Volume 06 | January 2018
Events, initiatives and stories from ACCA Pakistan
In our continuous effort to provide support to our members, affiliates and students, we are delighted to share with you the sixth edition of ACCA Pulse which aims to provide you with information on our activities in Pakistan. In this edition, you will find details on various new initiatives, member and affiliate events and other useful details. Should you wish to discuss any of the content covered in this newsletter, please do not hesitate to contact us on rashid.khan@accaglobal.com
Feature Stories
ACCA Pakistan and Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Multan organised an exclusive conference “Turning the Tide – Women in Business”
ACCA has always been at the forefront in leading the agenda when it comes to the topic of women in business & finance. ACCA Pakistan and Women Chamber Multan have been working with leading organisations to initiate and encourage the change that is needed from the grassroots. This conference was an outcome of a perfect partnership between the two organisation having similar goals with respect to women empowerment issue.
ACCA Careers and Job Board launched in Pakistan with events in Islamabad and Lahore
ACCA Pakistan launched the ACCA Careers and Job Board in Pakistan to support employers by giving access to highly skilled pool of qualified accountants. The ACCA Job Board is an official recruitment portal and is unique as it’s the only truly international job board that allows employers to recruit from across our global network, and allows our stakeholders to apply for roles worldwide through one secure site. It’s the main way that we support employers in accessing our highly skilled pool of qualified and qualifying accountants and finance professionals.
World's first Ethics and Professional Skills Module goes live...
October 26, 2017 marked a significant development in the ACCA Qualification as ACCA held the launch event for the world’s first Ethics and Professional Module in Pakistan. The launch event was held in Karachi which happens to be the financial capital of Pakistan and the event was attended by some of the most prominent voices in the business community.
Helen Brand OBE speaks at the Future Summit in Karachi
ACCA Pakistan signs an MoU with Pakistan Business Council
ACCA Pakistan signed an MoU with the Pakistan Business Council, Pakistan’s leading business policy advocacy forum. The potential collaboration is aimed at supporting Pakistan businesses to achieve sustainable growth in areas including of corporate governance, ethics & professional skills, SDGs, GBS, and CPEC (Belt and Road).
‘Business and Finance Reporting for Journalists’ - a workshop organised by ACCA Pakistan in Lahore and Islamabad
ACCA Pakistan actively works on a broad range of capacity-building projects to strengthen accountancy and finance literacy infrastructure in Pakistan and in this regard conducted two workshops for journalists in Lahore and in Islamabad.
 
In line with our agenda of delivering public value and the understanding that finance journalists are engaged in ‘public interest’ reporting in the same way that political journalists are, ACCA conducted a workshop on, ‘Business and Finance Reporting for Journalists.’ The importance of accurate and credible reporting was the subject of focus and this was linked to how ACCA stresses on applying the highest standards of ethical judgement throughout one's professional careers. The innovations to our Qualficiation was also brought up including the newly unveiled EPSM module.

The workshop was conducted by Arif Masud Mirza, Regional Head of Policy – MENASA, ACCA and journalists from prominent media outlets participated in this workshop where ACCA provided specialist training that is needed by journalists for accurate financial reporting.
 Members Section
ACCA celebrates reaching 200,000-plus global membership
New film - The ACCA Story - reflects on ACCA's founding values
Omer Zaheer Meer wins the National Member Advocacy Award 2017
ACCA Pakistan hosts corporate luncheons for top executives of leading blue chip companies
ACCA Pakistan hosted multiple luncheons for the c-suite executives of large blue chip companies including Coca-Cola, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Pakistan Audit & Accounts Academy (PAAA), University of London, Kansai Paints, AkzoNobel, Nestlé, and Deloitte. The corporate executives appreciated ACCA's various initiatives aimed at thought leadership, capacity-building and employer engagement.
ACCA Members from Pakistan proving their mettle globally
ACCA is extremely proud of its members. Sharing of their experiences, challenges and triumphs continues to inspire others towards even greater achievement. #YourGlobalPassport , our new social media campaign profiles some of our many inspiring ACCA members.
Meet Hassan Hyder Toor, Assistant Manager | Risk Advisory at Deloitte & Touche (M.E.) and currently living in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

His story in his own words: "The international recognition enjoyed by ACCA is the main reason I chose to opt for the ACCA. As businesses continue to increase, the demand for skilled accountants does too. The qualification has continued to benefit me, and provided me with a wide range of skills and competence. This has opened a world of opportunities for me, giving me mobility should I ever decide to pursue work either in my home country, Pakistan or emigrate abroad later on in my career.
After graduating from the University of Punjab, I decided to further my education by joining ACCA, to build in-depth knowledge accounting and finance.
Upon completing ACCA exams, I joined PwC (A. F. Ferguson & Co.) in GRMS. Working in GRMS not only helped me to develop my technical ability, but allowed me to nurture and promote strong interpersonal skills. You are given a great deal of responsibility at an early stage of your career, to lead teams and manage others on a day-to-day basis. Later I worked for ExD and Inbox for different local and international ERP implementation projects.
I currently work as Assistant Manager in Deloitte ME Risk Advisory and my main area of engagements are business process re-engineering, business process mapping, and process controls optimization, business and IT controls assurance. It was a fairly easy decision to make in terms of taking on the ACCA, especially after researching relevant qualifications. ACCA has a wide global presence and reciprocal memberships with many major accounting bodies around the world."
Let's hear the story of Zakir Hussain Khowaja , an ACCA member from Pakistan who's enjoying a great career in Dublin, Ireland.

