool of qualified job candidates seems to be drying up. From January to May 2015, the IIA’s jobs board published more than 22,500 new job listings – more than double the figure from only two years earlier. But the number of new resumés posted on the jobs board actually fell by about 42% during the same period. This may be good news for job seekers, but the outlook is downright dismal for employers in search of new talent.
The global talent wars The battle for internal audit talent is the latest skirmish in a significantly longer war. Back in 1997, a year-long study by McKinsey identified an increasingly competitive landscape for recruiting and retaining talented employees. McKinsey’s report, The War for Talent, indicated that the search to attract and retain talented employees will become a constant, costly battle with
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no final victory. In internal auditing and a few other specialised fields, that battle is now becoming ferocious. Demands on internal auditing can be cyclical. For example, when corporate frauds or network intrusions become front-page news, we tend to see a hiring spike for internal auditors. Now and then, new rules such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 are enacted and a major hiring spike results. But today’s hiring increase is altogether different.
Changing times, changing needs The search for the best and the brightest internal auditors gained new momentum last year when KPMG’s Audit Committee Institute published its 2014 Global Audit Committee Survey. More than 80% of survey respondents said internal audit’s role should extend beyond evaluating the adequacy of financial reporting and controls, to include other key risks facing the business – but only 50% said their internal auditors possessed the skills and resources to be effective in the role the directors envisioned. The report clearly demonstrated that boards of directors and other internal audit stakeholders see the value internal audit can offer beyond traditional assurance audits. But it also spotlighted the very serious nature of the skills gap facing the profession. It’s not just that new employees are difficult to find. In today’s job market you can almost always hire someone. But finding the right someone for many internal audit positions can be a daunting undertaking. According to the KPMG study, the scarcity of people with skills required for new emerging roles is perceived as the most critical market shortage in the global talent wars. A career in internal auditing can be immensely rewarding, but at times the work is also immensely challenging. The quest for internal audit talent is not a war for warm bodies. It is a war for competency. Extraordinary new demands are being placed on the internal audit profession, and a select few people have the right blend of skills to succeed in this highly challenging career field. Unfortunately, the knowledge, skills and attributes necessary to evaluate complex operational areas, entity-wide risk management programmes or corporate governance structures can be difficult to acquire. Today’s internal audit departments are charged with evaluating the organisation’s largest risks, even if those evaluations require complex combinations of auditing techniques, analytical skills, technological know-how, risk management expertise, operational knowledge, compliance proficiency and business acumen. Throw in the interpersonal skills, investigative ability, reportwriting skills and other attributes necessary in a comprehensive programme of internal auditing, and skills gaps can be compounded. As a result of the increased demand for internal auditing skills and various other factors, many experts believe we will see increasing pressure on all career fields that demand similar skillsets, such as accounting. That pressure already seems to have begun. In the US,
for example, the demand has helped drive down the unemployment rate for accountants and auditors to 2.4%, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics – less than half the overall unemployment rate of 5.3%. The Bureau predicts employment growth for accountants and auditors will continue to outpace other professions in coming years. Although unemployment rates vary in other parts of the world, a clear pattern is emerging. Among the world’s advanced economies, a shortfall in high-skilled workers of between 16 million and 18 million is projected by 2020, according to a 2012 McKinsey Company report. It’s not hard to imagine, then, that some job openings may draw no qualified applicants. In the new economy, competition is global, capital is often abundant and many people are increasingly willing to change jobs or career fields – including some of our best employees. The war for talent is not just a hiring war; it is also a war against attrition where fully staffed, highly trained internal audit departments can lose key employees at any time. Career options were more limited when the unemployment rate hovered around 10% a few years ago. But as economies improve, talented internal auditors will have more opportunities, while management teams will have fewer options for how to replace them. Earlier this year, the IIA published the 2015 North American Pulse of Internal Audit report. It includes four key imperatives for forging a strong talent management strategy: create an organisational risk profile, assess team skills, identify skills gaps and develop strategies to close them, and address strategic business risks and the effectiveness of risk management. Given the expanding role of the internal auditors and their importance in organisational governance, many companies have reached the point where internal audit talent is as integral to organisational success as capital, strategy or R&D. For example, capital is relatively accessible today for sound ideas and projects, but it’s the internal auditor who can help ensure not only that capital needs are considered appropriately but also that capital is used efficiently and effectively. The best strategies invariably are copied by competitors, but it’s the internal auditors who can help ensure that the strategies are executed in a way that facilitates accomplishment of goals and objectives, and that risks are properly and prudently managed. The battle for internal audit acumen is too important to be ignored. As globalisation and competitive pressures take hold and improving economic conditions spur employees to seek new jobs, the internal audit skills shortage will grow. Organisations simply cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the challenge of recruiting, developing and retaining internal audit talent. ■ Read the IIA’s 2015 North American Pulse of Internal Audit at bit.ly/iia-pulse Read KPMG’s 2014 Global Audit Committee Survey at bit.ly/survey-kpmg Edition 11 | 59
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Accountancy Futures | Global economy | Sustainable development
Seeking sustainability
The next few months will be a critical time for action on climate change and sustainable development – and accountancy has a key role to play, says Rachel Jackson
T
he next few months could see historic progress – or failure – in sustainable development and climate change action. This September, national leaders gather in New York for the UN summit organised to adopt a new set of sustainable development goals (SDGs) – a ‘plan of action for people, planet and prosperity’, as the outcome document is likely to state. The SDGs will replace the expiring Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and run from 2016 up to 2030. From 30 November to 11 December, the centre of sustainability action moves to Paris for the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21). The goal here is to set a universal and legally binding protocol (to replace the Kyoto Protocol) supporting the goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to levels capable of limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius. Each event affects the other. Success in achieving the SDGs will depend in part on firm commitments being made to reduce emissions at COP21. Similarly, COP21 commitments and subsequent action by governments to
reduce emissions will be encouraged by the agreement of strong environmental and climate change SDGs.
Building on the past
Rachel Jackson is former head of sustainability at ACCA.
The eight MDGs look set to be replaced by 17 SDGs which address three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. While the MDGs were focused on issues around people (such as eradicating extreme poverty and reducing child mortality), the SDGs also pay substantial attention to environmental sustainability and economic factors (for example, access to affordable and sustainable energy, promoting sustained and sustainable economic growth, and building resilient infrastructure). The SDGs are intended to be action-oriented and so are supported by 169 associated targets that define the ‘means of implementation’. Some of these are specific and numeric, such as sustaining at least 7% GDP growth per annum in the least developed countries, but many are more general, for example, to increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises to financial services. Whether they will have real impact therefore remains to be seen.
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Terence Jeyaretnam ‘When businesses work to create societal value, they do not just make a positive impact on society – they also perform better. In a survey EY conducted with the Harvard Business Review, 87% of business leaders believe a company performs best when its purpose goes beyond profit. The sustainable development goals (SDGs) offer a powerful way for this to make a greater impact on both business and society. The accountancy profession has an important role in measuring and accounting for the value created and helping governments and business meet their SDG goals.’ Partner, climate change and sustainability, Melbourne, EY Australia
Rodney Ndamba ‘Implementing SDGs in Africa should be high on the agenda. The goals provide the opportunity for the continent to work with specific and measureable targets, which will require continuous monitoring and evaluation of progress and impacts. The accounting profession has a critical role to play in allocating appropriate and adequate resources, measuring performance and reporting progress from both government and private sector. Achieving the goals and targets in Africa will be a defining factor and legacy for any leader in accounting, business and politics.’ Chief executive, Institute for Sustainability Africa (Insaf)
Adrian Henriques ‘Few can disagree with the aspiration represented by the SDGs. But there are questions over how it will be monitored (the coherence, precision and role of the targets will be crucial) and how it will galvanise corporate activity. There are also questions as to how far the SDGs really embody human rights. These are mentioned several times in the introduction, but the MDGs were equally admirable and their realisation was sadly lacking. To avoid this fate, we need vigorous action by nations as well as the unequivocal backing of companies.’ Vice chair of ACCA’s Global Sustainability Forum, and a sustainability, governance and CSR adviser and researcher 60 | Edition 11
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Nevertheless, the goals and targets are the result of over two years of intensive public international consultation, including the establishment of an Open Working group, with 30 members representing 70 countries and two elected co-chairs, one each from a developing and a developed country. Throughout July 2015 negotiations took place on the final wording of the goals and targets, and of the outcome document to be adopted by heads of state and government in September.
