In collaboration with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) published a case study on SAICA’s activities in the public sector.
A news release said the case study highlights how a focus on the public sector supports SAICA’s mandate to contribute to South Africa’s economic and social advancement.
The demand for accounting and finance professionals in the public sector is high, the release said. However, many public-sector entities, including at national and local government levels, struggle to find suitable candidates with the right skills to fill these positions.
“Professional accountancy organisations can promote the value of a professional workforce, advocate for accountants, and support members’ professional development, which will help the public sector do more with less, and ultimately reinforce trust in public services and spending,” Stathis Gould, IFAC’s director of member engagement, said in the release.
FCA initiative aims to foster innovation
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will launch an initiative to support innovative businesses to launch new products and services, a news release said. It will also help deliver on the FCA’s new secondary objective to support economic growth and international competitiveness.
Until now, the Digital Sandbox has been used only as part of pilot programmes.
“The Digital Sandbox works to foster innovation and growth,” the news release said. “More than half of the previous small to medium enterprise participants … made positive developments including launching new products, securing funding and partnerships, or receiving industry awards or recognitions”.
The platform will be available on 1 August.
UK government issues draft regulations for large companies
New draft regulations will require very large companies to report more effectively on business resilience and assurance, a UK government publication said. According to the publication, very large companies (with at least 750 employees and an annual turnover of £750 million or more) will be required to:
- Explain how they are managing significant risks, and building or maintaining resilience;
- Demonstrate that they have enough realised profits to pay any dividend (or make any other distribution of profit), and explain the company’s approach to making dividends and other profit distributions over the short and medium term;
- Describe the actions taken by the directors to prevent or detect major fraud; and
- Explain how the company assures the quality and reliability of its corporate reporting.
If approved by the House of Commons and House of Lords, the amendments will take effect in 2025.
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.