The outgoing president of the Malta Institute of Accountants, Maria Micallef, has lamented that it was not sufficiently involved in shaping public opinion on key issues.

“This in my view should be an area of increased focus for the institute in an era where communication means are super easy and as a consequence misinformation rife.

“There are so many issues that potentially can affect our profession and there are so many different pieces of legislation that can have unintended consequences on us,” she said.

Ms Micallef was speaking at celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Malta Institute of Accountants, the largest professional body representing a profession in Malta, with over 2,500 members – 90 per cent of local warrant holders.

She also referred to the “significant and complex changes” currently under way, saying these were pushing aside the traditional transactional and reporting areas and bringing to the fore the need for knowledge workers who can analyse and apply business information to drive decisions.

“Our profession excels at doing that. We possess the skill set – and education base – that allows us to understand the connectivity of those complex factors. This, coupled with our ability to develop a trusted advisor relationship with clients, puts us in a unique position that we need to put to better use in the future.”

She appealed for integrity to remain the cornerstone of the profession.

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