MIA seeks enhanced regulatoryrole, better recognition

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) is considering the introduction of a competency assessment for accountants according to international standards and enhanced regulatory functions of the MIA that would enable it to participate more actively in designing surveillance mechanisms and disciplinary actions against errant accountants.

These are among the amendments to the Accountants’ Act 1967 that the professional board is proposing to enhance local accountants’ competitiveness on the global front.

MIA president Nik Mohd Hasyudeen Yusoff said: “We are working with the Ministry of Finance and have issued a consultative document regarding the proposed amendments to various key players such as the Securities’ Commission, Bank Negara, universities and other professional accounting bodies.”

“We have obtained their feedback and we will finalise the proposed amendments by the end of the year. We hope they would be tabled at the Parliament as soon as possible,” he said.

Nik Mohd Hasyudeen said the MIA was looking at how the accounting profession could be restructured in order to be resilient towards the changes in a competitive environment, partly due to globalisation, in which changes to the Accountants’ Act would be required.

He said: “The Act was enacted in 1967 based on the realities of that time. However, as we move forward, we find that the landscape of accounting has changed.”

“We want to have a more robust process in the accounting environment, so that we can react faster to make sure public confidence in the capital market is sustained,” he told reporters after the opening ceremony of the National Accountants Conference 2007 themed “Accountants: Towards Excellence, Achieving World Class” here yesterday.

Nik Mohd Hasyudeen said: “For instance, under the current Act, we find difficulty in addressing the distress in the capital market because of the way the Act is structured.

“With the amendments, we would be able to investigate alleged accounting malpractices faster, as we are seeking to enlarge the number of investigative committees that would speed up the process and help prevent adverse reports from circulating in the capital market.”

Additionally, he said the proposed amendments would allow the professional body to recognise more overseas accountants, and vice versa. He said: “There are accountants from Vietnam that are interested in practising in our country, and we want to open the pathways for them.”

“In return, we also want to look at how our members can also be accepted as professional accountants overseas as we believe it’s a two-way process,” Nik Mohd Hasyudeen said.

By The EDGE (By Yong Yen Nie)