THE CPA Australia Fiji branch congress 2017 was hailed a success, connecting some of the biggest minds in the country’s private and public sector.
And it was indeed a fruitful meet as renowned international speakers and reputed business figures took to the stage addressing some of the pressing issues faced by the accounting profession globally.
The premier business event brought together local accounting professionals including private and public sector leaders and executives at the Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort and Spa in Sigatoka with the theme “Connecting the biggest minds”.
The congress was organised by CPA Australia — one of the world’s largest accounting bodies with a global membership of more than 160,000 working in 118 countries around the world, with around 25,000 members working in senior leadership positions.
The congress theme resonated Fiji’s poised position to compete in the evolving global environment and provided more than 500 participants a unique opportunity to take the lead and take charge.
CPA Australia Fiji branch president Uday Sen said the congress this year covered topics which related to Fiji’s general economy.
“One of the fundamental aims of all professions is to be able to create discussions amongst its members and the general community so that benefits from it can be picked up by the business community at large,” he said.
Mr Sen said the CPA Australia Fiji branch had also grown significantly over the past 10 years, reflecting the continuing growth reinforcing the strength of the CPA designation and brand.
“From the humble beginnings, we now have just under 500 members in Fiji,” he said while opening the congress.
“Our Fiji members are part of a global brand, which has over 160,000 members who operate in more than 118 countries around the globe.”
Along with the growth of the local body, the CPA congress has also grown and evolved over the years since it first started in Fiji.
“As you will note over the last 10 years this congress has grown very significantly,” he said.
“We started in 2008 with just under 150 people and this year we had more then 450 delegates.
“The event was fully sold a month before the congress. It is one of the best business forums which takes place every year.”
Mr Sen said CPA was now well embedded in the Fijian economy with a number of educational initiatives in place.
This, he said, was part of CPA’s commitment assisting in upskilling the communities they operated in.
“As part of CPA’s initiative to support national universities we are now ready to offer the full CPA course through a Masters in Professional Accounting program with Fiji National University,” Mr Sen said.
“This is going to start in the first semester of 2018.”
Mr Sen said they also had ongoing work with the Ministry of Education, with experts from Australia conducting bench marking exercises for Year 12 and Year 13 accounting curriculum with similar years in Australia.
“Once the results are out, it will give us great opportunity to consider full realignment with the Australian curriculum,” he said.
“Also as part of capacity building CPA recently sent two of Ministry of Education curriculum development staff members to attend CPA academic conference in Adelaide,” he said.
“We also have arrangements in place to recognise excellence at all three major universities in Fiji and the secondary schools by region.”
Mr Sen said this year, as part of commitment towards the community, CPA Fiji branch had made its share of contributions towards the re-building of schools.
“We also ran a successful public speaking workshop which was very well attended.
“CPA Fiji is committed, to continue to offer further training and development opportunities to all our members.”
Former CPA Australia president Graeme Wade, who also spoke during the congress opening, urged local accountants to stay relevant and keep up with the changes.
Mr Wade said the relevance of the accounting profession needed to be kept up to date to adapt to the needs of new customers.
“Your relevance to the world and clearly with the advent of technologies, your relevance changes on a daily basis,” he said.
The congress also saw a certification ceremony, marking those who had advanced to CPA status together with other achievements.
CPA Australia country head New Zealand Rick Jones acknowledged each new CPA member for their tremendous effort and dedication to the CPA program.
Mr Sen and Jesse Moors of CPA Australia presented 21 CPA certificates, one (Fellow of CPA Australia) FCPA certificate.
Four CPA Australia members were also awarded for 10 years of membership and a special award was given to an FCPA for 30 years of CPA Australia membership.
