A conversation with Muhammad Yasin — Honorary Treasurer, ICMA Pakistan
[box type=”shadow” align=”” class=”” width=””]Profile:
Muhammad Yasin, is fellow member of ICMA Pakistan and PIPFA. He is Chairman of the Research and Publications Committee of the ICMA Pakistan. He also has portfolio of Honorary Treasurer of ICMA Pakistan. Mr. Yasin is representing ICMA Pakistan as Joint Secretary on the Board of Governors of Pakistan Institute of Public Finance Accountants (PIPFA). He has remained office bearer of Lahore Branch Council of ICMA Pakistan including Chairmanship. He is also representing the Institute in different committees of South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), PIPFA and ICMA Pakistan.
Mr Yasin has diversified experience of over 20 years in Textile, Oil & Gas, Media, Aviation, Supply Chain and Education sectors. Mr. Yasin is presently serving as a Group CFO at The Superior Group. Previously, he served Associated Group as CFO. He is duly recognized as Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) from Toastmasters International USA.[/box]
PAKISTAN & GULF ECONOMIST had a telephonic conversation with Muhammad Yasin, the Honorary Treasurer and Chairman, Research and Publications Committee of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMA Pakistan), one of the oldest finance professional institutions in the country, on how his institution is responding to the emerging requirements in the wake of outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan. It was quite encouraging to know from Mr. Yasin that ICMA Pakistan is very much agile vis-a-vis the emerging realities and is taking every possible initiative in providing maximum facilitation to its students, members and employees. The timely and focused response of the Institute is a testimony to the fact that it has very aptly adjusted to the emerging realities and ensured transition of the operations and transition to the ‘new normal’ to continue to provide services to its stakeholders.
Mr. Yasin told us that in the wake of the pandemic outbreak, the students of the Institute were immediately contacted through mobile phones and WhatsApp to inform them about the online coaching classes for which they were asked to get registered by filling up the form and join the classes from the comfort of their homes through desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smart phones. Quite unexpectedly, the response from the students was quite encouraging and a good number of registrations have been made and the classes are now being conducted live through Zoom on daily basis. According to Mr. Yasin, the online classes have a satisfactory rate and it is being ensured by the Institute that the live classes continue until the lockdown is lifted thoroughly across the country. Mr. Yasin also told us that a significant step taken by the Institute to encourage students to join online classes and continue their learning in this difficult time, is that it is providing 25% discount in the coaching fee to the registered students. This is really a very magnanimous initiative by ICMA Pakistan under the given circumstances which needs appreciation.
Mr. Yasin disclosed further that though the Institute regularly conducts Computer-Based-Examinations (CBE), it is now thinking to also conduct online examinations if the prevailing circumstances persist for a longer period. He was of the view that many international professional accounting bodies and institutions have transited to online exams of their students amid the global lockdown situation and ICMA Pakistan would also follow the suit to become part of this international trend.
The Institute, like other professional accounting bodies under affiliation with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) also arranges continuing professional development (CPD) programs for its members, which Mr. Yasin said, was disrupted temporarily by COVID-19. However, the Institute responded timely and it made smooth transition from in-person CPD to online CPD. By using the Zoom facility, it is now arranging live webinars for its members on different professional topics which are participated by its nation-wide members as well as by the members residing abroad. According to Mr. Yasin, recently the Institute organized a ‘Global CFO Conference’ live on Zoom on the theme of ‘Digital Transformation in the Profession: Need of the Time’ where international speakers, including the President of IFAC made presentation and appreciated the Institute’s timely initiative to hold this live webinar.
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Another timely and focused response of the Institute for its members, as communicated by Mr. Yasin, is that it has launched a ‘COVID-19 Resources Hub’ on website on which all the government notifications on the pandemic, including that of State Bank of Pakistan, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the Federal Board of Revenue have been provided on one page to equip the members on the latest updates. One page on the Resources Hub has also been dedicated for the members of the Institute where they can share their views, write-ups and articles on COVID-19 and its implications on the national economy and profession.
Mr. Yasin who also holds the portfolio of Chairman, Research and Publications Committee of the Institute told us that the Institute has taken another timely initiative by developing and releasing a booklet titled ‘Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Pakistan’ which assesses the implications of the pandemic on different sectors of the economy. This booklet is quite a useful document not only for the members and students of the Institute but also for the policy makers and other stakeholders.
It was further apprised by Mr. Yasin that ICMA Pakistan has also formed a special Task Force comprising of senior officials of the Institute for emergency response to members, students and other stakeholders. The purpose is that there is no disruption in the service provision to them despite hindrances due to social distancing and lockdowns imposed by the federal and provincial governments.
Working remotely is now becoming the norm for almost all the organizations now, including the educational institutions. Mr. Yasin told us that in this critical situation and to take preventive measures to safeguard the staff and visitors from the pandemic, all the employees have been asked to work remotely from their homes for which all kind of facilitation is being extended such as taking the computer desktops and laptops to homes if required and continue to provide internet connectivity through Wi-Fi devices to the Heads of Departments so that they can manage daily routine tasks without any difficulty and remain committed to meet the deadlines of different assigned tasks. The coordination meetings of the HODs and Campus In-charges are also held regularly on Zoom to supervise the work.
As far as continuity of business and financial transactions are concerned, the Honorary Treasurer of the Institute told us that the Institute is making it sure that pending payment to vendors in lieu of their services or provision of any goods to Institute, is made online after completely minimal level of verification. A number of physical requirements like signatures etc. have been ignored and the same is being taken electronically by the Finance Department from concerned officials, so that these vendors and service providers to the Institute do not suffer due to belated payments.