By Nazatul Izma
MIA is advocating the need to strengthen regional efforts to support nation-building in all corners of the country.
The growth of the accountancy profession must be inclusive and diversified to support business development across the country’s regions, complementing strong growth in the central region.
This message was strongly emphasised at the 2018 Annual Dinner held by the MIA Johor Region, which was officiated by the Menteri Besar of Johor, Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Osman Sapian and attended by well over 450 MIA members, stakeholders, associates and friends, including MIA President Salihin Abang, MIA Johor Region past Chairmen, and Tan Lay Beng, MIA Johor Regional Chairperson. The collaborative efforts of the MIA Johor Regional Committee and generous sponsors were instrumental in the dinner’s organisation and success.
Themed Galactica – Moving Towards the Future, the dinner’s key messages sought to prepare members to face the challenges of technology disruption in order to future-proof themselves. The MIA President exhorted the Johor accountants, many of whom comprise SMPs, to adopt technology, service diversification and enhance audit quality in order to better serve the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as their primary business advisors. Since SMEs are the engine of the Malaysian economy, it is critical for SMPs to deliver value-added services to SMEs to better support nation-building.
The Menteri Besar echoed MIA’s call for SMPs to adopt technology, as Johor has a large number of SMEs that rely on SMPs to advise them on technology adoption and automation to become more efficient and relevant in the digital economy. While moving forward, it is imperative that accountants balance development with the internalisation of good ethics, and strengthen one’s moral compass to ensure that organisations are well governed in order to protect the public interest, advised the Menteri Besar. “This is especially important for accountancy professionals who are expected to behave ethically in their custodial and assurance roles, and in ensuring honesty and transparency in financial reporting so companies pay the right tax to support nation- building,” he said.
