The Strategic Direction of the MIA’s Public Practice Committee 2010 - 2012
Auditors was said to be “not a hound” but “a watch dog”. The duties and responsibilities of
preparing financial statements that meet the standards set for financial reporting fell squarely
on the shoulder of the directors, being the custodians of the company’s assets, and the
preparers, being the financial personnel of the company. Auditors were engaged to lend
credibility to the financial statements so prepared by expressing their professional opinion on
them. More often than not the auditors bear the brunch of the blame when some thing goes
wrong with the company, financially. The case of Arthur Anderson was a fine example where
auditors took the first blow, but was later found to be ‘not at fault’.
Auditors may not be the hounds, that this does not excuse them from discharging their
duties and responsibilities to the highest professional standards demanded of them. Current
developments in the fields of accounting and auditing in our Malaysian market place is
presenting great challenges to us, the auditors.
The Prime Minister, in the Budget 2008 speech, announced the formation of an Auditing
Oversight Board to oversight the audit of public listed companies. The aim is to ensure the
audits are performed to the highest auditing standards. MIA, on the other hand, in order to
maintain quality, made mandatory the adoption of ISQC 1 (International Standard on Quality
Control 1) in 2006. At the same time MIA introduced a Practice Review mechanism on audit
firms to ensure that all member firms maintain a reasonable standard of auditing.
Assisting members in maintaining quality standard of works and continuing professional
education acquisition are the main concern of MIA. The credibility of the profession, and that
of MIA, lies in the performance of the members. Public practice matters (as the works of
audit firms are known in the profession) are entrusted to the Public Practice Committee
(PPC) under the purview of the MIA Council.
Recently the Council had a Strategic Retreat in Cyberjaya to re-visit the MIA Strategic Plan
to ensure that all action plans are in line with its strategies; and to ensure that members
welfare are served.
As for the PPC, it was entrusted with the responsibility of serving the practicing members in
a more effective manner. Having examined the challenges faced by members in public
practice (a Herculean task, in deed!) PPC concluded that the challenges and the way
forward can be identified into three main Strategic Themes, i.e. 1) ‘Competency & Quality’
that concerns with managing the firms. 2) ‘Growth & New Challenges’ that concerns with
managing the future of public practice. 3) ‘Shifting the Paradigm’ that concerns with
managing our own as well as others’ perception about the profession. Arising from these
Strategic Themes, PPC together with the MIA Professional Development Centre (MPDC)
had identified several Strategic Action Plans to address those challenges. (Please refer to
the matrix in Table A below).
The three Themes are of equal importance for us to survive and thrive in this challenging
moment in history. However, of immediate importance, managing competency and quality
remains the most challenging. It goes to the very ‘bread and butter’ issues of practice. This is
where PPC found, at times, it had to bear the full rap of the members. Honestly, MIA, in its
42 years of existence, never shrinks its responsibility in meeting members’ needs. The
welfare and the well being of the members always are the priority of the Council. In fact, the
demands of the practicing members had always out-stripped those other sector members.
On the part of PPC, several key initiatives are on the drawing board to assist and address
the difficulties and concerns faced by the members in practice, notably:
a) Quality issue: PPC would like to re-visit seminars such as ISQC and Practice
Review. PPC appreciates the difficulties in up-holding and up-grading quality, but
practicing firms have no option but to improve. Members must accept that quality
is the ‘key driver’ to their business success and not a ‘burden’ imposed by MIA.
PPC is of the opinion that the seminars should be conducted in a more proactive
fashion. Towards this end, PPC is working closely with the MPDC to re-orientate
these seminars to be more hands-on.
b) Mentoring: Apart from the Big 4 and Big 8, the rest are grouped generously
under Small and Mid-sized Practitioners (SMP). It is the opinion of PPC that
some firms may need guidance in adopting ISQC, and MIA should be the
‘resource centre’ to assist members in need. This idea of ‘mentoring’ is now been
floated and discussed. It is the hope of PPC that the idea can be materialized and
that the member firms can come forward to participate.
c) Service Mix: The world is changing. Many business opportunities are opening to
us, the practitioners. In this endeavor, PPC hopes to organize some workshop
and seminar for the members to introduce new business opportunities.
d) Firm management: There are many challenges facing practicing firms presently.
Big and small firms faced the same problems such as, staff acquisition and
retention, IT acquisition, competition on fee, continuous professional training.
This list is endless. PPC will take ‘the bull by its horn’. PPC hopes (again, working
with MPDC) to come up with some relevant seminars and workshops to assist
members from time to time.
PPC is not a superman. It cannot survive and thrive on its own. Members must come
forward to offer ideas and suggestions. Members must be ready to participate in the PPC
activities. Our future belongs to us, in our own hands; PPC is just the enabling tools. As a
parting word, President Kennedy once said, ‘ask not what your (MIA) can do for you. But ask
what you can do for (MIA)’.
Table A: Strategic Matrix for Public Practice Committee
No.
1.
Strategic
Strategic
Themes
Objectives
Competency Managing
& Quality
Public
Practice
Strategic
Action
Quality
Building
Competency
Building
MIA Website
Financial
newspaper
Proposed Action Plan
1) ISQC workshops
and certification
2) Practice Review
workshops
3) CPE for members
4) CPE for staff – no
frill audit & tax
courses
1) Profiling of firms
2) Ethics workshops
3) Leadership
workshops
4) Benchmarking
Dedicated section
Weekly column
Engaging
Members
Members
Authority
Members &
Public
No.
2.
Strategic
Themes
Growth &
New
Challenges
Strategic
Objectives
Managing
Future
Strategic
Action
Accountants
Today
Tuition
Provider
Service Mix &
Diversification
M&A and
Networking
Capacity
Building
3.
Shifting the
Paradigm
Managing Changing
Perception practitioners’
mindset
Changing
authorities’
mindset
Changing
users’
mindset
Proposed Action Plan
Engaging
Dedicated page
1) QE
2) Contents
1) Workshops on:
 Halal food
 Bio tech
 Labuan Offshore
 Islamic Financial
Products
 Franchising
 SMIDEC
2) Showcasing Firms
1) MRA arrangement
2) Network
Showcasing
 Indonesia
 Cambodia
 Vietnam
 China
 Singapore
1) M&A and
Networking
2) IT workshops
3) Profiling of firms
4) Multi-discipline
1) Self-awareness
workshops
2) Ethics workshops
1) Joint activity
 MOF
 LHDN
 SSM
 SC
 Bursa
 MOE
2) Publicity
3) Disciplinary action
1) Media publicity
2) Joint activity
3) Soft-skill training for
members
Academia
Members
Members
Members
Members
Members,
Public &
Authorities
Members &
Public