Annual Report 2011 - The Malaysian Institute Of Certified Public ...

26President’s Statementadvocating accountancy as a professionThe Institute continues to advocate the accountancyprofession by conducting career talks in various high schoolsin the Klang Valley.During these talks, the Institute dispels the perception ofaccountancy as a mundane career choice and reveals the truenature of accountancy as a dynamic profession that spursresourcefulness and innovation in business.The high school students are briefed that the nature of anaccountant’s work is highly specialised and thus accords jobsecurity whilst playing a critical role in shaping businessdecisions. The Institute also emphasises on the global demandfor professional accountants and invite the students toconscientiously choose accountancy as a career and berewarded with a world of lifelong learning and continuousprofessional and self-developmentsponsorship of student activitiesThe Institute takes the view of a holistic approach to thedevelopment of future accountants. The Institute constantlyemphasises to university students to take advantage ofopportunities to develop and cultivate their professional skillssuch as personal, interpersonal, communication andorganisational skills.The Institute believes that these professional skills, coupledwith strong technical ability, are essential to producework-ready graduates. This philosophy is appropriatelyreflected and embedded in the revised MICPA programmestructure.The Institute supports the development of professional skillsat the tertiary education level by providing support forrelevant student activities, whether in the form of providingmonetary sponsorship, guidance in development of theactivities flow or linkages to industry leaders where applicable.public practiceThe Public Practice Committee is responsible for identifying the professional development needs of members in public practice, inparticular with regard to small and medium-sized practices. The Committee also functions as a forum for consultation anddiscussion of issues relevant to members in practice.A major project of the Committee was the development of theAudit Guide for Practitioners which was first published at theend of 2006, and has since been revised in 2008 and in 2011.The audit guide is intended to provide comprehensiveguidance on the performance of audits of financial statementsin accordance with approved auditing standards in Malaysia andto maintain quality control for audit work. The audit guidecovers the development of an audit plan, audit programme andaudit management. It also contains sample audit workingpapers, internal control questionnaires and checklists ondisclosure requirements.The second revision of the Audit Guide for Practitionersincorporates the requirements of the 36 newly updated andclarified International Standards on Auditing and a clarifiedInternational Standard on Quality Control issued by theInternational Auditing and Assurance Standards Board of theInternational Federation of Accountants, and was madeavailable for sale in July 2011.Four (4) two-day workshops on the usage of the Audit Guidefor Practitioners have been conducted since July 2011. Theobjective of the workshop is to equip participants with thetechnical knowledge and skills in conducting audits of financialstatements in accordance with the clarified InternationalStandards on Auditing, which have been adopted for applicationin Malaysia.In December 2011, the Committee has also organised anevening talk on “Challenges Faced by Accountants asIndependent Directors”. The evening talk highlighted thechallenges faced by accountants as independent directors inthe discharge of their fiduciary and legal duties so as to providean effective check and balance to the board of directors ofpublic listed entities, particularly in situation of conflict ofinterest.The Technical Reference Panel, which provides free advisoryservices to members, received an increased number ofenquiries during the year. The subject matters related largely tothe application of the new and updated Malaysian FinancialReporting Standards and Financial Reporting Standards,clarified International Standards on Auditing, tax legislationsand company law.commerce and industryMembers in commerce and industry constitute almost half of the total membership of the Institute.The Commerce and Industry Committee is responsible forundertaking activities that are relevant to this segment ofmembers, including the organisation of CPD programmes inareas of interest to these members. In October 2011, theCommittee has also co-organised with ICAA an Intensive CFOof the Future workshop series which covered in-depth leadingstrategies to establish new competencies in the CFO functionthat can be effectively utilised to create comparativeadvantages for the organisation.The Committee continues to undertake the review of winningarticles published by the IFAC, resulting from an annualcompetition held by IFAC under the Articles of Meritprogramme. The Committee will recommend the articles forpublication in The Malaysian Accountant where it is deemedappropriate.