Unfinished business The draft outcome document acknowledges that there is ‘unfinished business’ in relation to the MDGs. It notes that ‘progress has been uneven, particularly in Africa, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states, and some of the MDGs remain off-track, in particular those related to maternal, newborn and child health and reproductive health’. It is also clear that extreme poverty and hunger have not been eradicated, for example. Successful implementation of the SDGs, as the draft outcome document notes, will require ‘a revitalised global partnership for sustainable development’, and the actions of governments. UN member states are encouraged to set ‘ambitious national responses’ to support implementation of the SDGs, and to conduct regular progress reviews. Successful implementation is also seen as depending on ‘the resources, knowledge and ingenuity of business, civil society, the scientific community, academia, research institutions, philanthropists and foundations, parliaments, local authorities, volunteers and other stakeholders’.
(Previous page) Green giant: this ecologically sustainable office tower in Sydney was awarded six-star green status by the Green Building Council of Australia.
Role of accountancy Some of the SDG targets have specific relevance to the accountancy profession, such as improving the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthening the implementation of such regulations, or substantially reducing corruption and bribery. Developing and running sustainable businesses is also increasingly part of the accountant’s role. So both as individuals and through the representation of their professional bodies, accountants have an important part to play in the successful implementation of the SDGs. The accountancy profession is already helping to stimulate thinking around sustainability issues. ACCA, for example, through its Global Sustainability Forum, is looking into how accountants can help businesses assess and report on their impacts and dependencies on natural capital – the stock of natural resources (such as ecosystems, air and water) from which people can derive benefits. ACCA has also been holding roundtables to consider the factors that could boost the introduction of a living wage – relevant to the SDGs of ending poverty and promoting decent work for all. Research is also being conducted into how fossil fuel companies report on their risk of stranded assets (reserves that can’t ultimately be developed due to emissions controls or other factors) – an issue likely to rise up the agenda of investors if governments do introduce tight emissions targets backed up by regulation. Now is the time for accountants to take a leading role in developing sustainable business models and incorporating sustainability into decision making. ■
Mike Kelly ‘SDG 8 prioritises employment, decent work for all and social protection. To end poverty requires a full range of policy interventions, including voluntary instruments. One such, the Living Wage, is a well-established concept that enables people to provide for themselves and their families and promotes sustainable economic growth, leading to healthier communities, businesses and societies. Accounting practices and other large businesses can lead by example.’ Chair of ACCA’s Global Sustainability Forum, head of corporate social responsibility, KPMG and chair of the Living Wage Foundation
Teresa Fogelberg ‘Goal-setting for the SDGs is a critical part of understanding where we are today, and what we hope to achieve in 15 years. In order to achieve the SDGs, a real commitment to global partnership has to be made. This means that businesses must play an active role in bringing the SDGs to fruition. This is where GRI is working to help. Together with UN Global Compact and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, GRI will launch the SDG Compass, a tool that will help the global community monitor business contributions to the goals, at the UN Summit.‘ Deputy chief executive, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
Jane Stevensen ‘Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing us; it has a direct impact on poverty around the world, with significant implications for economic activity, and therefore corporate performance. Poor and developing countries will be among those most affected and least able to cope with the shocks to their socio-economic and natural systems. We represent organisations sharing the concern that financial markets do not take sufficient account of climate-related corporate performance, and consequently the risks and opportunities relevant to future value.‘ Managing director, Climate Disclosure Standards Board 62 | Edition 11
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Africa | Global economy | Accountancy Futures
Local heroes
With necessity being the mother of invention, Africa is well placed to make innovation drive its economy – and is increasingly waking up to the idea
A
new wave of innovative solutions is emerging across Africa. These innovations are making people’s lives better and moving the continent forward. They are driven by megatrends, impacting businesses, the economy and individuals alike, while playing a key role in Africa’s growth and development. This new wave of innovative solutions did not just happen by accident; the continent took many baby steps before it eventually gained its rhythm. A combination of ingenious improvisation and the myriad challenges bedevilling the continent has brought about these innovative solutions. The African Union is an organisation that aims to accelerate and promote cooperation among African countries. It also sees innovation as a key
Got the whole world in their hand: an M-Pesa mobile money transaction page displayed on a mobile phone at a market in Kenya’s capital Nairobi.
What innovation looks like *
Innovation does not necessarily mean inventing a new product or service – it can be incremental, improving on already existing products and services. * Innovation can take the form of changes in the business model, production, markets and customer experience. * Organisations that innovate experience better performance and productivity. * Organisations that innovate think and act differently, identifying insights and opportunities around the external environment they operate in.
tool for the future advancement of the continent. Its initiative, Agenda 2063, aims to help Africa to turn its opportunities into strengths. One of the major areas the initiative aims to explore is the use of innovation as a major driver and enabler in achieving the development goals of African countries.
The e-wallet in Nigeria This is a story of how the Nigerian government used technology to clean up an agricultural sector that was hampered by corruption, inefficiency and red tape. Before the introduction of the e-wallet system, Nigerian farmers couldn’t buy fertilisers (plant nutrients) directly from producers; the government procured the fertilisers and sold them to distributors at subsidised prices with the expectation that the subsidies would be passed on to the farmers. Sadly, the distributors and unscrupulous middlemen engaged in profiteering to the detriment of the farmers. The Nigerian government was able to curb and control this sector through the innovative efforts of its then minister of agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina. He developed the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme, otherwise known as the e-wallet system. This system allows farmers to access fertiliser subsidies directly
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NEPAD The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is an African Union framework for socio-economic development. It is championed by African leaders to address challenges facing the continent. The framework allows African countries to cooperate and share knowledge to meet their development agenda. The NEPAD report, African Innovation Outlook II, is available at bit.ly/AIO-II.
by using their mobile phones. It completely cuts out middlemen and distributors – farmers simply use their mobile phones to trade and conduct transactions at the touch of a button. This simple and innovative solution is reinvigorating Nigeria’s agricultural sector, and Nigerians can once again look forward to a return to the heady days of the 1960s, when the country was one of Africa’s agricultural powerhouses and enjoyed fine prospects. Innovative solutions like the e-wallet system that cut costs and boost productivity are particularly welcome in agriculture because the sector is so critical to the growth of Africa’s most populous country. According to World Bank data, agriculture accounts for 21% of Nigeria’s GDP; and, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, the sector is the country’s largest employer of labour.
Waste in West Africa
M-Pesa in Kenya M-Pesa is similar to the e-wallet system in Nigeria but came into existence much earlier. The similarity lies in the use of mobile phone technology for financial transactions. M-Pesa uses mobile phone platforms as a money transfer and microfinancing tool. The concept
started in Kenya and has since been adopted in other countries including Afghanistan, India, South Africa and Romania, making it an African success story. M-Pesa lets users pay, receive and transfer money via a mobile phone. Its popularity skyrocketed as mobile phones became ubiquitous and permeated the hinterland. Users sign up to M-Pesa by initially depositing cash with one of the agents for Kenyan mobile phone network Safaricom, who are spread across the country. With money in their account, users can then transfer funds, pay bills and conduct many financial transactions on their phones. M-Pesa is so successful because it has many factors in its favour. For example, users don’t incur the exorbitant money transfer charges made by conventional banks, and it is simple and convenient to use. Although it attracted some hostility from conventional banks, which argued that this kind of non-branch banking added to financial instability within the system, it has gone from strength to strength.
Akinwumi Adesina, the government minister who championed an e-wallet system for Nigerian farmers.
Nigeria’s Lagos State contains the country’s biggest urban area – the mega city of Lagos, with a population of over 17 million people. It has ageing infrastructure and faces a major challenge in the area of waste management. Given its very high population density and decaying infrastructure, the state is facing an urban waste crisis. The government agency responsible for dealing with the problem is Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA). In September 2014, it predicted that the per capita solid waste generated every day in Lagos State will increase from 0.5kg to 0.7kg in the next five years, further exacerbating the strain on the system. Private companies are getting involved. A startup company called Wecyclers has developed a solution that lets low-income communities capture value from their waste through recycling. Its business model is to incentivise people in such communities to recycle their waste. The company has gained lots of traction within a very short period, winning a Sustainia award in 2014 for empowering local communities to make money from unmanaged waste polluting their environment. It’s an example of how innovation can be born out of a desperate need to solve an underlying problem.
Continental gift The raison d’être of the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) is to encourage African-led solutions and to increase the prosperity of Africans. AIF helps catalyse innovation and wants to see the emergence of needsbased innovation on the continent. AIF awards US$150,000 in prizes. Its 2015 prize for the innovation with the highest social impact went to Lesley Erica Scott of South Africa. She invented the Smartspot TBcheck, which examines the accuracy of machines used to detect tuberculosis. This invention is helping in the treatment of this killer disease. 64 | Edition 11
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Waste not, want not: Wecyclers, a startup company in Nigeria, enables low-income communities to make money from their waste through recycling.
Many African governments also see innovation as a tool to solve social problems and accelerate development. The African Innovation Outlook II report, from the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, reveals that they now see innovation as a driver of long-term growth, competitiveness and better quality of life. Private sector companies are also contributing to innovation in Africa. Emerging Crowd is a UK-based crowdfunding company that encourages investment in emerging economies.
