The Malta Institute of Accountants (MIA) is having its biennial conference at Corinthia Hotel in St George’s Bay, St Julian’s, on Friday.
This year’s theme – ‘Disruptive Innovation: Adapting for your Tomorrow’ – focuses on the multifaceted challenges faced by the accountancy profession in an ever-evolving, and often unstable, socio- and economic realities.
Many wonder where the accounting profession will be in a few years’ time and discussions during the conference will centre on a range of thought-provoking themes, such as how accountancy is evolving, how are the qualities and the ideal set of skills of a successful accounts professional defined and how this industry remains relevant in the digital age.
The MIA is a non-profit organisation and the largest professional association in Malta, representing some 3,000 accountants and over 800 accountancy students, registering some 10 per cent growth in membership each year.
This year’s biennial conference is particularly interesting because it brings together a pool of multidisciplinary professionals – from accountants and finance specialists, to business owners, psychologists, ICT specialists and academics; together they will debate the future which accountancy faces, away from the stereotypical ‘number crunching’ image which one typically (and erroneously) associates with this industry.
The conference will welcome a host of expert local and foreign speakers from entities such as ACCA, ICAEW, FEE, 6pm Group, PwC, Farsons Group and Deloitte, as well as from universities both in Malta and the UK.
Topics on the agenda include inter alia drivers for change and competencies required, expanding expectations: intelligence, creativity, digital technologies and emotional intelligence. The conference will also include sessions on how to apply new skills to the many facets of the Maltese economy.
Leading international speakers will include Olivier Boutellis-Taft, CEO for the Federation of European Accountants (FEE), Martin Manuzi, EU regional director for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) and Anthony Walters, head of policy for Europe at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), which is the world’s leading body for professional accountants.
Among the local key note speakers will be Finance Minister Edward Scicluna, shadow minister for the economy, Claudio Grech, and MIA president Franco Azzopardi.
‘’Accountants are expected to make professional judgements and, in doing so, to exercise the highest standards of integrity,’’ says Azzopardi. “More than ever before, to remain relevant, accountants need to master new skills, particularly when it comes to ICT, digital and social media. The accountants of tomorrow will need a dynamic combination of honesty, independence, technical acumen and soft skills to succeed in a constantly growing market.”
This year’s event will be of interest to accountants themselves but also to business owners, CEOs (of both public and private entities), academics and students eyeing a career in the exciting industry of accountancy and finance.
The Malta Institute of Accountants’ biennial conference is being held at the Corinthia Hotel in St George’s Bay, St Julian’s, on Friday.