ACCA Pakistan and ICMA PAKISTAN HOLDS SEMINAR ON PROFESSIONALISM

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) held a seminar with Institute of Cost and Management Accountants for Pakistan (ICMAP) for their members on “Professionalism”. The seminar focused on the importance of ethics as well as incorporating professionalism in any matter of the business and specifically for accountancy.

Haroon A. Jan, Head of Member Affairs, ACCA Pakistan and Mr. Muhammad Abbas started off the seminar by sharing facts and figures about ACCA and ICMAP.

Mr. Peter Large, Executive Director, Governance at ACCA and Mr. Saeed A. Sheikh, Chief Executive, Shaikhain Management & Law Consultants shared their views over the importance of incorporating ethics and professionalism while practicing accountancy.

Mr. Saeed A. Shaikh talking about the importance of ethics and what it really means to be an accountancy professional said:“There is a standard of ethical requirements for professional accountants. The first thing that is important is integrity followed by confidentiality and professional behavior. Professionals are accountable for their actions at all times therefore, even if the company or industry does not have a written code of conduct, they should display ethical behavior at all times.”

At the seminar, Mr. Peter Large highlighted what is professionalism, what accountancy profession offers and what does integrity mean in the accountancy profession. He shared that ACCA follows consistency in terms of standards globally being an international body of accountancy. ACCA has an international code of conduct for ethics and technical standards such as financial reporting standards and higher level conduct requirements.

Commenting on the role of an accountancy profession, Mr. Peter said: “The accountant in the workplace acts as a trusted adviser and a critical consultant. It is the duty of a professional accountant to foster appropriate corporate culture and governance. It is very important to not lose sight of the main role of accountancy profession and that is to add value to the business which will help a business grow.”

ACCA, the global body for professional accountants is a strong believer that finance experts always add value to economies and their qualifications are associated with the needs of employers in all sectors.

ACCA and Higher Education Department(HED), Government of Punjab Collaborate to Enhance Curriculum of the Government Commerce Colleges in Punjab

ACCA Pakistan and Higher Education Department (HED), Government of Punjab signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in October 2014 with the aim of providing access to globally relevant professional accountancy qualification to students of the D.Com programme.

The top most objective of HED is to improve the quality of Higher Education in the province. ACCA Foundation Diploma is an international qualification being taught in 190 countries. By introducing this programme, ACCA will play a role in making an internationally recognised qualification accessible to the students at Government Commerce Colleges (GCCs) in Punjab.

ACCA has assessed the D.com curriculum and has awarded exemptions from 2 out of 7 ACCA Foundation Diploma examinations. D.Com students will only have to pass 5 exams to complete ACCA Foundation Diploma. In this regard ACCA and HED have jointly identified 9 out of 118 GCCs, where the ACCA Foundation Diploma qualification will initially be offered. Teaching the ACCA Foundation Diploma will require capacity building of Business, Accounting, Finance and Commerce faculty. Therefore ACCA and HED have selected 97 faculty members from 9 GCCs who will be trained by ACCA experts. The faculty training by ACCA will build their capacity to effectively teach an international qualification.

In addition to this 100 meritorious students have also been selected from 5 GCCs in the pilot stage, who will be put through the programme. ACCA and HED have agreed to offer scholarships to these students in order to make the qualification affordable for them. ACCA will contribute PKR 5.1million and HED will provide PKR9.1 million for this scholarship. These 100 students will only have to pay PKR 5,500 over a period of 1 year.

The MoU is the first step towards supporting relevant public sector educational institutes with education reforms in terms of upgrading their curriculum to international standards, capacity building of their teaching staff thus promoting excellence in the accountancy profession.

Health care facilities improving according to international standards for kidney patients

Lahore, 9^th February, 2015: FRESH Nursing Facility launched its Kidney Dialysis Lounge in January, 2015. It is one of its kind in Pakistan and facilities and guides patients to cope up with dialysis. It is also creating awareness regarding risk factors and helping patients to take care of themselves.

This lounge is an innovative & creative idea, as FNF facilities include one technician, one registered nurse and doctor for every three patients for dialysis and offering complementary dialysis to the patients with two processes.

Ashba Kamran, CEO FNF says, “Patients need dialysis of 12 hours a week. During this phase they go through a lot of physical, emotional and psychological stress.” We are linked with the US Nephrologists, Dr. Sheikh who is helping us in raising awareness about chronic kidney diseases, doing the essential to meet international standards of dialysis and introducing medical nutritional products.” she added.

FNF have a special team of medical officers and nephrologists available 24/7. During the procedure, snacks facility & exclusive lounge to relax in is also offered. Other than that, diet plans, guidelines & support are provided to the patients to help them cope and manage their illness effectively & wisely.

