Date issued: 7 August 2008

The demand for accountants is not expected to ease in the foreseeable future despite the slowing of some economies.

'Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, China and New Zealand are all scrambling to attract internationally qualified accountants,' said CPA Australia president Alex Malley at the opening of the CPA Australia 12th Asian Regional Conference in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre today.

'There is an unprecedented opportunity for high-quality accounting professionals who have a thorough understanding of ethics, governance and strategic performance management.'

Second Deputy Finance Minister YB Datuk Kong Cho Ha officiated at the conference, which attracted 250 high level professionals and industry leaders.

Mr Malley said that the unprecedented demand meant the need for new competencies and management skills had never been more important.

'CPA Australia is particularly active in these areas. Earlier this year, we entered into a groundbreaking partnership with the Harvard Business School in the USA to enable our members complete world class e-learning leadership programs.

'Members have seized this opportunity. They know that, by completing the programs, they will be able to relate key leadership concepts to their own businesses — concepts that will enable them to recruit and retain key staff. In the current climate, that's an advantage that CPA Australia is continually striving to improve.'

CPA Australia has also extended its reach through mutual recognition agreements with professional bodies in the UK, USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada and Malaysia that identify joint initiatives, including research and advocacy, and boost each organisation's presence on the international accounting stage, and benefit members accordingly.

CPA Australia has also introduced a new International Business segment in its rigorous CPA Program that will give its members a comprehensive grounding in the theory and mechanics of doing business across national boundaries.

Looking to the future, Mr Malley singled out sustainability as a critical area in which businesses will need to focus.

'It is highly probable that accounting for sustainability will gather more impetus throughout the world as benefits of bringing accounting skills to bear on this major global issue becomes clearer,' he said.

'There is a far greater demand for accountants to provide timely and rigorously prepared information, which can be applied not only to compliance with emission regulation, but also critical areas such as sustainable capital investment.'

CPA Australia released a discussion paper, Emissions trading and related policy initiatives, earlier this year to bring its members up to speed on the challenges climate change presents in an economic, financial reporting and corporate social responsibility sense.

Mr Malley said, 'The global challenge is this; what must we do to neutralize and then reduce climate change? How do we maintain our standard of living and a strong economy while business copes with a new range of demands?

'Strong and innovative leadership is required from business as well as the government, and highly skilled accountants will need to be a part of the solution.'

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