Building Resilient and Sustainable Economies Forum: Agenda Now Available

The outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent economic recession have required substantial and rapidly deployed government interventions across the world. IFAC and the MOSAIC Steering Committee partners are delighted to host the Building Resilient and Sustainable Economies Forum, which will be held online December 7 - 11, 2020.

Across five exciting days, the Forum will explore the opportunities for the accountancy profession and professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) to support a strong public health sector and to facilitate the transformation of public financial management (PFM).

December 7, 10:15 AM – 10:45 AM ET

Welcome and keynote remarks:

Alan Johnson, IFAC President
Ed Olowo - Okere, Director, Governance Global Practice, World Bank

December 7, 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM ET

Session 1: Building Resilient and Sustainable Economies

IFAC’s latest study assessing the impact of professional accountants on economic development illustrates that a greater number of accountants correlates to better economic performance. In a crisis as large and all-encompassing as COVID-19, we must work together across both the private and public sector to share knowledge and resources to provide the best possible advice and guidance to governments. Accountancy – and by extension PAOs – will play an essential role in the sustainable recovery from COVID.

Introductions by:

Russell Guthrie, CFO, Executive Director – External Affairs, IFAC
Adenike Sherifat Oyeyiola, Practice Manager, World Bank

Moderated by: Jelena Misita, Incoming Chair of the IFAC PAO Development & Advisory Group

December 8, 8:30 AM – 10 AM ET

Session 2: A Strong Public Health Sector

During this session, speakers will provide an overview of the PFM framework in the public health sector and highlight how a strong accountancy profession contributes to strengthening country systems. PAOs play a unique role in developing and producing capable and competent accountancy professionals that can work in the public and health sector. The session will also feature a presentation on the COVAX global initiative.

Moderated by: Joseph Bryson, Director, Quality & Development, IFAC

Panelists:

Awinja Wameyo, Director, Programme Capacity Assessments, Gavi
Adda Faye, Chief Financial Officer, The Global Fund
Professor Andy Hardy, President, CIPFA

December 9, 8:30 AM – 10 AM ET

Session 3: Sound PFM in the Context of an Emergency

Emergencies have significant impacts on government spending. This session will highlight approaches to support public finance transparency and accountability in an emergency with an emphasis on the adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards and the transition from cash-accounting to accrual-accounting. The session will also share available tools and the role of the accountancy profession to help governments have greater visibility of their resources and deliver better services.

Moderated by: Khalid Hamid, Director of International, CIPFA

Panelists:

Srini Gurazada, Global Lead for Public Financial Management, World Bank
Professor Dr. Andreas Bergman, Director Public Sector, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, School of Management and Law
Tsakani Maluleke, Auditor General of South Africa

December 10, 8:30 AM – 10 AM ET

Session 4: Digital Transformation of the Accountancy Profession

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting current environment accelerated the need for the accountancy profession to leverage technology more. Accountancy professionals have considered how to do their present work differently and map out what tomorrow’s work and solutions might look like. In this session, panelists will discuss initiatives to support PAOs in their digital transformation journey.

Moderated by: Narayanan Vaidyanathan, Head of Business Insights, ACCA

Panelists:

Lourdes Felicidad Sanchez Alvarez, Inter-American Development Bank
Tashia Batstone, Senior Vice President, CPA Canada

December 11, 8:30 AM – 10 AM ET

Session 5: The Power of Partnerships

To harness new opportunities and fulfil their public interest responsibility, PAOs need the right capacity. Partnerships have the power to bring clear and sustainable benefits, not only to the parties directly involved but also to the broader national, regional, and global communities. This session will guide PAOs to establish and maintain relationships with development partners in their jurisdictions and highlight the importance of collaboration and engagement with key stakeholders to advocate on behalf of the accountancy profession.

Moderated by: Mahalah Groves, Head of Capacity Building, ACCA

Panelists:

Aman Trana, Director, Procurement, Portfolio, and Financial Management Department, Asian Development Bank
Patrick Kabuya, Senior Governance Specialist, World Bank
Alex Metcalf, Head of Public Sector Policy, ACCA
Arjuna Herath, Outgoing Chair of IFAC’s PAO Development & Advisory Group