-
Doing best effort to adopt new technology tools for its education and examination systems
Interview with Mr. Zia ul Mustafa — Chairman, Strategic Board, ICMA
PAGE: Tell me something about yourself and ICMA, please:
Zia ul Mustafa:Â I currently hold the position of Chairman of the Strategic Board of ICMA International and am also a member of the National Council of ICMA. Before that, I served as the President of the Institute for the period from January 2021 to June 2022 and then voluntarily decided to relinquish the office of Presidentship to assume more significant and strategic roles for the betterment of the Institute.
I may add here that I remained the President of ICMA twice for three-year terms, i.e., 2012–2014 and 2018–2020, and also had the distinction of being the youngest President of the Institute since its inception in 1951.
I also served as the President of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) in 2020 and held the Chairmanship of the SAFA Committee on Governmental and Public Sector Enterprise Accounting.
Presently, I am a member of the SAFA International Committee. SAFA is a regional forum representing over 3,75,000 accountants having membership in the national chartered accountancy and cost and management accountancy institutions in South Asian countries, namely Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan.
I have had professional exposure for almost twenty-five years in corporate and public sector organizations, i.e., manufacturing, construction, services, banking, and education. Presently, I am serving as the CFO and Business Administrator of Pakistan Expo Centers Private Limited, a corporate entity owned by the Government of Pakistan with a mandate to develop, operate, and promote Expo Centers in major cities in Pakistan. I have been performing duties in this company since its inception in 2005, and as its leading team member, I have played a leading role in developing project feasibility, project financing, project execution, organizational management, and the launch of successful business operations at Expo Centers.
I converted the idea of developing and managing expo centers into reality on a self-sustaining basis. In recognition of my services, I received an award from the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Earlier, I worked with Descon Engineering Ltd. as financial controller for the Mangla Dam Raising Project and Mirani Dam Project and with Rustam Group of Industries as GM of Finance and Administration. I also served as an elected board member of the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG) for three years and as a member of the board of directors of Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited with the additional responsibility of Chairman of the Board Audit Committee for three years. Apart from having corporate and professional experience, I have traveled to over 20 countries and enjoy a good reputation as a corporate trainer.
As far as ICMA is concerned, it is a premier professional accounting body established in 1951 and enacted through an Act of Parliament (National Assembly) in 1966 for regulating the profession of management accounting in Pakistan. Currently, the Institute has approximately 7,000 members within Pakistan and abroad and more than 15,000 students. ICMA is the founding member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), Confederation of Asia and Pacific Accountants (CAPA), and South Asia Federation of Accountants (SAFA), and the only current participant of the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF) and International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), respectively, from Pakistan. The Institute has a legacy of 70 years of contributing to economic growth, public sector governance, financial management, and the auditing profession.
PAGE: How would you dilate upon the preceding year for ICMA in terms of international recognition, employment opportunities for members, and expansion of infrastructure?
Zia ul Mustafa:Â Â As far as international recognition is concerned, a major achievement in 2022 was the signing of a Pathway Agreement between ICMA International and Certified Public Accountants (CPA) Australia. This agreement will allow the active members of ICMA to become Associate Members (ASA) of CPA Australia by successfully completing three papers on Ethics & Governance, Global Strategy & Leadership, and one elective in the CPA program. We are working with other international accounting bodies to seek similar exemptions.
The Placements and Industrial Linkages Department of ICMA have been established to establish constant liaison with the corporate and industrial sectors for job placements of qualified members of the Institute and also to ink MoUs for long-term partnership and collaboration in areas of mutual interest. In 2002, a good number of our qualified members were inducted into executive positions in different public and private sector organizations all over Pakistan, and are proving their mettle for the benefit of their employers.
As far as the expansion of infrastructure is concerned, one of our main projects is the construction of the CMA Tower at the head office in Karachi. The work is almost at the final stages of construction, and hopefully, in the next two to three months, it will be completed. This would provide a good ambiance for the ICMA head office and provide more space for the office and auditorium for the benefit of our members, staff, and students. Renovation work at other campuses is also being done to improve the outlook of ICMA campuses.
I may add here that in May 2022, ICMA took a big leap forward by laying the foundation of the ICMA Raiwand Road Campus in Lahore and Faisalabad Campus. Hopefully, these would be completed in due course of time.
PAGE: Use of technology in 2023 would be more ubiquitous vis-a-vis the past. What is your take on the technological aspect of imparting education and knowledge at ICMA?
Zia ul Mustafa:Â The rapid technological evolution has far-reaching consequences not only for individuals, companies, and society but also for all professional educational institutions like ICMA. Teaching and learning practices have altered significantly as a result of the increasing usage of smartphones, the internet, and other ICT software applications, opening up new vistas of information transmission and knowledge acquisition for students and professionals. I think that using technology in learning and assessment processes would enable our students and professionals to engage in reflective, creative, integrative, and lifelong learning. It would also promote contact and collaboration among students, teachers, and specialists, regardless of location.
At ICMA, we have been proactive in adapting new technology, which has improved the examination and assessment sectors even more by speeding up procedures and processes, allowing for faster result announcements. We have 100% implemented computer-based examinations (CBE) at the operational level and 50% at the managerial level. Following completion of the courses of study, the practical modules are also entirely computer-based.