Creating, not copying
3rd Africa Congress of Accountants The 3rd Africa Congress of Accountants (ACOA) was held in Mauritius in May 2015. The theme was ‘Rising Africa: Partnering for Results’, encouraging accountants to work with businesses and government to create sustainable development. ACCA was a gold sponsor of the event. Attended by 850 delegates, mainly from Africa, ACOA was set up to provide a forum for accounting professionals and leaders in the management of business, commerce, industry and the public sector to share ideas to help grow the economies of Africa and ease poverty. Coordinated by the Pan African Federation of Accountants, ACOA’s core vision is to be the leading influencer for developing a regional professional accountant community across Africa, fully committed to professional growth.
The future will be very exciting for Africa and Africans, and many businesses will start feeling the impact of innovation. Companies that invest in innovation will use it as a strategic tool for gaining market share and building sustainable profitable businesses. Technology will also continue to have a big impact on innovation in this millennium. It will open up the African continent to the world and further expose its citizens to vistas they never knew existed. The future holds a lot of promise for Africa, and technology will be the bridge between Africa and the rest of the world. Rather than copying innovations from other parts of the world and adapting them to local needs, Africans can become pathfinders coming up with groundbreaking innovations that will be exported to the rest of the world. This is already happening in trickles, as
Olivia Kirtley at the ACOA Watch our video of International Federation of Accountants president Olivia Kirtley speaking direct from the 3rd Africa Congress of Accountants. It’s available at www.accaglobal.com/ab/224.
can be seen with M-Pesa, but it’s bound to gain critical mass as access to technology improves. Innovation will create a domino effect that will impact all sectors of the continent’s economy. Current realities dictate the drivers that will shape innovation in Africa in the next 50 years. Such drivers include technological advances, the growth of more startups and the need to solve local problems. Investors now see Africa as the next great growth region of the world. In Goldman Sachs’ 2007 research paper Beyond the BRICs: A Look at the ‘Next 11’ Nigeria was identified as one of the 11 countries with a high potential of becoming one of the biggest economies this century. Against this background, the hope is that Africa’s brightest minds will continue to build on the successes of M-Pesa and the e-wallet system and come up with disruptive innovations that will shake the world. ■ Kayode Yusuf ACCA, finance professional and journalist Edition 11 | 65
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Accountancy Futures | Global economy | Bangladesh
A very modern auditor
Bangladesh’s auditor general Masud Ahmed wants to use good practice to leverage the national economy by bringing accountancy techniques up to date
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angladesh’s top auditor understands only too well the key role strong auditing can play in an emerging economy – for good or bad. Indeed, he does not mince his words when he recalls the role that auditors played in the country’s capital market collapse in 2011, which ruined millions of small investors. The Dhaka Stock Exchange’s Benchmark General Index slid 35% in that year, its worst annual drop since a 67% plunge in 1997. Comptroller and auditor general Masud Ahmed says auditors with weak ethics were partly responsible for the 2011 debacle by falsifying accounts for employers and failing to report the true state of health of companies to investors. A high-level government investigative panel set up in 2011 subsequently identified ‘unreliable’ financial reporting standards as another reason for the excessive stock market volatility that year, which cost investors US$27.1bn in lost capitalisation between December 2010 and October 2012. Ahmed says that companies have a responsibility to hire effective auditors, taking qualification and ethical record into consideration. He believes that a proposed Financial Reporting Act 2015, which is making its way through the Bangladeshi parliament, the Jatiyo Sangshad, will help to iron out financial irregularities.
‘Once we’re in a position to
make performance audit effective, our job of financial audit will be less’
‘You will have to disclose many more things than you were required to in the past,’ he says. Notably, an 11-member Financial Reporting Council will be able to issue warnings to certain organisations that fail to follow financial reporting and auditing standards, codes and guidelines, or distort financial statements. The council could order financial statements to be changed. It would also be able to review the audits of a registered auditor, inspecting or collecting copies of all the auditor’s records and annual balance sheets, seeking information and explanations about their work, and questioning partners or staff members. That said, Ahmed is still waiting for the reforms to come into effect. Although the law secured cabinet backing in August 2013 (an amended version was also backed in November 2014), and the ruling Awami League
dominates parliament, its approval by lawmakers has been delayed, mainly because of a row between accountants and management accountants over their representation on the reporting council. In the current version of the bill, one member would be appointed to the council from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) and one from the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB). In the past, ICAB has opposed the presence of management accountants on the council, stalling final agreement of the reforms. Meanwhile, Ahmed is racing against the clock to achieve his key strategic goals: the introduction of performance audits throughout the economy and a switch to double-entry accounting by 2018 for all government offices and agencies. He is talking to ACCA about an agreement in which it would help train government staff to oversee and implement the introduction of double-entry and accrual bookkeeping. This, he says, will mint a new generation of financial professionals able to ‘look after the financial health of the nation’. Without doubleentry accounting, ‘auditing will not be healthy’, he says. Apart from state-owned corporations and financial institutions, most government offices in Bangladesh maintain traditional single-entry accounting methods. It’s something Ahmed wants to change so that international standards can be met. He also wants to see the accrual system adopted across government, helping to deliver a ‘true and fair’ view of government assets and liabilities in its books. However, he makes it clear that converting to accrualbased accounting will be a lengthy process. It took 76 years (from 1907 to 1983), for example, for all British government agencies to switch to full accrual systems, and while Sri Lanka has partially switched over, India and Pakistan have yet to. As for performance audit, Ahmed is following up the results of an ongoing pilot scheme, undertaken with technical assistance from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. ‘Once we’re in a position to make performance audit effective, our job of financial audit will be less,’ he says. ‘Earlier, we were interested in figures: how much money was spent?’ He says that performance-based audit would mean his auditors would be able to look into issues such as whether the ration of patients to doctors is a healthy one, whether students bring the country benefits, and whether Bangladesh should continue paying for a particular kind of education.
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In a country where industrial accidents are endemic, workplace performance audits make sense. Health, education and energy are the obvious sectors to start with, but Ahmed says they could be extended into factories – he cites the recent Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen Fashion fire, which together killed more than 1,200 employees. Such audits already take place in zones where foreign buyers place orders. To do this, he says, his office needs to recruit technical experts. It’s just one of the tasks Ahmed faces in his goal to introduce strong auditing to Bangladesh. He takes inspiration from the country’s first president and ‘father of the nation’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, from whom he learnt ‘how a Herculean job could be done’. ■ AZM Anas, journalist based in Dhaka
Masud Ahmed Bangladesh’s comptroller and auditor general since 2011, Masud Ahmed has also served as the lead official on the country’s central planning organisation, the Planning Commission. As secretary in the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, he administered a tribal area, and he has been director general of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, a finance member of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority, deputy secretary of the Ministry of Shipping and Economic Relations Division, senior finance controller at Defence Finance, and additional accountant general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has also served as director of the Defence Audit Directorate, chief accounts officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and assistant accountant general for the Post, Telegraph & Telephone Office. He is also a prolific writer, with more than 100 short stories and six novels to his name. His novel Choitropaban O Digontorekha, about Bangladesh’s Liberation War, won considerable critical acclaim. He also performs Bangla songs of the golden age on stage and for television. Edition 11 | 67
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Accountancy Futures | Global economy | Capacity building
War on talent
Without a pipeline of qualified accountants, businesses in emerging economies will not be able to prosper, says ACCA’s Lucia Real-Martin
E Lucia Real-Martin is director of emerging markets at ACCA.
