A gauge of financial strength

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) needs to make its courses more attractive and demand-driven instead of running by a 'one size fits all' policy, its chief said.
"We are now in an era of specialisation. Some chartered accountancy firms are interested in capital markets and some are in environmental issue, financial discipline and NGOs," said Parveen Mahmud, president of ICAB.
"All sectors need specialisation. We have to introduce orientation and choose subjects to cater to members, to help them fight competition at national and global levels," she told The Daily Star in an interview on Saturday.
Parveen said financial transparency is vital, not only for companies, but also for individual-run entities. "Proper financial accounting will help companies understand their financial strengths, where do they stand, where problems lie and will also help them budget and plan. It is also an important subject for corporate houses."
"In the past, most people used to do business with the help of family capital. Now companies borrow a great deal from banks. So, the companies must have a proper and transparent accounting system in place, which earns trust."
"If there is discipline in financial management, the institution survives."
Parveen, the first woman president of ICAB, said they have to think beyond financial reporting. "Image and goodwill are important for companies listed on the stockmarket alongside its financial performance."
"We may run our business in a more profitable way. But it may harm the future generation. Here come the environmental issues."
She said as a profession, chartered accountancy is important, as depending on their work people trust a company and make investment decisions.
Companies have to understand the value of transparency, accounting and audits, she added. "Many are also investing in foreign countries."
"The corporate sector in Bangladesh is also going through changes. They are taking an institutional shape from family-run businesses. The more they will take an institutional shape, the more important CA will become."
She said there should be higher audit fees for companies, which is low in Bangladesh compared to other countries. "We also have to evaluate our own performance."
On the quality of CA firms in Bangladesh, Parveen said: "We are working on the issue. Integrity and trust are important for us. From ICAB, we have formed a quality assurance department. We have signed agreements with Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) to elevate our profession to global standard."
By and large, she said, they are professionals. "They are however part of the society. Our firms are also trying to improve their performance. There are some firms that are failing to meet expectations."
She said reforms at various regulatory bodies in the country are taking place. "This is a good sign. We need coordination. We cannot work alone. We need to accelerate interaction."
Parveen, who steps down as ICAB president next month, says in her one-year tenure, she has tried to make ICAB more professional by recruiting more skilled people for the secretariat.
She said ICAB is organising an international seminar in Dhaka, which is the highest gathering to this magnitude. "More than 150 foreign delegates are taking part in the five-day event. ICAB could not think of organising this type of a programme a few years ago."
The five-day conference is themed "Best Practices and Reporting for Sustainable Development" and will foster knowledge sharing among ICAB members, stakeholders and international counterparts.
ICAB is the national professional accounting body of Bangladesh established under a presidential order. The commerce ministry is the administrative ministry of ICAB. It has about 1,300 members.
"The number of our members is not too high. But it is increasing.”
Previously, it was not common for young people to become CA, she said. “But nowadays, students are becoming CA even at the age of 22. We have developed our education system."
Parveen, an FCA, said remuneration is quite attractive so more people are joining companies. They also have an opportunity to work regionally. "The stronger the stockmarket, banks and rating agencies are, the more we will have professionalism."
She said ICAB has also formed an investigation disciplinary committee, which takes care of problems if any complaints are made.
Chartered accountants and auditors are also blamed for their role in the global financial crisis. "In the past, I thought the weakness in financial reporting might be a problem only for Bangladesh. But it is known that it is a global problem,” Parveen said.
"But in the developed world, there is a check and balance in their system and whenever any wrongdoing is reported, they face legal steps. But we do not have any such mechanism not only in our profession, but in many other professions. We need social movement."
In Bangladesh, there are allegations that CA firms did not conduct auditing properly and an inflated balance sheet to help many to be listed in the stockmarket. Parveen did not rule out the claim. "Definitely, a party of our profession is involved in it. But it takes two hands to clap.”
"A number of steps are related before a company is enlisted with the stockmarket. The companies, issue managers, banks, law firms and the regulators are involved with the process. It is the failure of all related parties, but the finger is only pointed at CA firms."
"The regulatory bodies have to take a tough role. The government has to come forward to solve the problem. It is true that the government is helping us a lot."
She said aspiring CA in Bangladesh would have to excel in English and IT to do well in the profession. "We have to adopt new concepts, such as environmental accounting and sustainability reporting. We need to emphasise ethics."
"We are also eager to take local firms to global standards," said Parveen, who also worked for BRAC, CIDA and ActionAid.
She said companies from Bangladesh won a few number of SAFA awards for best financial reports in the past. "Slowly, the situation has changed. Our banking and NGO sectors are doing well in regional competition."
She said CA firms in the country will have to be familiar with international accounting standards and financial reporting standards to improve.
"All sectors need this. We will strengthen training for them."
She said the networking of ICAB in both regional and international levels has increased. "We are strengthening the ICAB secretariat. We have employed an adequate number of skilled people. We are giving them more power."
"We have placed emphasis on IT. The enhancement of IT will continue."
"We have doubled the number of continuous professional development seminars this year for continuous improvement of our members. We are also strengthening our Chittagong chapter."
Parveen, also a former deputy managing director of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), an apex financing organisation for microfinance in Bangladesh, said many people who have not seen microcredit closely have different opinions about the financial tool. "Definitely, there are challenges in financial management and transparency, and we have to remove them."
"When ICAB introduced an award for NGOs, the number of applications was low, as only a few maintained proper accounting records and prepared financial reporting. The situation has changed. Now they are interested."
She said the contribution of NGOs is huge in generating employment. "They have contributed to creating self-employment. The micro-enterprises are creating jobs beyond their families. It is up to the government to strengthen the process."
She said education and health facilities should be extended to people alongside financial access to lift the poor out of poverty.
Many think that the operational side is more important, seeing internal auditing as a dumping ground. "I think a good CEO puts emphasis on both."
She said the CA firms have to emphasise capacity building to restore their image.

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