President’s Address
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS FABIO AXISA WE ARE APPROACHING THE END OF A LONG WINTER SEASON, FROM A CLIMATE PERSPECTIVE: THOUGH FROM A WORK PERSPECTIVE OUR PROFESSION SEEMS TO BE IN FULL BUSY SEASON SWING. I AM VERY FREQUENTLY TOLD THAT OUR PROFESSION IS NO LONGER CHARACTERISED BY A BUSY SEASON AND A SHOULDER SEASON, BUT THAT IT HAS BECOME ONE BUSY SEASON THROUGHOUT. IT MUST BE EVIDENCE THAT AS A PROFESSION WE HAVE DONE EXTREMELY WELL OVER THE YEARS AND THAT WE HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL. THIS MIGHT ALSO BE AN INDICATOR THAT WE REQUIRE MORE RESOURCES AND MORE QUALIFIED ACCOUNTANTS WITHIN OUR SECTOR. The Institute continues to work closely with the University of Malta and with institutions like ACCA to ensure that the qualification routes typically utilised in Malta support the profession in achievement of its objectives in terms of quality and quantity of resources. We have established a communication channel with the Ministry of Education to reach out to all secondary schools and postsecondary institutes with a view to enhancing and rendering more vibrant the profile of, and curriculum covered by, the subject of accountancy. As a profession we must attract the best talent and much more talent. In the area of education the Institute will continue to invest time and energy as this remains one of our key strategic pillars for the sake of the future of the profession. We will
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also embark on the preparation of material on what the profession entails, such that this material is used through the initiatives referred to above. The Institute is also in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to seek ways of sourcing, in a more flexible manner, accountancy resources from specific non-EU jurisdictions. We are exploring the paths or corridors from specific countries with a view to securing more resources within the profession. The Institute will continue working in this direction to assist members in understanding and resolving particular Visa and work permit issues, in respect of recruiting specific individuals from particular countries. Getting right the supply of accountants within the market remains an important target to the Institute.
The Outcome of the Moneyval Process Without any doubt, the outcome of the Moneyval process is of fundamental importance to our country, to our economy and to our profession. I sincerely hope that we have done, or are in the process of doing, our utmost as a country to overcome the short-term challenge on the political front at FATF level. But this goes beyond the short-term and will constitute a challenge for many years. On the technical side many things have improved but I am not sure all the immediate outcomes have been addressed in a perfectly comprehensive manner; for instance we think we need to do more as a country in the area of prosecutions and confiscations.