arlier this year, ACCA met with the Afghanistan Ministry of Finance in Dubai. The meeting also included Afghan employers and learning providers. The aim was simple: to focus on how we can all play a role in developing the accountancy profession in the country as it emerges from years of strife. The meeting was just one example of how we as a profession are pulling together around the world to ensure the emerging economies, whether in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe or Latin America, have the capacity to provide local accountancy expertise in concrete and sustainable terms. For without a pipeline of qualified accountants, business enterprises will not be able to prosper and take full advantage of the national and international opportunities that are available. And the knowledge that we are helping to build a profession inside countries such as Afghanistan will help boost the confidence of outside investors. The meeting, which followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Afghan government and ACCA in February, is just one example of the work that we are involved with around the world. Other examples include a similar MoU with Tanzania, where ACCA recently established an office in the
country’s capital Dar-es-Salaam, while at the beginning of the year Colombia’s Business & Legal Advisories become Latin America’s first registered learning partner with ACCA, in recognition of its ability to meet a range of challenging performance targets. These examples demonstrate how emerging economies understand the importance of a flourishing accountancy profession, which will give assurance to investors, but also valuable advice to entrepreneurs as they seek to grow their own businesses. However, just as there is a wide range of economies that would qualify as emerging markets, so the development of the accountancy profession within these economies covers an equally wide range. Some are in the very early stages, while others are able to support more than one professional body and can offer the very best of education and professional standards. These markets can change rapidly. For instance, if one were to look at countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, 10 to 12 years ago the concept of a professional accountant was very nascent, but during the past decade it has developed considerably, together with the professional bodies. In fact, ACCA was present earlier this year to help the Vietnam
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A Colombian flower grower cuts roses ahead of Valentine’s Day. Colombia is the world’s second-largest flower exporter behind the Netherlands. Below left: A street vendor walks past a mobile phone shop in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Association of Certified Public Accountants (VACPA) celebrate its 10th anniversary. As in a number of other emerging economies, the Vietnamese accountancy profession is regulated by the government through its Ministry of Finance, as indeed is Cambodia through the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The international accountancy profession, through bodies such as ACCA and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), has worked to support such government departments in their roles as regulators and standard-setters. In Vietnam, ACCA is supporting the Accounting and Auditing Policies Department within the Ministry of Finance to build its institutional capacity and enhance its regulatory function and oversight of the profession. Alongside this are two World Bank-funded initiatives to modernise VACPA’s membership management and training functions, but our partnership is going far beyond this, with ACCA acting as VACPA’s sponsor in its application to become a full member of IFAC. But we remain conscious that different economies will have different requirements and rates of development so a one-size-fits-all approach would not be appropriate, and the future of partnerships between
the key stakeholders – governments, professional accountancy organisations, training and education organisations, accountancy practices, businesses and investors – will almost certainly be one that requires flexibility, even if the goal remains the same. We have also seen how the role of a professional accountant has shifted in recent years, and that is set to continue into the future. In fact, it will be a key factor in the moves to bring more talented individuals into the profession. In the past, professional accountants were often thought of as auditors, part of a regulatory necessity. That is now changing, as international bodies such as IFAC promote accountancy as a career. Indeed, 60% of ACCA’s members work in the corporate world. But there is still a shortage of professional accountants, which is why there needs to be a shift in role from auditor to a wider professional adviser. Many people want to work in business, run their own business, or advise businesses on strategy, either internally as a full-time member of the team, or externally as a consultant. And many are beginning to realise that a professional accountancy qualification will give them that business understanding. This is particularly acute in emerging markets.
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Buying food at a night market in Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
For instance, there are currently some 36,000 qualified accountants in Malaysia, mostly members of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, though a growing number have joined the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants. However, it is recognised that as the economy continues to grow, this number will need to almost double in the coming years if they are to fulfil strategic and advisory roles as well as statutory ones. Growth in these economies could be hampered if there is not equal growth in the profession. The war for talent is not just a problem for developed economies.
An emphasis on professional standards will drive out corrupt practices and promote greater transparency
There will be other added benefits for the emerging economies as they build their professional accountancy expertise. An emphasis on professional standards will drive up ethical standards, drive out corrupt practices and promote greater transparency. Finance ministries say professional accountants will not tolerate inappropriate business practices.
Broadening skills And as the profession is built, it will move from offering pure technical skills to more rounded professional ones.
We are already seeing this in a number of countries where the profession is now well established. Building capacity in educational institutions will be one of the keys to this transition – student accountants need to demonstrate they understand the concepts, but also that they are work-ready, with a wide spread of additional skills such as communication and problem solving. The growth of outsourcing services in a number of emerging economies presents many opportunities to build the profession as they represent a shift in the way accountancy services are provided to many businesses and public sector organisations. But as these services develop, so the need to act as a business partner within the outsourced team increases. This in turn creates additional pressure on the educational institutions to instil wider skills within the profession, and to anticipate future needs; as the demand for such global business services evolves, many organisations will no longer see the move to an outsourced function purely in terms of cost. They will look at the skills available, and the potential to upskill the staff. This will also play a key role in retaining talent for outsourcing providers. So where does the future lie for the profession in emerging markets? Every jurisdiction will have its own unique attributes and will be at its own stage of development. But we have seen rapid progress, and expect that there will be more momentum, understanding and participation from the professional bodies as the pace of development accelerates. But it is essential that, as the profession builds, it is built to a consistent architecture. The adoption of international standards in financial reporting and auditing will go some way in supporting this. A consistent approach will also aid the transfer of skills and knowledge between sectors and economies. Joint exam schemes are one way to promote consistency and portability – ACCA currently has 16 such partnerships with national accountancy bodies around the world that allow students to sit one set of exams that satisfy the entry requirements of both ACCA and the national body. But it doesn’t stop there. Continuing professional development is a key component of maintaining professionalism, which is why ACCA has teamed up with the accountancy bodies in countries such as Cyprus, Malawi, Botswana and Zambia to offer robust CPD programmes. At the same time, joint monitoring programmes between national regulators and international professional bodies will ensure that standards and quality are maintained. Finally, one must not forget that the profession will need to adapt very quickly to a constantly changing world. Digital advances will provide huge opportunities, not just for businesses but also for those that support and regulate those businesses. They will allow greater opportunities for the transfer of knowledge and skills, and improve access to the profession, widening the pool of talent and increasing diversity. Those professional bodies that embrace such advances will be the ones that can drive the profession forward. ■
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Turkey | Global economy | Accountancy Futures
Full steam ahead
The Turkish accounting sector has been bolstered by a recent strategic partnership between ACCA and the country’s Union Chamber of Certified Public Accountants
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urkey’s financial accounting and audit sector has grown to be worth more than US$3.3bn, riding a 15% compound annual growth rate between 2005 and 2012. Leading companies in the sector believe stable growth will continue, as long as the government continues to adopt European Unionoriented accounting standards. This work has made great progress, but there is certainly more to do. The Turkish Commercial Code No 6102 introduced EU company laws into Turkey from 1 January 2013. It has mandated financial audits and the use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), but only for Turkey’s largest companies – those with assets worth a minimum of Turkish Lira-TRY75m (US$25.6m), turnover of TRY150m (US$51.2m) and 250 employees. The number of companies that meet these criteria is
at most 2,500, according to data from Turkey’s Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority (KGK). For most companies, Turkey’s national accounting standards apply – standards which have been subject to criticism. Taylan Baykut, tax restructuring partner of Mazars Denge, explains: ‘Turkey moved into an inflation accounting model in 2004 and then repealed it. We have not been applying inflation accounting for 10 years. Therefore, real estate that you could have bought in 2005 for US$100,000 stays with its previous value in the financial statements even if its value rises up to US$1m. For this reason, the financial statements of 99% of the companies in Turkey do not reflect their actual financial status.’ He says change was needed within corporate Turkey, where companies still looked at accounting systems
East meets West: a ship sails along the Bosphorus behind the Sultanahmet or Blue Mosque at dawn.
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as being about tax collection rather than corporate financial health: ‘The system in Western economies serves to reveal the real financial power of the companies,’ he says. Mazars Denge provides independent audit, tax, accounting and consulting services and internal control services from offices in Istanbul, Bursa, Ankara, Denizli, Gaziantep and Izmir provinces. The company has 350 employees, 250 in Istanbul, and approximately 1,000 customers across the country, more than 50% of which are multinational. There are also concerns about the IFRS law on auditor rotation. Murat Alsan, partner and audit head of KPMG Turkey, says: ‘According to the Turkish commercial code,
‘The financial statements
of 99% of companies in Turkey do not reflect their actual financial status’ after using the same auditor for seven years in a row, the company has to work with another auditor for at least three years. However according to EU law, European companies rotate their auditors at intervals of between 10 and 24 years, which makes a huge difference. A large portion of our customers are international companies and the differences in the rotation periods creates a problematic situation. We demand the legislation be fully compatible with EU standards.’ Gökhan Alpman, partner and audit services leader of Deloitte Turkey, says: ‘Implementation of a sevenyear mandatory rotation period causes the auditing firms to enter into a price competition in order to maintain their market share.’ He expresses his
ACCA and TÜRMOB sign strategic partnership ACCA has signed a strategic partnership with Turkey’s Union Chamber of Certified Public Accountants (TÜRMOB), which will help TÜRMOB members gain ACCA membership. The two organisations are to create a system leading to joint membership, notably with TÜRMOB members gaining exemptions from ACCA’s fundamental level papers. ACCA and TÜRMOB will also explore co-branded diplomas to support the needs of the accountancy profession in Turkey. The agreement was signed by former ACCA president Anthony Harbinson and Nail Sanli, president of TÜRMOB, in April at TÜRMOB’s 10th Turkish accountancy forum in Konya, Turkey. Harbinson noted that ACCA and TÜRMOB have worked together since 2004 and the organisations ‘are delighted to be formalising a new agreement’. He said: ‘ACCA and TÜRMOB share similar values and goals – especially those of ethics, high educational standards and professionalism. We also share a commitment to building and sustaining the accountancy profession, which is central to this agreement. ACCA is already closely involved in the development of the profession in Turkey, and so this signing marks the next exciting steps in our work together as professional bodies.’ Sanli said: ‘What lies at the heart of this agreement are our shared goals and aims to enhance career prospects for anyone of ability who wishes to enter the profession.’ Keith Nuthall, journalist
concerns about decreasing prices impacting the quality of services delivered by some firms in the sector and advises them to focus on a quality audit rather than price. Alpman, who worked at Deloitte Boston for two years, became a Deloitte Turkey partner in 2007. The firm has offices in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and Adana; its work in the commercial capital Istanbul comprises 80% of its business. Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, risk and financial advisory services with its 1,300 employees, including nearly 450 auditors.
