'Many corporations doctor financial statements'

Many corporations are learned to manipulate their financial statements through supplying 'false information', which often misleads investors and causes monetary loss to them.

Adoption of information technology can be one of the options to check such malpractices, thus helping company managements make better and prompt decisions.

The observations and suggestions came at the opening of a two-day SAFA International Conference-2021 at a city hotel hosted by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB).

Planning minister MA Mannan attended the event as the chief guest while comptroller and auditor general Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury and commerce secretary Md Jafar Uddin Chowdhury as the special guests.

Financial Reporting Council (FRC) chairman Prof Md Hamid Ullah Bhuiyan presented a keynote paper.

Addressing the programme, Mr Mannan said accounting professionals play a pivotal role in running business organisations which are crucial of economy.

Citing the remarkable economic growth in recent years, he said even a cynic will not raise a question about the country's development.

"We crossed many barriers in the recent years for achieving economic progresses," said Mr Mannan, adding that the country logged massive improvement in developing infrastructure and maintaining stability.

Mr Bhuiyan said digital economy has become a driving force for global economic growth, whereas organisations are changing their business models to become more customer- and data-centric.

Various components of the digitalisation process, including big data analysis, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, block chain and robotics, are impacting business models as well as accounting and auditing, he added.

Underscoring the need for adopting digitalisation to help protect public interests, the keynoter said digitalisation along with governance can protect the interests of all stakeholders of a business.

Unfortunately, many corporations, virtually most public companies, manipulate their earnings and shareholders are misguided. As a result, they lose their investment, he observed.

Mr Bhuiyan said the adoption of digital technologies is the key to checking such unethical practices.

He suggested accounting professionals prepare themselves for digital transformation that is taking place every now and then.

Echoing his view on the issue, Mr Chowdhury said without embracing the components of fourth industrial revolution, any professionals could be displaced from their jobs.

"If you don't upscale your skills and knowledge, you will be out of the market," he said, added that the change will bring huge opportunities too.

SAFA president AKM Delwar Hussain, ICMAB president Md Jasim Uddin Akond and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh president MH Khusru, among others, also spoke.

Headquartered in Delhi, the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) was formed in 1984 to serve the accountancy profession in the South Asia region.

With the theme 'Digitalisation of accounting and auditing practices: Challenges and opportunities to protect public interest', the conference was scheduled to host five technical sessions on different aspects of cost management accounting profession.

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