The Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) welcomes the inclusivity and sustainability themes of the 2022 Budget which are aligned with the global momentum of ESG (environment, social and governance) and the 17 UN UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“As the regulator and developer of the accountancy profession, the MIA has been emphasising strongly on the adoption of ESG and sustainability among accountancy professionals and our members in order to help drive good governance and support sustainable business and economic development,” stated MIA President Dr. Veerinderjeet Singh in an initial response to the Budget.
Given the size of the Budget which is the largest in the nation’s history, good governance and monitoring will be vital to ensure that desired outcomes are achieved, and leakages plugged. “MIA continually advocates for budgetary governance to ensure that the spending is prudent, without wastage and achieves the desired outcomes,” stressed Dr. Veerinderjeet.
“As finance professionals, accountants especially those in the public sector can play a key role in monitoring the implementation of projects and ensuring the accountability and transparency of public spending,” continued Dr. Veerinderjeet, who welcomed the Budget’s announcement of the public expenditure review in collaboration with the World Bank.
The MIA also praised the Government’s efforts to engage inclusively and obtain feedback on the Budget proposals from different quarters. “We are delighted that some of our key proposals were incorporated into the Budget, especially those related to upskilling and ESG advocacy,” said Dr. Veerinderjeet. Specifically, MIA’s recommendation for increasing the tax relief for professional development and upskilling courses has been incorporated, along with a recommendation for a tax relief on course fees for programmes (including accountancy, finance and ESG) offered by approved professional bodies.
MIA CEO Dr. Nurmazilah Dato’ Mahzan also lauded the Budget’s focus on sustainability and inclusivity. “The measures outlined in the Budget are clearly meant to stimulate the economy, enhance the wellbeing and growth of diverse stakeholders, and drive long-term sustainable development reforms. In line with our nation building purpose, MIA is ready to deploy its expertise to support the implementation of the Budget proposals. We look forward to contributing especially in the emerging areas of climate change and sustainability, which is aligned with the global accountancy profession’s direction as MIA strives to enhance the future relevance of the accountancy profession.”
In its preliminary analysis of the Budget, MIA believes that the Institute and the profession will be able to add value in the following areas:
To reduce the burden of taxpayers, the Budget has proposed the following:
MIA has focussed on positioning the profession as a leader for ESG and climate governance in line with the stance of the International Federation of Accountants. MIA supports the Government’s aspiration of making Malaysia a carbon-neutral country by 2050 through the introduction of the following:
MIA is committed to championing inclusivity through the increased participation of women leaders in C-Suites and corporate boards. MIA supports the gender equality goal whereby the Government through the Securities Commission Malaysia will make it compulsory for public-listed companies (PLCs) to appoint at least one female director to the PLC boards by 1 September 2022.
The Institute applauds the various initiatives aimed at strengthening the sustainability and future relevance of the nation’s talent pool, which will support sustainable economic and social development, namely:
MIA fully supports the incentives in the Budget that promote capacity building and social responsibility among corporates, including the extension of the scope to all study fields for double deductions to corporates that provide scholarships to students of higher educational institutions. This is in line with the proposal submitted by MIA that corporate contributions to fund professional studies be made eligible for double deduction and/or other tax incentives, to incentivise corporate social responsibility.
In line with the 2022 Budget theme of “A Prosperous Malaysian Family,” the Institute welcomes the generous reliefs and incentives that will alleviate the burden of individuals and households, including:
Digital transformation especially for smaller-sized organisations will be critical to ensuring their business continuity in an environment of digital disruption. As a firm advocate of digitalisation for the profession and businesses, MIA welcomes the following measures to support digital transformation:
As small and medium practices (SMPs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are a crucial category of the profession and business, MIA welcomes the Budget initiatives that support their financial wellbeing and business continuity, including:
MIA is committed to supporting the initiatives proposed in the Budget which will strengthen the inclusivity and sustainability of Keluarga Malaysia and the nation for the digital and IR4.0 economy.