Attracting foreign investment Kenan Avci, founding partner of Moore Stephens Turkey, adds that in order for the country to attract more foreign investment, the government needs to ensure ‘economic stability, and a smoothly functioning justice system’. That said, Alsan stresses the importance of the new IFRS rules for larger companies and the establishment of the KGK on 2 November 2011. This ‘sets and issues both auditing and accounting standards in compliance with international standards, and provides licences to independent auditors and companies’, he notes. KPMG Turkey employs approximately 1,000 people across Turkey. The firm, which provides independent audit, tax and consultancy services to Turkish clients, has approximately 2,000 active customers that mostly comprise leading companies – it audits one third of the Turkish banking sector. According to statistics from the Union Chamber of Certified Public Accountants of Turkey (TÜRMOB), there are currently 98,305 accounting professionals in the country. This includes 10,312 public accountants, 83,339 certified public accountants, and 4,594 ‘swornin’ certified public accountants, one third of whom are women. More accounting professionals are needed, according to Avci: ‘The total capacity of the accounting sector in Turkey is equal to the annual return of any Big Four firm in Spain’. According to Murat Atik, an independent public accountant, based in Antalya, southern Turkey, the path to accounting qualifications in the country is long. Turkish citizen law, economics, finance, business, accounting, banking, public administration and political science graduates passing an internship examination work a three-year internship. A certified public accountant licence can be obtained with a proficiency exam, and those who work 10 years without interruption can take a certified public accountant exam. Those passing can take a public oversight authority exam, obtain an audit licence, then work for three years as an auditor, five years as a senior auditor, and 10 years as a lead auditor. ■ Mustafa Birol Güger, journalist based in Istanbul
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Slovakia | Public sector | Accountancy Futures
State of change
As Czechoslovakia split apart 22 years ago, Katarína Kaszasová FCCA found her true passion in reorganising accounting and audit in the new state of Slovakia
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n the 25 years since communism collapsed in Central and Eastern Europe, a new generation of dynamic finance professionals has emerged in the region. One of them is Katarína Kaszasová, director general at the Slovak Ministry of Finance. The 1989 revolutions in the region brought excitement but also huge uncertainty, which grew even greater when Slovakia and the Czech Republic went their separate ways on 1 January 1993. They also led to a surge in demand from businesses for qualified financial professionals. Kaszasová joined global audit firm KPMG in 1994, auditing the financial statements of companies prepared in accordance with national and international financial reporting standards. After leaving KPMG Slovakia in 2003, she joined the Slovak Ministry of Finance as director general of the state reporting section. She arrived at a significant time for the Slovak accounting sector and was involved in a number of key assignments. There were, though, some very real limitations. ‘Despite positive changes over the years, the Slovak Ministry of Finance, as with every state budgetary organisation, has been facing rigid limits on headcounts and expenses, and bureaucratic administration still involves signatures and stamps,‘ she says. There was plenty to be done when she joined. ‘At that time, Slovakia was introducing a series of structural strategic reforms, including public finance management reform and a move from cash-based to accrual-based public sector accounting and reporting,’ she explains. She and her team introduced accounting and reporting standards that were based on International Public Sector Accounting Standards, established a new consolidation system, trained thousands of public sector accountants in the new accrual-based methodology, and prepared the first set of whole of government accounts. The accrual project officially wound up in 2011, becoming an integral part of the ministry’s day-today work, while Kaszasová remains the ministry’s most senior civil servant. ‘Besides state reporting, my remit includes the development and maintenance of information systems for public finance management, loans from international financial institutions, state guarantees and bilateral investment treaties and disputes,’ she says. As vice-chairwoman of the Slovak Audit Oversight Authority, she has been closely following the impact of audit reform in the EU, particularly EU Regulation 537/2014 and Directive 2014/56, which require more
Katarína Kaszasová FCCA Director general of the state reporting section of the Slovak Ministry of Finance since 2004, Katarína Kaszasová is also a board member of the European Investment Bank, vice-chairwoman of the Audit Oversight Authority board, on the board of auditors of the European Stability Mechanism, and a member of the European Investment Fund board. Previously, she worked for KMPG Slovakia in various positions up to audit manager.
detailed and informative auditors’ reports, mandatory rotation of auditors for public interest entities, and prohibition of some non-audit services. ‘All of these are intended to raise quality standards in audit services, as well as increasing transparency,’ she says. Her ministry has been drafting the necessary amendments to Slovak audit law and discussing new rules with the Slovak Chamber of Auditors and the Slovak Audit Oversight Authority. ‘Quality and compliance with internationally accepted standards is a must,’ she says. ‘Otherwise, a lack of reliance on audit services could undermine the profession’s credit and even result in the downfall of the profession. This in turn would undermine the confidence of investors in the economy.’ ■ David Creighton, journalist Edition 11 | 73
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Accountancy Futures | Public sector | Financial reporting
An important tool
A study into whole of government accounts looks at how public sector accounts are used and finds they could prove an important tool for public policy decision makers on shelves around the political establishment until the next set arrive a year later. And this might in part explain why there has not been a rush of countries wanting to adopt such a system. There are only a few countries that do produce consolidated accounts, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK, and it is these five countries upon which the study focuses. ‘These countries went forward with such a system for different reasons,’ explains Gillian Fawcett, ACCA’s head of public sector. ‘It could have been for economic or political reasons, or both, together with a need to be transparent and accountable. We had heard a good deal of rhetoric about how these accounts were being
The Beehive - one of New Zealand’s parliament buildings. New Zealand has a more positive attitude towards consolidated accounts than other countries.
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ithout the appropriate level of investment in educating politicians, government ministers and other key stakeholders, effort spent creating consolidated accounts for the public sector could be wasted in the future. This is one of the conclusions to be drawn from an in-depth study of the whole of government accounts (WGA) prepared by a number of countries around the world. But if the accounts can be produced in a timely fashion, and presented in a format so that they are easily understood, then they will become an increasingly important tool for both public policy decision makers and those that scrutinise how public money is spent. The study, Consolidated government accounts: how are they used?, investigates how different systems of financial reporting of the public sector are put to use, who looks at the accounts and what impact they are having on public policy. And most importantly, it aims to show whether the rhetoric matches the reality: for some countries, the move to an accruals-based financial reporting system had been heralded as a brave new world of financial accountability, but there is a strong belief that the accounts, when produced, gather dust
used, but we hadn’t seen any specific research that explored this further. And perhaps not unsurprisingly, when we carried out a literature review, we found that the focus of previous studies had been on expected use rather than actual use.’ So what does this new study show, and how can it help inform the future direction and development of consolidated government accounts? ‘The focus on the use and usefulness of consolidated government accounts couldn’t be timelier as governments are striving to make best use of tight budgets to maintain quality public services as well as remain accountable and transparent,’ says Dr Danny Chow, a lecturer in accounting at Durham University Business School and lead author of the study. ‘But if government consolidated accounts are to go beyond being viewed by many commentators as mainly an accounting-centric function, more attention needs to be given to the potential users before governments embark on their journey of preparing consolidated accounts.’ Chow led a consortium of international universities in the study, finding that a combination of overly complex financial reporting and a lack of financial literacy among politicians is making it more difficult for policymakers to take advantage of the potential benefits available from the financial reports. However, the study reveals how the introduction of consolidated accounting systems in these countries could have a number of positive impacts if fully supported. For instance, in all five cases, the study finds that the move has been an effective stimulus in transforming the quality standards of accounting practices and systems across governments, which in the past had been heavily cash-based. At the same time, reforms based on consolidated government accounting
