Kampuchea Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Auditors (KICPAA) celebrates admission as International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) associate member

The president of KICPAA, Mr Key Kak welcoming the delegates to the Seminar. Sitting at the front is His Excellency Keat Chhon, the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance

The president of KICPAA, Mr Key Kak welcoming the delegates to the Seminar. Sitting at the front is His Excellency Keat Chhon, the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance

In conjunction with its formal admission as an International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)’s associate member, the Kampuchea Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Auditors (KICPAA) organized a Seminar on Strengthening Accounting and Auditing Profession and Enhancing Accounting Education in Cambodia on 16 January 2009 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The seminar, held at the InterContinental Hotel, was attended by participants from the accounting professionals as well as the stakeholders of the profession in Cambodia as well as representatives from the ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA) who were in town for the AFA Council Meeting.

The seminar was officiated by His Excellency Keat Chhon, the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance. In his keynote address HE Keat Chhon congratulated KICPAA for its admission in IFAC which was a reward for the years of effort under the country’s Financial Sector Blueprint 2001-2010 which called for the establishment and strengthening of Cambodian accounting profession and legislation based on International Standards.

HE Keat Chhon also noted that with the introduction of the Capital market in Cambodia towards end of 2009 would require for a better financial reporting mechanism in order to earn confidence and trust of potential domestic and global investors.

Throughout the day, there were presentations from speakers from various accountancy bodies around the globe. The first speaker was Ms Sylvia Barrett, Deputy Director, Member Body Relations of IFAC, who gave a talk entitled “IFAC: Key Success to Build Independent Professional Body Up to Standard in Developing Country. Sharing International Experiences and Recommendations”. In her speech, Ms Barret lays down the challenges ahead for KICPAA and the role it could play in developing the profession in Cambodia and ensuring convergence of the professional standards in Cambodia to international standards.

The President of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, Mr Nik Mohd Hasyudeen Yusoff, shared his views on ‘Getting Public Recognition- Sharing the experience of Malaysia. Nik, who is also the Vice president of ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA), shared with the audience the strategic direction of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) in getting by maintaining the credibility of the profession as well as the issues and challenges faced by MIA in doing so.

Also present was Mr Alex Malley, CPA Australia president who spoke on “Defending Public Interest. Sharing experience of Australia, Mr Tay Kay Luan who is ACCA Regional Director of ASEAN and Australasia enlightened the participants on “Accounting Training Experience and ACCA Cooperation inCambodia” while Dr Soth Vanthoch who is the KICPAA CEO spoke on “KICPAA Accounting Education Reform Project in Cambodia”.