Depending upon individual needs, FNF provides a wide variety of care options to choose from rehabilitation therapy to long term care options, including specialized Alzheimer’s to dementia care. The goal of FNF is to improve the quality of patient’s life by offering comfort and dignity. This care is provided by a team oriented group of trained professionals, volunteers and family members. FNF addresses all the symptoms of a disease with a special emphasis on controlling a patient’s pain and discomfort.

Gul Ahmed's Exquisite, Regal, and Vibrant Lamis Digital Silk Collection

photocreds: Watchout.pk and Gul Ahmed

Are you the kind of woman who cherishes exquisite attire?  Is there any woman who doesn’t want her money’s worth while splurging in fashion? And, is there any woman who would not want clothes that are extremely  soft to the touch?  Behold! Gul Ahmed has introduced yet another splendid collection that is sure to make any girl feel  royal. If there is compromise then there isn't fashion. 

It’s a given that with Gul Ahmed you can expect the highest quality, various kinds of prints and an excellent color palette. Lamis Digital Silk does not disappoint in this regard: the quality, the colors, the texture, and the stunning art work are flawless.

 Encompassing a wide array of digital pure silk designs, the collection is delightful. The designs include oriental impressions. Bring out the Japanese mystique or the Cleopatra charm with the bejeweled necklines. The choice is yours!

 Perfect for a formal evening or a tea party, rest assured for you can jump on Gul Ahmed’s bandwagon.

The Lamis collection is a palette of complete regality which is sure to strike the fancy of women of various tastes. From enchanting twilight gleaming to the majestic after dark every piece in this collection is a visual treat. Each piece from this collection has a story to tell, one that you can help forge an ending to. The intricate work done on the fabric and the vibrant print yells splendor and speaks volumes for the bright infusion of colors in hues that define the very essence of high end fashion.

Ranging from the brightest orange to the embossed jade, the cobalt silk, the violet rage, truly Lamis Digital Silk is precious. What ought to tickle your fancy is the fact that this time around Gul Ahmed has gone all gaudy but in a tremendously classy demeanor. The figure- flattering delicate silhouettes that are both feminine and fun are a must-have for every woman who wants fashion with substance.

So go grab yours before they run out! and while you are there, grab yourself a bag, and one of those funky shoes in the store, for Gul Ahmed is running an UP TO 70% OFF offer on their products!

11 tips for writing a powerful Oped

When I started off my career as a publicist, I had to learn how to write Press Releases, Articles, Newsletter material and Opeds. Although all of the above were technical the most difficulty I faced along with my coworkers was writing powerful Opeds that were going to be published under the name of the CEO of a company. 

Opeds are very technical pieces that require a lot of research: you have to not only research the macro and micro environment the company is operating in but also the targeted audience, the medium you can use to target the audience, the current scenario globally/nationally/locally that can be used to cement the CEO's position as a thought leader.

After countless editing and re-writing several Opeds and slaving hours away here are eleven tips that I have internalized that made oped writing easier:

1. Track the news and jump at opportunities: Whenever possible, link your issue explicitly to something happening in the news.
2. Limit the article to 600 to 800 words. Shorter is even better. Newspapers have limited space to offer, and editors generally won’t take the time to cut a long article down to size.
3. Make a single point — well. You cannot solve all of the world’s problems in a single Oped. Be satisfied with making a single point clearly and persuasively. 
4. Put your main point on top. You have no more than 10 seconds to hook a busy reader, so get to the point and convince the reader that it’s worth his or her valuable time to continue.
5. Tell readers why they should care. Put yourself in the place of the busy person looking at your article. Appeals to self-interest usually are more effective than abstract punditry.At the end of every few paragraphs, ask out loud: “So what? Who cares?” You need to answer these questions.
6. Offer specific recommendations. An op-ed is not a news story that simply describes a situation; it is your opinion about how to improve matters. In an op-ed article you need to offer recommendations.
7. Embrace a personal voice. The best of these examples will come from your own experience. When it comes to op-eds, however, you should embrace your own voice whenever possible.
8. Use short sentences and paragraphs. Look at some op-ed articles and count the number of words per sentence. You’ll probably find the sentences to be quite short. You should use the same style, relying mainly on simple declarative sentences. Cut long paragraphs into two or more shorter ones.
9. Avoid jargon. Your Oped needs to be in simple language so that you can easily cater to readers who are from various backgrounds with various language skills. 
10. Use the active voice. It’s easier to read, and it leaves no doubt about who is doing the hoping, recommending or other action.
11. Make your ending a winner. As noted, you need a strong opening paragraph, or “lead,” to hook readers. One trick you can use is to conclude with a phrase or thought that appeared in the opening, thereby closing the circle.