Interview with the Chief Executive of ACCA, Helen Brand OBE: 'The accounting profession can be a core support for CPEC'

Helen Brand OBE has been the Chief Executive of ACCA since 2008. She has built her career within professional bodies and has considerable experience and knowledge of the 178 markets in which ACCA currently operates. She has worked closely with IFAC (the International Federation of Accountants) in an advisory capacity over many years. She is a London Honorary Advisory Board member of the Women's Executive Network (WXN), and is also a founding member of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), and now sits on the IIRC Board.
One of the few women to lead a global professional body, Helen Brand is a passionate advocate for the role of ethics and the delivery of public value in business and society. Under her leadership, ACCA became the first international professional body to publish an integrated report on its performance in 2011. She has also driven ACCA's pioneering work in developing the profession across Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Helen was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in June 2011 for services to accountancy.
Following are the edited excerpts of a conversation between BR Research and Ms. Brand.
BR Research: What brings you to Pakistan?
Helen Brand: There have been a number of key events, and we wanted to deeply engage a market as important as Pakistan. Two key events that I would highlight include my participation in the Teacher's summit where ACCA was the knowledge partner. I talked about ethics and trust in a digital age. And that links to the second key event, which was the launch of ACCA's Ethics and Professional skills module. It is a new and innovative model to test the ethics and professional skills of our students and members as they go into the market place.
BRR: How have ethics changed in the digital age?
HB: At the launch of the Ethics and Professional skill module, the conference was themed around ethics and trust in the digital age: how ethics are required and how they are going to be applied. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that ethics are going to be more needed in the digital environment than previously. There are a whole range of issues around privacy, security, the pace of change, situations that require use of judgment while still using the full elements of integrity and accountability.
BRR: Do you have any idea about the ethics situation in Pakistan, as compared to the rest of the world?
HB: At the conference, I was very encouraged by the debate in the room. We had representatives from different professions, such as the banking sector, and business leaders, all recognizing the absolute importance of ethical behaviour. And apart from it being the right thing to do, we know that ethical business is good business. Corruption costs economies; it makes people poorer, and renders businesses less effective. Everyone in the room was very clear what a business needs in terms of ethics and the right behaviour.
BRR: Speaking of ethics, what are your views on tax evasions, especially in light of the Panama scandal?
HB: Tax evasion is a very broad issue. What we do want to avoid is tax arbitrage where one economy has policies that attracts business away from the other economies. It becomes difficult to gauge where someone should be taxed or if the right tax is being applied. I do think we are all citizens, wherever we live, and as individuals we have an obligation to abide by the laws of the land and contribute to the taxation that sustains the civil ecosystem we live in.
Governments have to create laws and system that don't aid avoidance. At the moment there are situations that allow corporations to act legally but in actuality avoid tax. What we need to see are systems in place that close such loopholes.
BRR: What are the major changes made since the financial crisis of 2008?
HB: I think the main issues surrounding the financial crisis were ethics and governance. I have talked about ethics; in terms of governance, the profession has a lot to offer by way of best practices and understanding how our codes of governance can evolve.
A number of jurisdictions have been introduced regarding risk monitoring and transparency regarding the ways risks is managed within organisations. In UK, we have the strategic report that is part of the reporting cycle. Companies are required to give a statement regarding the viability of the business and what risks it faces.
One very important change that has been implemented since the financial crisis is integrated reporting. I am the Vice Chairman of the Board of International Integrated Reporting Council, which is a movement to create the next wave of corporate reporting that will drive transparency for all stakeholders. The idea is to report holistically on the financial sustainability and governance arrangements for an organisation, including the risk profile.
BRR: Regarding accountancy in Pakistan, compared to our population statistics do we have sufficient number of accountants in Pakistan?
HB: In terms of population ratios, Pakistan has a 200 million population and the size of professional accountants is 22,000. If you look at a place that is service oriented and exports services, like Ireland, the population is 5 million and the number of professional accountant is 40,000. There is a lot of potential for the profession to grow, particularly in the corporate sector and the public sector.
BRR: What is limiting Pakistan in growing its accountancy services?
HB: I think there are a number of factors, including the profile of the profession. Traditionally, it has been seen as a profession in audit. And audit is incredibly valuable but professional accountancy is a much wider canvas than that.
I had many meetings with students who are ambassadors for ACCA. They work in event management firms, entertainment companies, and banks, all kinds of different environments as professional accountants and as strategic financial partners to support business development. Young people understand the scope of a career in professional accountancy, but we are fighting a few decades of an old fashioned view of the profession.
We are trying to increase gender diversity. We are very pleased that ACCA has proven to be attractive to the women in Pakistan. Over 20 percent of our intake in Pakistan is female. Globally it is over 50 percent of our students are female and 42 percent are members. We are not proud of it; we think that is the way it should be.
BRR: Can Pakistan become a centre of financial services in the region?
HB: Yes. At ACCA we have been reviewing a number of processes around shared services. Shared services and financial services are areas where Pakistan has a lot of potential to service the region. But not only the region, it could be China and it could also be Europe and the States.
BRR: What would CPEC's impact be on Pakistan's potential for shared services?
HB: Again, the way we are exploring this is through evidence and research. We have been looking quite intently at the Belt and Road initiative with China. And one of the most positive moves of the Belt and Road initiative is CPEC.
We have just issued a research report regarding the opportunities created by CPEC. We want to link all that work, which covers development of the 22 offices of ACCA on the Belt and Road countries, with members and help them to do business more effectively. Furthermore, we want to help our members and offices understand both the challenges and the opportunities presented by this initiative. We want to make sure that the policy makers are given the information they need to create the enabling environment for everybody to flourish.
I think this kind of an initiative really has to be a win-win. We are very excited about this opportunity because we think that the accountancy profession can be a core support for the CPEC initiative.
BRR: What challenges do you think the accountancy profession can face in leveraging CPEC?
HB: Well, there are the obvious ones such as cultural barriers and language barriers. Then there could be other issues such as changes around the way in which tiers are constructed, like in the case of intellectual property rights. There is the question where the jobs are located, whether it is local or not.
CPEC is happening. As the gentleman said, the day shall come whether you are awake or sleeping; One Belt One Road will happen whether you are awake or asleep. It is better to be awake and enjoy the opportunities.