Highlights from the 119th AFA Council Meeting (Yangon, 9 August 2015)

The Myanmar Accountancy Council (MAC) has successfully hosted the 119th AFA Council Meeting on 9 August 2015. The Novotel Yangon Max, Yangon, Myanmar has became the meeting point of the ten primary members and four associate members of the AFA.

This meeting also welcomed the President of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), President of the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA) and the Executive Director of the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), as the AFA is expanding its network of cooperation to national and regional Professional Accountancy Organizations outside of the Southeast Asia region.

The presence of Mr. Arjuna Herath, President of the SAFA, marked an important milestone in the relationship between the two regional umbrella organizations. The AFA is looking forward to future cooperation with not only the SAFA but also its members, in building a knowledge sharing media for accountants in the two regions. A positive intent was shown by both organizations in looking forward to the possibility of re-establishing the Memorandum of Understanding between the AFA and SAFA, as a formal document to culminate the relationship between the two.

Among the Councils focuses in this meeting was the updates of the ASEAN Accountancy Roadmap project which is currently performed by the AARC and ACCA for the ASEAN. The AFA continued to express its strong commitment in supporting the ASEAN in preparing for the implementation of the ASEAN MRA on Accountancy Services.

The Meeting also marked by the significant kick-off meeting of the AFA Accounting Standards Group (AASG).  Chaired by Mr. Gerard Ee of ISCA, the AASG will look into various accounting standards issues that are relevant in the region. Among the things considered in this first meeting were the development of the ASEAN micro accounting model and the accounting for Islamic finance/transactions.

Yangon also witnessed an important milestone for the Federation, as the AFA Council has approved the appointment of Mr. Aucky Pratama Setya Dharma as the AFA Executive Director. This appointment was acknowledged by all the AFA members as another step for the AFA in becoming a stronger grouping, to continue to deliver the AFAs mission to develop and promote the accountancy profession in the ASEAN region.

AFA – MAC/MICPA SME Forum 2015

In conjunction with the 119th AFA Council Meeting, the AFA together with MAC and the Myanmar Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) jointly held the AFA – MAC/MICPA SME Forum 2015 on 8 August 2015 in Novotel Yangon Max Hotel, Yangon Myanmar. This successful event was fully supported by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) as one of the AFA associate member. The AFA acknowledge the ACCAs full and continuous support to the Federation in particularly developing the accountancy profession in the region.

This forum was held as part of the AFA Task Force 2 working program, to facilitate the AFA member bodies in dealing with SMEs. With the relevant theme, “Preparing the Way for AEC 2015 and Business Growth: Are SMEs ready for AEC 2015, how can banks and SMEs work together and how can IFRS benefit SMEs?”, the AFA wished to assist the SMEs in Myanmar in preparing for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015 and growth.

Officially opened with a remarks from the AFA President, Ms. Estelita C. Aguirre, around 300 participants ranging from accountants, entrepreneurs and the AFA members were in attendance and actively involved in the discussions. A number of prominent speakers sat as panelists of the sessions among others were Mr. Richard Martin, Head of Corporate Reporting ACCA, Mr. Thomas Foerch, Head of Project GIZ, Ms. Rosanna Choi Chair, ACCA Global Forum for SMEs, Lucia Real-Martin, Director, Emerging Markets, ACCA, Mr. U Maw Than, Board Member, Central Bank of Myanmar and many more.

Category: AFA Council Meeting | Post on 19 Agustus 2015