Marks a significant development in the ACCA Qualification as ACCA held the launch event for their Ethics and Professional Module in Pakistan.
The event featured a panel discussion on ACCA’s report, ‘Ethics and trust in a digital age.’ The panellists included; Helen Brand OBE – Chief Executive, ACCA, Dr. Farrukh Iqbal – Dean & Director, Institute of Business Administration, FuadHashimi – Executive Director, Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (CERB, part of Pakistan Business Council), Syed Atif Zafar-Head of Research, JS Global Capital Limited, Asim Siddiqui – Country Managing Partner/CEO, EY Ford Rhodes Chartered Accountants. The panel was moderated by Faisal Qamar – Managing Partner, HRSG BPO and the chief guest was Sirajuddin Aziz – President & CEO, Habib Metropolitan Bank.
It is a hugely exciting time for professional accountants across Pakistan, as the economy benefits from new global commerce developments and other innovations. The progress being made – through inward investment, the opening of new trade routes and supporting infrastructure – is undeniable. Now is the time that for the business community here in Pakistan the wider value of ethical behaviour should be a 24-7, 365 concern.
At the launch, Helen Brand, ACCA’s chief executive highlighted, “Our qualification is the world’s first to emphasise professional as well as technical skills and ethics in this way. Through this, we’re building on our market-leading position – we were the first professional accountancy body to introduce a compulsory ethics module a decade ago – and reinforcing ACCA members’ standing as professionals who deliver public value. In this way, together, we will define the professional accountant of the future.”
Sajjeed Aslam, Head of ACCA Pakistan commented, “This innovation in our Qualification is underpinned and informed by recent global research we conducted into the future ethical landscape. Our report, Ethics and trust in a digital age, published in August 2017, is our compelling look at the perceived importance of ethical behaviour in a rapidly evolving digital era, and the challenges that technological advancement puts on the professional
accountant.”
It was discussed at the launch event that to behave ethically and instill trust in a digital age, professional accountants will need to learn new information relatively quickly, and to
apply their judgment to this information, often in situations they may not
have seen before.Also it was jointly concluded by the panellists that all those involved in professional education have a duty to make sure individuals are equipped to apply the highest standards of ethical judgement throughout their careers in a fast-moving world. That’s why ACCA is in the process of unveiling a series of evolutions to its Qualification, including a new Ethics & Professional Skills module.