His story in his own words: " I am currently working in Asset and Wealth Management Department of PwC Dublin Office. My responsibilities mainly include Audit of Financial Statements of mainly Funds which are prepared in accordance with US GAAP or IFRS as adopted by EU.  
The Position where I am today have made me realize the importance of ACCA studies and experience that I gained from Deloitte (Pakistan & Malta Office) in the past 5 years."

Meet Syed Kazim Ali Naqvi , an ACCA member from Pakistan who's currently working at KPMG UK LLP as an Assistant Manager and living in London, UK.

His story in his own words: " I started studying ACCA at the age of 17 in 2007 and passed all my exams at the age of 19. This was my biggest achievement of completing all my exams in the span of 2 years. 
I think having ACCA with my name gave me recognition in the audit industry also more specifically when I moved to the UK in 2014 working for KPMG London I was not segregated or distinguished against people of other qualifications. Also through ACCA publications received through emails and magazines I stayed up to date with the latest industry news and issues."
Meet Abid Ansari , an ACCA member working as an Internal Controller for PJSC Company in the UAE.

His story in his own words: " I always believe, life is the name of multi-fold challenges, while one can easily overcome those challenges through the blazing aspirations, robust ethos & motivational embarks.
I used to live in a city in Pakistan where there were no ACCA tuition providers, and also I did not have any support from friends or family members in terms of career counselling. Albeit, I managed to overcome all the challenges with persistent mind set, and successfully completed ACCA in 2010 & became an ACCA member in 2013.
ACCA qualification enabled me to pursue a dream career abroad & I am currently working in the financial sector of United Arab Emirates. ACCA is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious accounting qualifications in the world with strong global recognition."
Outgoing ACCA president Brian McEnery’s highlights
Seeing and contributing to the many ways that ACCA works in the public interest has been the highlight of the year, says outgoing president Brian McEnery
Get Ready. Get Employed.
ACCA has setup platforms which help ACCA affiliates stay ahead of the curve on all fronts. Our efforts to enhance the employability of our affiliates have been noteworthy as a number of activities were conducted so that the young ACCA fraternity is equipped with skills to hit the ground running. 
ACCA organised industry visits for young affiliates in different cities
Introduction to Strategic Business Leader
Are you up for the challenge? Watch our case study extract played out in real life, and see if you can complete various tasks in the investigation of Rail Co.
You’ll demonstrate the right blend of technical, ethical and professional skills in the evaluation, synthesis and presentations of responses through the context of an innovative case study.
Prepare to Pass - ACCA's revision sessions for March 2018 start Jan 29
Enhancing your employability with session CBEs
Watch employers explain how students can enhance their employability by taking their F5-F9 exams by session CBE, and why word processing and spreadsheets are essential tools for today’s finance professionals.
ACCA and The Millennium University College partners for a Career Symposium in Karachi
A big shout-out to all the participants of this year's  Techstars   Startup Weekend Peshawar  and  congratulations  to the winning teams, especially to  ACCA  students who made us proud with their innovative ideas. As a knowledge partner to  Peshawar 2.0 , we'll continue to support these young brains
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ACCA Pakistan in the news
  • Pakistan Observer: ACCA Pakistan and Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry Multan organized an exclusive conference “Turning the Tide – Women in Business.” 
  • The Nation, Daily Times , ACCA launches the ACCA Careers Job Board in Pakistan.  
  • Business Recorder – 17 November – The BR Research team interviews Helen Brand OBE, chief executive of ACCA, about her time in Pakistan and some of the issues facing the accountancy profession around the world.
  • The Nation, Daily Times, Business Recorder: ACCA conducts workshop on ‘Business and Finance Reporting for Journalists’ in Lahore and Islamabad.
  • Pakistan Observer, Daily Times, Netmag Pakistan, flare.pk, The Express Tribune – 26 October – ACCA held the launch event for their Ethics and Professional Skills module in Pakistan yesterday. The event featured a panel discussion on ACCA’s report, Ethics and trust in a digital age, with an address from Helen Brand OBE, ACCA chief executive. Some articles also feature comment from Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan.
Digital Highlights
Employers share their feedback on ACCA Careers and Job Board
"A dream is not good enough until people laugh at you"
Dr Rob Yeung on the best way to achieve your career and life goals
How to complete your CPD declaration online
Fahad Ali Khan, our Place Winner from Sep 2017 reveals his secret recipe for success
Visual Highlights
Helen Brand OBE, Chief Executive, ACCA and Ayla Majid, Council Member, ACCA visit State Bank of Pakistan
Helen Brand OBE attends the Pakistan Shared Services Forum meeting hosted by PwC Pakistan
Helen Brand OBE and Ayla Majid host senior Members and Practical Experience Supervisors in Karachi
Round-table discussion on key audit matters in Karachi