Yacoob Suttar, the serving President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan has never worked as an auditor. Instead, after getting his membership from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) in 1985, he went on to work for Engro Chemicals Pakistan. Since then, he has worked for some of the leading corporate entities of the country and the Middle East region. In a recent interview with BR Research, Yacoob Suttar informed that his career trajectory is sought by the majority of the professionals emerging from ICAP; "only about a fifth of them go into audit firms while the remaining 80 percent enter the industry".
He explains that "compared to business graduates, Chartered Accountants have much more real workplace experience by the time they hit the job market and so there is a high demand of Chartered Accountants produced by ICAP within Pakistan as well as in the Middle East, Canada and other countries for their skill set." The rigour and extensive training that ICAP students are subjected to, ensures that they are well versed in audit, accounting, financial management, taxation, corporate laws and business management skills. But it also leads to a relatively low success ratio and resultantly the number of its members in the country and abroad is about seven thousand.
Yacoob firmly believes that "the number of chartered accountants in the country is proportional to the level of documentation, accountability and good governance." Hence ICAP is on a mission to increase the number of Chartered Accountants in the country. In conversations with industry stakeholders, BR Research has gathered that the number of qualified chartered accountants is low. Conceding to this observation, Yacoob responded by informing that efforts are under way to not just enhance the number of Chartered Accountants in the country, but also to improve their comprehensive business skills.
Improvements to the ICAP curriculum
All over the world, emergent business needs are that professionals should have well-rounded knowledge of all business areas irrespective of the specific function that an individual performs. Cognisant of this trend, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) has modified its approach and curriculum. He explained that the revised curriculum now includes high-end learning targets in human resources, information technology and management information systems, communications as well as general management skills.
Students at ICAP have also been mandated to create and deliver pre- and post-audit presentations of each company they are deputed to. "Our members are quite adept at business processes by the time they hit the market. Now they will also be a lot more business savvy having presented in front of diverse stakeholders throughout the tenure of their training", he asserted.
The institution is also moving towards computerised testing services to ensure broader knowledge testing with consistent level of assessments. The Institute has developed an in-house testing software and robust question data bank. The tests were conducted in partnership with National Testing Service-Pakistan. The ICAP head expressed confidence that this transition will also lead towards faster result tabulation as well as greater transparency in the grading process.
Concurrently, efforts are also under way to enhance the student intake of the institute. Yacoob informed that "our marketing team now regularly visits schools and educational institutes to orient the young students towards Chartered Accountancy as a profession". ICAP has also forged agreements with leading business schools in the country whereby their graduates can avail some exemptions at ICAP thus reducing their total tenure of education at ICAP.
Continuing professional development (CPD)
Under the institute's CPD program, regular courses are planned for its members, with diverse subject coverage from audit to accountancy and business management. President ICAP informed that the Institute is now contemplating the introduction of mandatory CPD courses as a requisite for grant of new and renewal of the practice license. He explained that this move would ensure that chartered accountants from ICAP, particularly those working in audit firms; keep themselves abreast of latest business, accounting and auditing conventions. Other reforms are also being coined in the practising licensing regime.
Being a torch bearer of corporate governance in the country, ICAP is also set to launch a Governance Manual for the Council, its committees and staff of the Institute, along with the Code of Conduct. Taking a leaf from the book of the Karachi Toast Masters Club, the institute has launched its own ICAP Toast Masters Club in Lahore and Karachi. At the event, all members are encouraged to enhance their professional networks as well as polish up their public speaking skills.
But perhaps the most important development for ICAP is still in the making. Yacoob informed that deliberations are under way within the ICAP Council to bring about improvements in the Chartered Accountants Ordinance of 1961. "The new ordinance should be ready for promulgation within a year", said Yacoob.
Contributing towards a culture of accountability;
"ICAP members believe that there is a need to improve accounting awareness in the country, particularly in the public sector", said the ICAP President. He explained that "like many other countries of the world, Pakistan is also following a single-entry accounting system. Moving to a double-entry accounting convention would greatly improve transparency and the associated ability to manage the country and its finances."
He informed that the institute is in talks with the government to come up with ways in which ICAP can contribute towards improving accounting and financial literacy in the country. The recent two days conference on Public Financial Management at Islamabad by ICAP in collaboration with Ministry of Finance, Auditor General of Pakistan, USAID, World Bank and Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy was a huge success. He expressed hope that these deliberations may bear fruit soon, especially since the current Minister of Finance, is also a Fellow Chartered Accountant and understands the importance of prudent accounting practices.
Detailing these plans, the ICAP President said that we are pursuing the government in public interest to start employing chartered accountants. "We have proposed that at the onset, local governments should utilise the skills of chartered accountants and if their efforts yield positive impact on the ground, then there will be a strong case for more inclusion of chartered accountants in the provincial and federal governments as well."
Mr. Yacoob Suttar is a fellow member of ICAP qualified in 1985. He remained associated with Engro Chemical Pakistan Ltd, in various roles for 17 years before joining PSO in 2005. He joined Asia Petroleum in 2013 where he is serving as the Managing Director and CEO. Mr. Suttar has been serving the Council for the last 5 years and was the Vice President South in 2012-13. He has remained the Chairman of ICAP Professional Accountants In Business (PAIB) Committee from 2009 to 2013 while serving on Executive Committee, Examination Committee and Human Resource Committee.
He is also member of PAIB Committee of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) where he has been nominated as Deputy Chairman for the year 2015. He is also the Chair of the Advisory Group on Advocacy at the IFAC PAIB.
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