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have highlighted limitations in existing systems of accounting and accountability, such as under-reported liabilities or inconsistent accounting practices. That is not to say, however, that such under-reporting has been removed – in the UK, the National Audit Office continues to qualify the UK’s whole of government accounts for, among other things, failing to report on the assets and liabilities of bodies that it considers to be in the public sector. Also, variations in approach between the countries limit the extent of global comparisons. Each country draws its consolidation boundaries based on local specifics linked to its constitutional form rather than determined by adherence to a universal or accounting notion of consolidation. The UK delivers a single set of accounts that include central government, all local governments and public corporations, but excludes the part-nationalised banks. Australia provides separate accounts for federal, state and local governments, New Zealand produces separate central and local government accounts while Canada has individual accounts for federal government, each of the 10 provincial and three territorial governments, and all local governments. Sweden separates central and local government. These varying ideas of what constitutes government, and therefore should be included in the accounts, provide the backdrop for understanding how consolidated government accounts are being used and, more importantly, in defining who are their users. For instance, as the study says, in the UK we see the political desire to use accounting to illuminate macroeconomic policy issues, such as the build-up of long-term liabilities like public sector pensions, while providing a more cohesive and comprehensive
the other countries. Interestingly, the study also notes that the investment made by the major accounting firms in supporting the development of government policy, and then making available their resources and knowledge base, has been another factor in the continuing support for such accounts in New Zealand. Australia and Canada are similar to the UK in that their consolidated accounts are used primarily for compliance reporting and audit. Also, these countries are similar in that the real political debate takes place at the budgetary level. Sweden is unusual in that the consolidated accounts have become an integral element of public sector financial management. Accounts are released within four months of the year end (the fastest the UK has achieved is one year post year end), while the ability to audit the accounts, make systems improvements and achieve better asset management seem to be the biggest wins in the move to consolidated, accruals-based accounts. But the budget and EU mandated statistical accounts continue to be the dominant set of accounts used by politicians. And this perhaps drives at the central issue surrounding the use of consolidated accruals-based accounts. Until the basic financial literacy of politicians and government officials improves dramatically, then these sets of accounts will not be thoroughly scrutinised, understood or acted upon. ‘The financial literacy of parliamentarians will need to step up in terms of effective scrutiny,’ says Fawcett. ‘We’ve recommended that new members of parliament receive the appropriate induction and development programmes.’ At the same time, Fawcett suggests the need for appropriate follow-up subsequent to any scrutiny process. ‘And if they are to have credibility,
Until the basic financial literacy of politicians and
government officials improves dramatically, then these sets of accounts will not be thoroughly scrutinised, understood or acted upon
accounting-based information system underpinning all levels of government. But the use of the accounts for such macroeconomic management will remain limited until a time when the accounts are not qualified by the comptroller and auditor general. This situation is not helped by the fact that there are other competing accounting systems, especially the UK National Accounts. It would also appear that the length of time for which the consolidated approach has been in operation can have an impact on how it is used. The UK system is comparatively young, with the first set of accounts for 2010 being published at the end of 2011, while New Zealand has been producing its version since the early 1990s. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that the study finds a more positive attitude in New Zealand than in
then they will have to be timely, with more forwardlooking information,’ she adds. Organisations such as ACCA will play a key role in the future development of these accounts, both in terms of advising the immediate users such as the parliamentarians to aid their understanding, and on the technical side to ensure consistency in standards and application. But ultimately the accounts need to be useful. As Fawcett says: ‘We want the information to be as clear as possible for the end user.’ ■ Philip Smith, journalist Consolidated government accounts: how are they used? is available at www.accaglobal.com/ public-sector Edition 11 | 75
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Europe’s big three
Corporate reporting, EU audit reform and public finance are the top three priorities for Petr Kríž FCCA, the new president of the Federation of European Accountants
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n another sign that the economic and social divisions wrought by Europe’s ideological division between 1945 and 1989 are continuing to ease, in December 2014 Czech accountant Petr Kríž FCCA was appointed president of the Federation of European Accountants (FEE) – a post he will hold for two years. It is the first time in the history of this professional organisation that its president comes from a former Warsaw Pact country. At the same time Kríž will remain a partner with PwC Czech Republic.
Brussels last year. Each EU state has to implement the reform in its national legislation by summer 2016, which means that most of the legislative decisions and drafting needs to be done this year. The reform gives member states a significant amount of leeway to select the best way of implementing its principles, which means, notes Kríž, that rules between EU countries could end up diverging significantly. The FEE is looking for a more uniform EU market for audit services: ‘That’s why we are now trying in the
‘We are now trying in the Federation of European Accountants to encourage the member states to at least look at provisions that could have cross-border effects and try to align them’
‘I expect to dedicate about two-thirds of my work time to the president’s role, and I have kept a selected number of clients and some responsibilities within the PwC organisation for CEE [Central and Eastern Europe] for the next two years,’ he explains. During his term of office, Kríž would like Europe’s accounting federation to focus on three main priorities, which emerged as a result of FEE board discussions over the past few months.
Corporate reporting The first of those priorities is the area of corporate reporting. ‘It is not only financial reporting,’ he says. ‘There is currently a lively discussion about how to make sure that the information provided by companies and corporations provides a 3D picture of their activities. The role of their historical financial statements is diminishing in current economy.’ Non-financial information – corporate governance, research and development, the impact on the environment where the organisation operates, and some strategic outlook – is important here. ‘All these things should be somehow packed together and provided in a useful form for investors but also for other stakeholders,’ he says.
Audit The second major area is auditing and assurance. The 28 member states of the European Union (EU) need to implement the bloc’s audit reform – the EU regulatory framework on statutory audit – that was approved in
federation to encourage member states to at least look at provisions that could have cross-border effects and try to align them,’ he says. The reform, though, is substantial. ‘That’s a big change for the profession… audit has become significantly regulated,’ he says, stressing how it affects audits of public interest entities such as banks, insurance companies and listed corporations. One big question for him is whether smaller companies really do need a full audit. ‘We could provide some assurance about their financial statements but not the full audit based on the international standards on auditing because it’s quite demanding and probably not all small companies really need such a big assurance,’ he says. Indeed, there are suggestions that small companies below a certain size threshold should not be required to carry out an audit. Kríž says he does not think it is right that mid-sized and bigger companies would be subject to statutory audit while slightly smaller companies would not. ‘I’m definitely not speaking about auditing micro-companies, but small companies can be relatively big for the Czech economy and it would make sense to have review,’ he says. He cites Denmark – currently experimenting with so-called ‘extended review’, which provides some assurance rather than a solid audit – as an example. ‘I think for small companies the cost benefit works much better when it’s a lighter touch than the full audit needed for listed companies, for example.’ As for small companies, he thinks it should be up to each member state to decide whether they require
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an audit or review. ‘There should be a public debate about what is the best solution,’ he says. Kríž says that some parts of the reform are likely to be more effective and efficient than others: ‘I’m quite supportive of the idea that all the services the auditor is providing to the audited company should be pre-approved by the audit committee because the audit committees of large corporations should really be guardians looking into the logic of the services provided by the auditor.’ On the other hand, he points out that there are a lot of services where the auditor has a unique position and can provide value for money to the audited company. ‘There are clearly services that are not compatible with the auditor’s mandate and these need to be prohibited,’ he says. ‘And part of the prohibition list is clearly focused in that direction.’ That said, he thinks the reform package does not focus squarely enough on audit quality. ‘The question is, what are the audit quality indicators and how do we distinguish that this audit or that auditor is providing quality work while another one isn’t so much? Audit quality is the key and it will also help audit committees to select the right auditors who will allow not only corporations but also the public to distinguish between the good and the bad.’
Public finance His third strategic priority is public finance. ‘This is really looking at the public sector side,’ he says. ‘It starts from tax collection and continues into public sector accounting and clear transparency in spending. I think it’s a win-win situation. On the one hand there will be more transparency on taxation – the inflow of money – and on the other there should also be more transparency on public spending.’
