Accountants have to be the enabling partners to their clients and stakeholders, and help them harness disruption by providing the necessary peace of mind, William Spiteri Bailey, the newly re-elected president of the Malta Institute of Accountants, said.
“The accounting professionals and the Malta Institute of Accountants are uniquely placed to facilitate the smooth adjustment to new situations,” Mr Spiteri Bailey said, when addressing the Institute’s 54th AGM recently.
“The turbulent global world order and how things are evolving, where the adage ‘the only constant is change’, is leading to a situation where we need to ensure that apart from embracing the change, we’re also sensitive to the fact that most of the times, we are the ones who have the multiple roles of bringing change, supporting change and enabling change,” he added.
During the AGM, the following members were elected for the two-year Council term 2018-2020: Fabio Axisa, Christopher Balzan, David Delicata, Jonathan Dingli, Shawn Falzon, Ivan Grixti, and Annabelle Zammit Pace.
Accountants have to be the enabling partners to their clients
They joined the followingCouncil members, whose terms expires in 2019: Franco Azzopardi, Etienne Borg Cardona, Simon Flynn, Maria Micallef, Noel Mizzi, Franz Wirth and William Spiteri Bailey.
Mr Spiteri Bailey thanked the outgoing Council members, Anthony Doublet and Stephen Paris, for their dedication and contribution towards the Institute and the local profession. Both had served on Council for a long period of time.
At the AGM members unanimously approved the financial statements for the year 2017, elected auditors for the year 2018 and approved the proposed resolutions.
Mr Spiteri Bailey said the Institute is committed to keep the profession relevant and continue to attract the best talent to it. This is one reason the MIA sharpened its focus on holistic, formative and educational development that included a series of well-attended Continuing Professional Education (CPE) events, specifically designed to equip members and students with new skills and knowledge required in today’s environment.
The theme of the upcoming Biennial Conference on November 16 will focus on the challenges and openings brought about by digitalisation. Accountants need to be at the forefront of these transformations, said Mr Spiteri Bailey: “The changes happen too fast to keep abreast let alone master them. But that’s not us.”