The Pakistan-China Institute and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to promote a better understanding amongst accounting professionals about issues related to CPEC and OBOR. Pakistan's professional accountants are increasingly being drawn into conversations about economic and political events such as CPEC, the single largest foreign direct investment in Pakistan's 70-year young life.
Finance professionals who base their work on risk assessment are now faced with factoring CPEC outcomes into finance strategies and governance strategies especially if one is working in a directly impacted public sector enterprise.
The finance profession wants to play a role in making this game changer into a sustainable success and that is why ACCA Pakistan is partnering with the Pakistan China Institute to provide an intellectual partnership to share insights and knowledge with the ACCA and PCI communities and bring the two communities closer via networking events, policy reports and dialogue. Head of ACCA Pakistan Sajjeed Aslam said, "ACCA has been listening to numerous stakeholder conversations globally about the China "One Belt One Road" project also known as OBOR. Our students and members study and work in countries which are directly and indirectly impacted by OBOR and the "string of pearls" maritime route. In keeping with our research and insights vision ACCA would like to gain a better understanding of how the various OBOR projects may affect the work of professional accountants including finance leaders who are formulating finance strategies and developing plans for their organisations. Taking a proactive attitude to stakeholder education and dialogue initiation we had reached out to the Pakistan China Institute as the original thought leader on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC. This partnership with PCI provides a great opportunity for creating a learning base that will benefit ACCA members and students in both countries as well forging greater relations with Chinese and Pakistani business finance leader."
Also in attendance for the MoU signing that took place in Islamabad were Phoebe Hao Yu, Council Member ACCA, Helen Brand, Chief Executive ACCA and Ayla Majid Council Member. Phoebe Yu speaking on the occasion said "regional integration via closer trading and commerce routes will be of huge importance to drive future China economic and global growth. ACCA members and students in both China and Pakistan can form a closer community for learning and sharing corporate and business culture which will prove valuable to sustain CPEC outcomes."
Speaking on the occasion Helen Brand said, "ACCA has operations in over a 100 countries globally and 25 of these countries sit directly on the OBOR footprint in the Asia Pacific and MENASA region alone, including China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Middle East. We have 35 offices, in 22 out of the 65 countries along OBOR; these two regions are the fastest growing networks of members, students, employers and learning partners. As you can see, the ACCA world is very much aligned to that of OBOR. The diversity of our membership base, their youth, mobility and professional standards of financial management expertise underpinned by strong ethics mean that our members are an ideal human resource in a connected and highly complex commercially-driven environment. The people-to-people contact the CPEC and the wider OBOR envisages resonates strongly with ACCA's value of diversity".-PR