In a world where professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) face complex challenges, there is tremendous value in collaboration. This was on display at a strategic planning workshop held by IFAC and the ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA) on December 5, 2024, where resources and experiences from the IFAC network helped Southeast Asian PAOs develop actionable strategies to achieve their organizational goals.

Empowering Members Through IFAC’s Member Value Proposition

The workshop introduced a number of PAOs to IFAC’s Strategic Planning Toolkit—one of its flagship resources. It was the latest in a series of workshops that have brought together PAOs from diverse regions—including Francophone Africa, the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia—to create a platform for global engagement.

The Toolkit provides an adaptable framework that empowers PAOs to address their unique challenges while driving long-term sustainability and impact. It’s a product of IFAC’s ongoing work to deliver value to its members by supporting PAO development.

The Toolkit is an expression of IFAC’s larger Member Value Proposition (MVP) which it coined recently to describe its longstanding commitment to enabling PAOs to thrive. The MVP has three parts:

  1. IFAC, by connecting and uniting its members, makes the accountancy profession truly global.
  2. IFAC member organizations are champions of integrity and professional quality,
    and proudly carry their membership as a badge of international recognition.
  3. IFAC and its members work together to shape the future of the profession through
    learning, innovation, a collective voice, and commitment to the public interest.
Man speaking with a slide about a strategy planning toolkit next to him

This event—convened by IFAC, co-hosted with AFA (an IFAC Network Partner), and attended by PAOs from across the region—is an example of how partnership can activate the MVP. Zarif Ludin, Head of Institutional Partnerships at ACCA, elaborated on the value of the collaboration at the workshop: “The Strategic Planning Toolkit workshop demonstrated the power of collaboration across global, regional, and local PAOs and IFAC. By leveraging IFAC’s resources and networks, PAOs in the ASEAN region are not only equipped to tackle current challenges but also to position themselves as key drivers of innovation, sustainability, and integrity within the accountancy profession.”

Lee White, Chief Executive Officer of IFAC, later reflected on the broader importance of IFAC’s MVP and its relevance to PAOs around the world: “Every membership organization needs to have a member value proposition. It shapes and guides every action of that organization in using its limited resources to maximum value for its members. Our IFAC MVP is simply our promise to our members of what they can expect and will receive from us.”

Lessons from Algeria: A Case Study in Transformation

Nawel Rabahi presenting a slide with a case study

A highlight of the workshop was the participation of ONEC Algeria, which was represented by Nawel Rabahi, a Certified Auditor and Consultant for ONEC. Nawel shared insights into the organization’s journey of adopting the Strategic Planning Toolkit and its transformative impact.

 

The organization used the Strategic Planning Toolkit to:

  • Strengthen Stakeholder Collaboration: By involving council members, volunteers, and external consultants in their strategic planning process, ONEC fostered unity across its network.
  • Promote Innovation: ONEC incorporated tools like the CAPA Maturity Model to assess their organizational capacity, identify gaps, and create actionable KPIs to track progress.
  • Enhance Professional Excellence: By aligning their strategy with international benchmarks and focusing on service diversification, ONEC prioritized the development of its members and the profession in Algeria.
  • Drive Integrity and Transparency: Through the integration of KPIs and structured monitoring processes, ONEC ensured accountability and strengthened trust among stakeholders.

With her detailed account, Nawel showed ONEC’s ability to adapt the toolkit to its local context while maintaining alignment with global standards. As one attendee remarked: “ONEC’s experience showed us that the Strategic Planning Toolkit is more than a guide—it’s a way to bring our aspirations to life.”

Uniting PAOs as Catalysts for Progress

The workshop also illuminated the role of PAOs in advancing the accountancy profession. Through interactive sessions, participants explored how the toolkit could align their strategies with IFAC’s vision while reflecting local and regional nuances.

Professor Sidharta Utama, member of the IFAC Board and the AFA Council, commented on the significance of strategic planning: “Strategic planning goes beyond setting goals—it is about creating a clear, actionable roadmap that aligns an organization’s vision and mission with the needs of stakeholders and the realities of its environment.”

Looking Ahead: A Shared Commitment

As the session concluded, participants reflected on key takeaways and identified actionable next steps. Many emphasized the importance of continued collaboration with IFAC and AFA to sustaining momentum and refining their approaches.

Zoom meeting with many people on screen

The workshop demonstrated that IFAC’s MVP is a concrete commitment to empowering PAOs across the global accountancy profession. ONEC Algeria’s experience was an example of how the Strategic Planning Toolkit positions PAOs to navigate their unique contexts while contributing to the profession’s collective advancement.

As one attendee summarized: “It’s not just about tools; it’s about empowering PAOs to create meaningful change.”

Tanya Musumhi

Tanya Musumhi is an IFAC regional manager, responsible for the Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe regions. In this role, she helps IFAC’s member organizations and other professional accountancy organizations adopt and implement international standards and best practices and ensure the relevance and resiliance of the accountancy profession. Prior to her time at IFAC, Tanya was a grant capacity senior program manager at World Vision US.  

Tanya holds an MA in International Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland (2009) and an MA in International Policy Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (2007).  

Zarif Ludin
Muhammad Zarif Ludin

Head of Institutional Partnerships

Zarif Ludin is the Head of Institutional Partnership at ACCA and leads and develops strategic partnerships with regional and global accountancy organizations, donors and development agencies, and represents ACCA in external forums and consistently promotes ACCA’s global contribution to public value. Zarif Ludin serves ACCA’s Category “A” observer at the IFAC board and PAODAG as a Technical Assistant and is a member of the Ethics working group at CAPA.  

Zarif Ludin was the Chief Executive of CPA Afghanistan at the Ministry of Finance, Afghanistan, since June 2013, being responsible for the enactment of accountancy law, the establishment of the executive office, board and related technical committees and the capacity building of accountants and auditors. Zarif Ludin focused on quality education, well-defined regulations and CPA Afghanistan’s recognition on national, regional and international platforms. He played a significant role in obtaining South Asia Federation of Accountants (SAFA) and Confederation of Asia and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) associate memberships for CPA Afghanistan. He initiated the idea of Strategic Partnership and revenue sharing for CPA Afghanistan jointly with ACCA.

In addition, he has experience of more than 12 years of working with different Organizations like USAID and US embassy-funded programs, Financial Institutions and Banks, NGOs and Universities as a Finance Manager, Program Coordinator and part-time Lecturer. Zarif holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from the Graduate Institute of Geneva.