A portable profession Meanwhile, looking at the efforts of the EU and the US to strike a comprehensive trade deal in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks, Kríž does not see any reason why qualified accountants from Europe could not work in the US and vice versa. He points out that a lot of CFOs and accountants are already moving between the continents. ‘If companies are interested in employing them, there should always be the opportunity to do so,’ he says. ‘I really don’t think it would significantly affect the accounting profession because outside the statutory audit the current situation is not that bad in the accounting profession and the new changes we currently see in both corporate reporting and auditing will help a bit, but it wouldn’t be a qualitative change.’ As for auditors, it is about being properly licensed, although he believes some exams could be mutually recognised. But for American accountants wanting to work as auditors in Europe, there needs to be clear and formal recognition of qualifications ‘because auditing is really based on national or European standards’. ■ Martina Mareckova, journalist based in Prague
Petr Kríž FCCA Petr Kríž has been actively involved in the Federation of European Accountants (FEE – Fédération des Experts-comptables Européens) since 1995 and became its president in December 2014. He is also a member of the Chamber of Auditors of the Czech Republic and served as its president between 2001 and 2004. Except at the very start of his career, he has always worked for PwC, joining its Prague office in 1991, being made partner in 2003 and soon after becoming its financial services department lead. One of the first three ACCA members in Central and Eastern Europe, Kríž started studying for his ACCA Qualification in what was then Czechoslovakia in 1991 while working for PwC. ‘Managements now understand the value that this professional qualification provides,’ he says. He adds that he enjoys being part of the ACCA family as it provides him with insight into the accounting profession throughout Europe and on other continents. Edition 11 | 77
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Accountancy Futures | Public value | Education
Open to all
ACCA-X will significantly lower the cost of professional education and open it up to many more people – some of whom currently have no access to education at all
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n 2011 the recruitment company Marks Sattin claimed that accountants in Peru and Brazil were the highest paid in the world when purchasing power was taken into account. This, it said, was a reflection of the huge demand for accountants in emerging economies – vacancies in Brazil alone increased by 60% between 2009 and 2011. There is no doubt that accountants are in demand,
‘We are driven by the idea that education is a power for good’
particularly in the rapidly developing economies that have an insatiable thirst for finance acumen and business skills. People across the world are willing and eager to train as accountants, and the ACCA Qualification in particular is in high demand. The only problem, until now, has been how to bring this army of willing learners the high-quality training they want and need. The answer is ACCA-X, a new online training venture developed by ACCA in tandem with edX, the US-based innovator in open-source learning, and Epigeum, a leading content provider created by a spin-out company from Imperial College London. ACCA-X will offer a range of open-access online training courses, which can be accessed anytime and anywhere, on multiple devices. At the heart of the project is the desire to provide accessible, affordable and high-quality learning that will give ambitious people everywhere the opportunity to gain the skills and qualifications they need to embark on a rewarding career in finance. ‘The shortage of professionally qualified accountants in emerging economies is becoming a growing concern and we wanted to look at how we could best fulfil this need,’ says Reza Ali, ACCA’s director of new ventures. ‘At ACCA we have always worked closely with training providers and universities so we began to look at ways of scaling up our training so it could reach as many people as possible. We quickly landed on MOOCs (massive open online courses) as an approach. There is a lot of evidence to show that more and more people are moving towards online learning.’ ACCA set up a small team to identify possible partners to work with. The outstanding option for a technical partner was edX, a not-for-profit, open-source platform MOOC provider and online learning initiative founded
by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ‘EdX matched us well – they are the right scale, have a similar ideology and values to us, and they have impeccable technological credentials,’ says Ali. The feeling was mutual; Anant Agarwal, CEO of edX, says that edX partners with prestigious institutions across the world ‘to increase access to high-quality education for everyone, everywhere. ACCA is world renowned for its expertise in accountancy, finance and management and we’re thrilled to help deliver that knowledge and content to the global edX learning community.’ Epigeum, a not-for-profit organisation whose courses are used widely by universities, was identified as the right partner for the course content. ‘It has a very strong pedigree in writing high-level content,’ says Ali. ‘We were all very excited by the project and the positive impact that it is going to have,’ says Dr David Lefevre, co-founder and chairman of Epigeum. ‘We are driven by the idea that education is a power for good. The idea that the ACCA-X project will significantly lower the cost of education and improve access to many people – some of whom currently have no access to education at all – was a very attractive proposition.’ The first courses, which are 10 weeks long and typically require around three hours of study a week, began in July. The initial signs are that the project has far exceeded expectations. The first courses, which opened for registration in April and started in late July, have had a staggering 43,000 learners from 202 countries enrolled and embarking on a journey towards ACCA. ‘Business and management is the second most selected category of courses on edx.org,’ says Agarwal. ‘And finance is one of the most searched-for topics within our catalogue. Clearly, there’s a demand and interest for these skills.’ The first two courses – Introduction to Financial and Management Accounting (which leads to the ACCA Introductory Certificate) and Intermediate Financial and Management Accounting (which leads to the ACCA Intermediate Certificate) have been offered free of charge and are available anywhere in the world. ‘We decided to offer them for free because we are all committed to providing public value,’ says Ali. ‘We wanted everyone in the world who wants to gain a level of financial literacy the opportunity to do so, with no commitment, without charge.’ Three affordable courses at US$89 each will be offered in Bangladesh, India, Nigeria and Zambia
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from October. The courses, Accounting in Business, Management Accounting and Financial Accounting, prepare the student for the relevant ACCA paper, and success in all three, when combined with completion of the Professionalism and Ethics module, will lead to the Diploma in Accounting and Business. ‘One of the most exciting things about ACCA-X is that it gives us the opportunity to experiment with different types of learning,’ says Ali. ‘Some students learn best by listening to lectures, others by asking questions, and others when there is a high proportion of visual content. We are able to cater to the widest possible preferences.’ Learners are supported by online tutors, who guide them through the content and are available to answer questions. ‘It’s about the theory of accounting but also about how the theory applies in practice,’ says Ali. One of the unexpected additional benefits to come out of early trials is that ACCA-X is quickly establishing its
own student community, allowing learners from a huge range of cultures and backgrounds to come together, support each other and share their experiences. The team will be monitoring the project’s success over the coming months but the early signs are encouraging. The hope was that the courses would not only help to fulfil a pressing need for finance professionals in emerging markets, but open up a world of opportunities for an entire generation. ‘ACCA courses are life-changing,’ says Dr Lefevre. ‘There are people all over the world who cannot get access to training – these courses mean that their lives will now follow a different path.’ ■ Liz Fisher, journalist For more information on ACCA-X, please visit www.acca-x.com
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Accountancy Futures | Diversity | Pakistan
All on boards?
Pakistan-based barrister Arjumand Ahmed Shah looks at the barriers to women’s advancement to the board, and what is being done to remove them
T Arjumand Ahmed Shah is a barrister-atlaw in London. She is a legal consultant and is engaged in research and development at the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG). This is an edited version of an article previously published by the PICG.
he issue of women attaining senior positions in boardrooms has attracted a lot of attention recently. The past couple of years have seen a rapid advancement in women’s roles globally, with more women working side by side with their male counterparts. However, it is still a rarity to find women at senior-level positions in companies. It is generally observed that women have to overcome handicaps created by the established tracks that divide society into masculine and feminine. But that is not to deny the fact that change is happening. Today women in Pakistan, as in many other countries, are as career-oriented and committed to their professions as men, and even more so in some cases. More and more women are attaining education from reputable institutions, both within and outside the country, and entering the professions. Despite all the right ingredients, then, how is it that female talent does not have an equal place on executive boards? How do we move towards gender diversity on professionally organised corporate boards? The most typical reason for a lack of acceptance of women on boards is their absence in general
from boardrooms. This has been a place historically dominated by men and the image is of an aggressive, alpha male who succeeds in convincing his peers on the matters in question. Furthermore, the ideology that men are better suited to profit maximisation than women has added to the problem. Women often lack the ability to promote themselves and be assertive about their performance and ambitions. Another major reason for the shortfall of women in executive positions is the decision to cut short their careers. This could be to spend more time with family or because of a lack of ambition. Diversity yields better results and encourages innovative ideas and skills. And according to research from McKinsey, companies where women are strongly represented at board or top executive level perform better than others. So it’s not only about figures or promoting equal opportunities, but also about improving and enhancing business performance. It is about acknowledging social and consumer trends and incorporating women into decision-making. As it stands now, the female talent pool is underutilised and women do not have sufficient opportunity to develop their skills and gain the experience needed for effective board participation. In today’s competitive environment there is a dire need for well-qualified professionals who can work together as a team to further the interests of a company. A vast range of personal talents and experiences can be an added tool to meet the diverse needs of a company, including operating an effective board.
Compliance and regulation Although there is no evidence of any direct link between economic prosperity and a fair representation of women at the top of businesses, many countries around the world now realise that the lack of women at board level needs addressing urgently. The Catalyst group (www.catalyst.org), a leading nonprofit member organisation which works globally with businesses and professionals to build inclusive workplaces, does not show a very significant change in the statistics from 2009 to 2010. In both years, more than 50% of Fortune 500 companies had at least two female board directors, yet more than 10% had no women serving on their boards. In 2009 the percentage of women holding executive officer positions was 13.5% whereas in 2010 this rose to 14.4%. Also of interest here are the corporate governance principles and recommendations of the Australian 80 | Edition 11
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Securities Exchange (ASX). They were reissued in June 2010 and now contain recommendations relating to gender diversity. From 1 January 2010, companies listed on the ASX have to: 1 adopt and disclose a diversity policy 2 establish objectives for achieving gender diversity and assess the progress towards it 3 disclose in the annual report the proportion of women employees in the whole organisation, in senior executive positions and on boards 4 disclose the mix of skills and diversity the board is looking to achieve in its membership. In 2011, Lord Davies launched an independent review into women on boards in the UK, which set out recommendations to increase the number of women on company boards. The report recommended that FTSE 100 companies should aim to increase the proportion of female directors on their boards to 25% by 2015. It further suggested that companies should disclose the number of women on their boards and working in their organisations as a whole, to drive up the numbers of women with top jobs in business. Correspondingly, the UK corporate governance code would also require listed companies to establish a policy on boardroom diversity and to disclose their board appointment processes in the annual accounts. While Davies rejected quotas, he also suggested ‘the government must reserve the right to introduce more prescriptive alternatives if the recommended businessled approach does not achieve significant change’. The most important point to consider at this stage is whether boards actually want to acknowledge the benefits of gender diversity in their composition. Several countries have a quota system for female representation on boards. These include Norway, which has introduced a quota system that requires public companies to have boards comprised of up to 40% of female directors from January 2008. In December 2009, France also introduced legislation in parliament, which required women to make up 50% of the board of directors of publicly listed companies by 2015. And Spain has introduced a regulatory requirement that private companies awarded public contracts must have at least 40% of their board of directors comprising women by 2015. The quota system is not an ideal solution, as more emphasis should be placed on encouragement rather than dictating the elements of board composition. What is required is convincing corporate leaders of the benefits of a more open and inclusive approach to board selection.
