ACCA calls on G20 to drive reform of the global financial agenda

KUALA LUMPUR, Monday 31 May 2010 (Bernama) -- As the Group of Twenty nations (G20) prepare to meet in Toronto next month, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) are putting forward recommendations for global policy-makers.

Around 1,500 delegates, including heads of state, will convene for two-days, beginning June 26, to discuss the global financial crisis and assess the progress made on the road to recovery.

ACCA Chief Executive Helen Brand said the association was asking world leaders to deliver on promises made at previous summits and go further in their efforts towards financial sector reform, robust accounting standards and strong sustainable growth.

"A repetition of a catastrophe on this scale is something neither governments, the public nor the global business community could countenance.

"We feel the crisis has provided both an incentive and an opportunity for the wholesale financial reform which will lead to a sustainable global economy," she said.

In a paper themed, "Recovery and New Beginnings", the ACCA commended the pledges made by the G20 to date, but said further action was required in several areas.

It said the G20 should turn its stated commitment to integrity in financial institutions into reality by encouraging moves to instil ethical business codes and better risk management functions in the financial and corporate sectors.

Brand said the G20 must seriously consider separatig retail and investment banking.

"The G20 should now take concrete steps towards the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and ensure accounting standards are free from undue political influence.

"Sustainability and tackling climate change should be embedded in the G20's agenda and ingrained in business practice through the use of a global carbon reporting standard," she added.

Though the G20 has existed since the financial crisis in Asia in 1999, it was only at last year's Pittsburgh summit that it was designated the premier forum for international economic cooperation.

Clearly, Brand said there remained much to do.

Given the leadership it has shown thus far, Brand said ACCA was calling for the G20 to be made a permanent fixture with broader global governance role.

Meanwhile, the President of ACCA Malaysia Advisory Committee Datuk Mohd Nasir Ahmad was quoted in the statement as saying that Malaysia should take an interest in the progress although it was not part of the group.

"Their actions will have an impact on global financial recovery and will affect our conditions as well," he added.

However, Mohd Nasir questioned the structure of the forum itself, saying that it was unclear how the interests of smaller economies were represented at the table.

"While the G20 may be more inclusive than the G8, some introspection is needed to make sure it is truly representative and avoid accusations that it is an exclusive club," he said.