War for talent in Asia continues
Demand for accountants with a balance of strong technical skills and soft skills in Asia Pacific and South-East Asia will persist through 2018, InTheBlack reported this month. Accountants are in high demand in emerging economies, such as Malaysia and Vietnam, noted Pauline Ho, Assurance Partner at PwC Malaysia. “The war for talent is very real, and I hear the same comment regardless of where I travel to within South-East Asia,” she told the magazine. “The talent crunch has been a constant challenge for this region, especially the United Kingdom.” According to a survey by recruiting company Hudson in October 2017, 90 percent of employers in Singapore, 75 percent of those in Mainland China and 42 percent in Hong Kong planned to recruit more accountants in the first half of 2018.
Firms accused of “feasting” on Carillion
British Members of Parliament have accused the Big Four accounting firms of “feasting on what was soon to become a carcass,” for the fees they charged the failing construction and management contractor Carillion, reported The Guardian. Evidence provided by the firms shows that they issued an aggregate bill totalling approximately £72 million over 10 years of work for Carillion. Rachel Reeves MP, Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee, questioned why Carillion’s auditor KPMG signed off the company’s last accounts before a profit warning in July 2017 that saw a slash in the value of key contracts by £845 million. Carillion is undergoing liquidation after exhausting all lines of credit and acquiring £900 million in debt.
Deloitte’s new tech research centre opens
Deloitte has launched a fully virtual hub without a physical address, which will offer resources to any ofthe firm’s technology, media or telecommunications clients. The Deloitte Centre for Technology, Media and Telecommunications is the firm’s latest initiative to help clients identify effective technology-driven business models and the newesttechnologies and trends, reported Accounting Today. “In today’s disruptive climate, tech, media and telecom companies can’t afford to chart the wrong path,” Jeff Loucks, Executive Director of Deloitte Services, said in a statement. “Our research and insights help simplify complex issues so business executives can spot hidden opportunities and make timely, informed and confident choices.”
Lee White appointed as Executive Director of IFRS
The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have appointed Lee White as its new Executive Director to manage the organization’s day-to-day operations. He succeeds Yael Almog, who departed the foundation in 2017 after five years of service. White, who has accumulated over 30 years of experience in the private sector and public authorities of Australia, was the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), and has played a key role in uniting the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants together to form CAANZ. White will begin his new role in April.