The way forward A number of factors influence the ratio of women on boards, including company size and sector. The role of women in society in general is also a contributing factor. Smaller companies tend to have more women on their boards since these are typically family firms, where women tend to have a more important role.
Norway, which has a quota system, is held up as the success model for closing the gender gap, but following its model is problematic, and we may need to consider other options that look beyond quotas to the real benefits which women bring to the boardroom. With more and more awareness, and the global acceptance of gender equality, investors would be hesitant to do business with companies they consider old-fashioned. In an evolving corporate world where there is added emphasis on attracting, developing and motivating talented people, the demand for skilled candidates is much higher than ever, and for this reason companies cannot afford to be exclusive any more. Until it is accepted that the presence of women makes a positive difference to boards, it seems very difficult to envisage huge change. However, the pool of women with business credentials and experience has expanded, while at the same time selection criteria in companies have changed, with leading companies looking for women with private sector experience. Female directors who assist in the development and advancement of women in organisations could offer a way forward in ensuring a greater presence of women on corporate boards. This may also reflect favourably on a company in the eyes of shareholders and other female employees. This should be achievable without having to impose penalties for companies for not having any women on their boards. As the saying goes: ‘to keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it’. Likewise we must keep pushing forward and find the ways and means to achieve lasting change. ■
Gender equality is a whole-workforce issue: a rally in Lahore, Pakistan, to mark International Labour Day (above).
It’s a long way to the boardroom: woman making a traditional Pakistani curtain at a roadside stall in Karachi (left).
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New home: the Adelphi building in John Adam Street WC2.
consumption-driven growth will have the greatest longterm impact on global trade patterns, hitting the world’s major commodity exporters particularly hard. Read the survey at www.accaglobal.com/ab/243
Gender inequality a business risk Key changes that support greater diversity within businesses globally are needed to make them more successful, says Helen Brand, ACCA chief executive. Opening a Women in Finance breakfast in Kampala, Uganda, in August, she explained that ACCA’s recent report Increasing gender diversity to boost performance aims to help CFOs, senior finance professionals and HR professionals working alongside finance teams to understand the value of gender diversity. Brand said: ‘By tapping into the widest talent pool, employers can encourage innovative thinking, build relationships with a wider range of customers, and develop more resilient global value chains. ‘Enabling more diversity within the workforce and managing that diversity effectively is one way of maximising value from human capital. A global commitment to change, with a clear timeline, would give all those fighting for equality the confidence that it will be achieved. Many of the conclusions drawn in ACCA’s paper suggest actions are applicable to all forms of diversity initiatives, not just those aiming to increase the representation of women,’ she said. ■
ACCA moves headquarters ACCA is to relocate its London headquarters from its current location in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Holborn, London, to newly refurbished office space within the historic Adelphi building, John Adam Street, London. Central to the move is creating an efficient, collaborative, future-proof workplace designed to enable ACCA people to fulfil their potential which in turn will help ACCA achieve its ambitious strategy for the future, commented chief executive Helen Brand. ‘This historic building will provide us with the mix of heritage and modernity that defines the ACCA brand,’ she said. ‘Our new home will provide us with a dynamic, inspiring and sustainable workplace to which we will be proud to welcome our staff, students, members, partners and other stakeholders from around the globe – a world-class London headquarters that befits our world-class organisation.’ The move will take effect in December 2015, with staff moving into the new building in January 2016.
Global economy to remain volatile The global economy is facing a period of volatility and major readjustments, according to the latest global survey of finance professionals by ACCA and IMA (Institute of Management Accountants). The second quarter of 2015 saw an abortive rise in oil prices, several expected and unexpected rate cuts by central banks, a rebound in Western consumer sentiment and a stock market crash in China. These events led to business confidence levelling off in the second quarter of 2015 following six months of improvements, according to the latest Global Economic Conditions Survey. The slowing in confidence can be traced to the world’s largest economies: many businesses in the US were affected by severe winter storms, port disruptions and a strong dollar, while those in China faced a cooling economy in the first quarter and overheating stock markets in the second. Of these factors, China’s economic slowdown and accompanying shift from investment to
The report is available at www.accaglobal.com/ab/190
ACCA chief executive Helen Brand: ‘Enabling more diversity within the workplace is one way of maximising value from human capital.’
ACCA luminaries on camera ACCA has begun a series of video interviews with high-profile members. In the first, ACCA president Datuk Alexandra Chin FCCA (deputy president at the time of filming) talks about her journey from accountancy student to global ambassador. In the second, Taiwo Oyedele FCCA, PwC partner in Nigeria where he heads tax and regulatory services, talks about his career, as well as his Impact Africa Foundation, which raises funds and offers mentoring for the underprivileged. View the videos at www.accaglobal.com/ab/videos
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Accountancy Futures
Accountancy Futures
Editor Lesley Bolton lesley.bolton@accaglobal.com +44 (0)20 7059 5965 Contributing editors Jo Malvern, Colette Steckel Sub-editors Annabella Gabb, Dean Gurden, Peter Kernan, Jenny Mill, Eva Peaty, Vivienne Riddoch Design manager Jackie Dollar Designers Bob Cree, Robert Mills, Zack StarkeyMcGrath Production manager Anthony Kay Head of ACCA Media Chris Quick Pictures Corbis Printing Wyndeham Group Paper Antalis Ltd. This magazine is produced on paper that contains certified fibres and is manufactured under strict conditions that allow the grade to carry the EU Ecolabel. The mill operates under the ISO 14001 certified environmental management system. ACCA President Anthony Harbinson FCCA Deputy president Alexandra Chin FCCA Vice president Brian McEnery FCCA Chief executive Helen Brand OBE ACCA Connect Tel +44 (0)141 582 2000 members@accaglobal.com students@accaglobal.com info@accaglobal.com
Major new oil reserves often lie in countries with unstable political regimes, causing concern in the industry (see page 6).
A list of ACCA offices can be found on the back cover. ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, firstchoice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. We support our 178,000 members and 455,000 students in 181 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills needed by employers. We work through a network of over 92 offices and centres and more than 7,110 Approved Employers worldwide, which provide high standards of employee learning and development. Accountancy Futures Edition 11 was published in September 2015. Accountancy FuturesŽ is a registered trademark of ACCA. All views expressed in Accountancy Futures are those of the contributors. The Council of ACCA and the publishers do not guarantee the accuracy of statements by contributors or advertisers, or accept responsibility for any statement that they may express in this publication. Copyright ACCA 2015 Accountancy Futures. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or distributed without the express written permission of ACCA. Accountancy Futures is published by Certified Accountants Educational Trust in cooperation with ACCA. ISSN 2042-4566. 29 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3EE United Kingdom +44 (0)20 7059 5000
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Editorial board Chiew Chun Wee Head of policy, Asia Pacific chunwee.chiew@accaglobal.com Chris Quick Head of ACCA Media chris.quick@accaglobal.com Arif Mirza Regional head of policy, MENASA arif.mirza@accaglobal.com Edition 11 | 83
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Accountancy Futures
Accountancy Futures Critical issues for tomorrow’s profession Edition 11 | 2015
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Stephen Heathcote Executive director – markets stephen.heathcote@accaglobal.com
Jamil Ampomah Market director – Sub-Saharan Africa jamil.ampomah@accaglobal.com
Mark Cornell Market director – Americas and Western Europe mark.cornell@accaglobal.com
Stuart Dunlop Market director – MENASA stuart.dunlop@accaglobal.com
Lucia Real-Martin Market director – emerging markets lucia.realmartin@accaglobal.com
Andrew Steele Market director – partnerships & recognition andrew.steele@accaglobal.com
In the pipeline Unprecedented challenges in oil and gas sector put premium on finance talent
Electronic and iPad versions of Accountancy Futures are available at www.accaglobal.com/futuresjournal
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Plus: Bob Herz | Bangladesh auditor general | Future of audit | Accountant revolutionaries | Internal audit | Risk management | Whole of government accounts | CICPA secretary general | Africa’s innovators | Integrated reporting | Slovakia | FEE president
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