ICAP holds seminar

Punjab Governor Salman Taseer has observed that internationally the survival of Pakistan was questioned in the backdrop of recent devastating floods, but the Pakistanis' strong resolute to take on the challenge proved them wrong. He was addressing a seminar organised by the Institute of Charted Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) here on Wednesday.
The Governor further said a negative image of Pakistan is painted and accused of widespread corruption; it is just propaganda and nothing else. "Despite the propaganda, Pakistan received financial aid and other assistances from the international community for flood relief," he added.
He told the charter accountants present on the occasion that he visited every inch of the flood affected areas and let me assured that rehabilitation work was in process with satisfactory. He observed that in the time of distress, it was the people of Pakistan who came out in the aid of flood affectees, and their contribution is greater than foreign aid.
"Pakistan should be credited for taking timely action that prevented outbreak of famine and diseases. It was not an easy task but it was done," he added. According to him, he was touched by the nation's response to the floods and open heartedly took on the challenge. In the past also, Pakistan has received some serious blows, but the nation's resilience character helped Pakistan to survive them. Whenever the nation was tested, it took on the challenge as one nation, which was seen during the earthquake, war on terror and now floods.
The Governor said Pakistan has a pool of talented accountants, bankers and corporate executives and also has complete financial infrastructure with strong regulatory authorities. "This is why the Pakistani financial institutions survived the global financial shock wave, whereas in the West it collapsed. We have proved that Pakistan has professionals of highest quality. Pakistani accountants have developed successful businesses in foreign lands, especially in Middle East," he added.
However, he stressed for a change in the mindset of doing businesses in Pakistan. He was impressed by companies like Google and Facebook whose success, in his opinion, was due to breakaway from traditional mindset. He said these companies based their businesses on ideas rather than on figures, which revolutionised virtual industry. "In Pakistan, we also need to come out traditional mindset and come up with novel ways of doing businesses," he added. He was optimist about Pakistan's economy and added that the country has sufficient reserves while the inflation is within the limit, which is positive. "Soon we will be on the path of economic progress," he added.
Earlier, internationally recognised Professor Arnold Schilder, Chairman of International Auditing and Assurance Standard Board (IAASB), and James M Sylph, Executive Director, Professional Standards, International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), discussed on developments and challenges of the accounting and auditing profession. Professor Arnold Schilder gave presentation on 'Clarity, quality and relevance-IAASB perspective on standard setting', while James M Sylph's presentation was 'IFAC's initiatives in public sector, corporate governance and ethics.