ICMA believes that there is always a blessing in disguise, so when the lockdown was imposed and academic institutions were closed across the country, ICMA quickly adopted a proactive approach by launching online coaching classes for students. It was a time when most academics found it difficult to virtualize themselves. ICMA is proud of its timely decision to pursue digital transformation to ensure that learning never stops.
Another milestone towards digitalization during the lockdown period was the conduct of exams through “remote access.” This was a first-hand experience for us and to the best of our knowledge, ICMA became the first professional institution in Pakistan to conduct exams through remote exams. For the first time, recordings of live lectures taught by nationwide faculty members were uploaded on the e-portal for the benefit of students. Further, the institute moved one step ahead to resolve the queries of students on respective courses and online exams by arranging “live Facebook sessions” with the title “faculty lounge sessions.”
ICMA will continue to adopt new technology tools to further improve its education and examination systems, as well as other office procedures and functions to facilitate our stakeholders. We are fully cognizant of the fact that employing cutting-edge data processing and data simulation techniques would help us make more efficient strategic decisions, reduce costs, solve problems, and bring innovation to our service delivery.
PAGE: Could you tell us about your standpoint on the promotion of accounting education?
Zia ul Mustafa: Accounting education is the gateway to becoming a professional accountant, who plays an instrumental role in ensuring organizations’ financial health and stability. It is generally said that a good accountant is always a good manager, as he can make good plans for the company. It is a reality that most successful businessmen have an accounting background, so I think that if you want to become a perfect businessman or intend to take up the role of the founder of any business startup, you must have knowledge of accounting and finance. It would help you manage your business easily by using your funds or seed money in an effective way.
At present, all business enterprises globally are facing a tough time remaining competitive and sustainable. In this backdrop, the role of professional accountants has assumed much significance, as they can help the management and boards of these enterprises make prudent strategic decisions based on their sound financial knowledge and acumen.
Needless to say, the accounting profession is undergoing significant changes due to revolutions in technology and markets. These changes are bringing improvements in the accounting processes and working methods, as well as the accounting professionals’ duties and responsibilities. For instance, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled the processing of large amounts of accounting information and transactions in the shortest possible time. It is therefore essential that accountants are equipped with a set of skills that allows them to continue to offer value to the market and make the existence of the profession relevant. Professional accounting bodies, including ICMA, are already taking initiatives to improve and broaden the skills of accountants, as well as modify the curriculum to meet emerging needs and better equip our students to become leaders in the workplace.
One such emerging reality is the knowledge and requirement for sustainable business practices that the accounting faculty, students, and management accountants must have. This is so because companies today are increasingly prioritizing making their business sustainable and dealing with ESG compliance. Our students need to be taught how to focus more on the application of concepts related to sustainability, ESG, and data analytics, among other transformational trends, to develop their business acumen.
PAGE: Could you tell us about the ICMA-INDUSTRY liaison?
Zia ul Mustafa: In 2022, ICMA organized three corporate Pakistan job fairs with the goal of offering a productive single platform connecting job seekers and corporate employers and facilitating professional networking. A number of corporate memoranda of understanding with companies were also signed during these job fairs, signifying the Institute’s commitment to serving as ICMA-industry liaison. The first corporate Pakistan job fair was organized in Karachi in February 2022, and was attended by almost 100 companies. The second job fair was held in Lahore in June 2022 and was attended by over 150 industry sectors. The third ICMA job fair was organized in Multan in September 2022, at which over 50 companies were represented.
In 2022, ICMA signed MoUs with two major chambers of commerce and industry with the objective of working together on joint research collaborations, developing policy recommendations for submission to the government, and organizing corporate training for the skill enhancement of members. The MoU with the Karachi Chamber of Commerce was signed on September 28, 2022, and the MoU with the Lahore Chamber of Commerce on November 18, 2022. These MoUs were initiated by the Strategic Board of ICMA to develop and strengthen ICMA-industry linkages for mutual benefit. More Memorandums of Understanding with other chambers of commerce will be signed in the coming months.
To build our liaison with the industry, ICMA invites the heads of chambers and associations to visit the institute, where they are briefed about its role and activities, especially how the CMAs can assist businesses and industries in improving their cost of doing business through cost management techniques. Recently, the President of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) visited ICMA Head Office, in Karachi. We also invite business tycoons as chief guests in our regular CPD programs and conferences, which also help in building a good rapport and relationship with the industry.
ICMA joined hands with Small and Medium Enterprises Development (SMEDA) under its National Business Development Programme (NBDP) to conduct training programs on “Cost and Management for SMEs” in major cities in Pakistan. The basic objective of these training programs was to equip SMEs with emerging concepts, proven skills, and knowledge on cost management that could help them strengthen their organizations’ systems and achieve future profitable growth. These programs were quite beneficial for the small business and industrial sectors and signify ICMA’s commitment to facilitating industry capacity building.
ICMA has recently established a “Centre of Excellence” (COE) to provide a professional executive coaching platform to develop professionals in the corporate market and improve their expertise and specialized abilities to create a seamless continuous learning and development environment. Different programs are being arranged by the COE, which are also attended by business and industry representatives.
I may add here that in November 2022, ICMA won the 10th FPCCI Achievement Award in the category of professional development and training. The FPCCI, being the apex body of trade and industry in Pakistan, confers these awards to business entities, organizations, and individuals to acknowledge their outstanding performance in their respective fields. ICMA has been receiving this award for the last several years, and this has built a good image and standing for the institute in business and industry circles in the country.