Chartered accountant Shalvin Chand has challenged new accounting graduates to appreciate their role in advising and helping businesses achieve their  dreams.

Mr Chand was among a group of accountants and business owners who attended the two-day Climate Finance for Financial Institutions Training and Advanced Climate Change workshop in Suva.

He made the comments as he highlighted the important roles of accountants in helping a business navigate the challenges caused by climate change and to explore innovative business practices.

“Coming into this workshop, I want to start having a formal education and formal indicator on where to start from,” Mr Chand said.

He said the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has also drawn up new guidelines requiring businesses to incorporate climate change effects into financial statements.

“Investors are becoming very aware of this, the amount of pollution a company produces, wastes it produces, how it manages and reuses its wastes, these things are coming under the spotlight.”

Mr Chand said an accountant must continuously evolve with changing times.

“Adopting and learning climate change and incorporating that into your business, into your reports and adding value along the value chain is becoming evident now.”

Trainer Liliana Camacho urged MSMEs to access free digital tools on Business Link Pacific website to assess their business health and identify areas of improvement.

Business Assistance Fiji partnered with BLP and the ADB to increase local expertise on climate innovation and green finance.