ACCA supports women entrepreneurs in South Punjab

ACCA partnered with the Women Economic Empowerment Network for the WEEN Summit 2019 in Multan to bring together trailblazing women entrepreneurs and provide opportunities to inspire, network, collaborate, seek support, and launch new initiatives.

At the summit, ACCA Member, Khawaja Mohsin delivered an insightful presentation on how to enable women entrepreneurship in the country and explained how ACCA is helping Women in Finance reach their career goals.

The major outcomes of the summit included the launch of wehub.pk, Pakistan's most comprehensive information and business portal for women entrepreneurs, formulation of WECON Movement Multan Chapter, and the launch of Women Entrepreneurs and Leaders Program, South Punjab's first entrepreneurial programme focused on female youth and women.

“ACCA has always been an inclusive professional body and we strongly advocate for gender diversity globally. We believe that it’s every organisation’s responsibility to support diversity, and to review the way they support and open up opportunities to women – and all under-represented groups in the country. By ensuring that the women entrepreneurs are supported and encouraged, we can improve economic opportunities for our people.” – Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan

“The accounting profession in Pakistan is committed to improving the workplace experience and progression prospects for women. We need to keep working together on a true, concerted effort to acknowledge long-standing issues, rectify them, and bring about change that creates balance.”

The event featured contributions from leading women business leaders and policy makers, including Shandana Gulzar Khan, Chairperson, Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians.

Opportunity and diversity are two of ACCA’s five core values, and it was established specifically to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds, based solely on their ability. ACCA is in a strong position when it comes to gender balance – its membership has a 50/50 gender split, and the Council and executive team are also balanced in terms of men and women.

Strategy Summit 2019: Leaders explore digitalisation, SDGs & Future of Work

ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), Nutshell Conferences and IBM joined forces for a thought-provoking and future-focused conference ‘Strategy Summit 2019’ in Karachi addressing tomorrow's skills and jobs challenges through the prism of digitalisation, SDGs & Future of work. 

In her interactive keynote, ACCA's Global Head of L&D, Juliet Szabo-Merridew, set the scene, saying: “It is imperative to understand the impact of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies on employment, as well as current and future labour market demand. And of course to take the appropriate actions to re-skill and up-skill the current workforce, and make sure the skills of the young generations in countries like Pakistan are future-proof”.

“This is what ACCA does, by equipping our students and members with the real-world skills and expertise needed to make an immediate impact in all types of organisation. This includes a digital and technology research programme - comprising our latest research on Machine Learning-  which explains its tremendous opportunities, but also why ethical judgment and emotional intelligence remain vital”, Juliet Szabo-Merridew, added.

All speakers agreed that to shift mind-sets, this must be a collective effort. Policy makers, youth organisations, individuals, employers, education providers, civil society, all need to think how to develop the professional skills needed in this changing world, also going beyond technical knowledge.

Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan moderated a high-level panel discussion exploring the future of leadership and discussed how to develop the strategic business leaders the world needs. The discussion featured contributions from Robert Nicholas, Regional Managing Director Middle East Africa, 3M, Carol J. Ariano, Vice President Human Resources, Aga Khan University, and Stuart Dunlop, Regional Director Middle East & South Asia, ACCA.

“However, as we also need to promote sustainable growth, this requires certain conditions to make the most of it, such as developing new digital skills, integrated in education systems. It is also crucial that the existing workforce is trained and re-trained, as technology is changing much faster than our education systems. We shouldn’t forget the workforce that needs support, especially when it comes to precarious forms of employment”, Sajjeed Aslam explained.

Anticipation of future skills needs plays an important role, as well as flexible ways of learning, including on the job training. Vocational Education and Training (VET) is a good way to develop initial, labour market relevant skills, but also to up-skill and re-skill later in life. Speakers reminded the need to address both low and high end of skills distribution, as the major portion of current labour force in Pakistan has no or almost no digital skills, and agreed that the important question is how to motivate people to participate in lifelong learning and how to balance the responsibility between the public and private sectors and also the individuals.

“Both the public and private sectors have important roles to play in assisting workers as they transition to the digital economy, expanding opportunities to reach a bigger pool of skilled workers, and preparing the next generation for the jobs that software creates in various industries,” said Stuart Dunlop, Regional Director Middle East & South Asia, ACCA.

Other prominent conversation leaders included Muhamamd Azfar Ahsan, Founding CEO, Nutshell Conferences, Patchamuthu Illangovan, Country Director South Asia Region, The World Bank, Prof. Sohail Inayatullah, UNESCO Chair in Future Studies at UNESCO & USIM, James Michael Lafferty, Olympic Coach, Author, Philanthropist & Speaker, Charbel Antonios, IBM Storage Sales Manager Middle East Pakistan, Paul Keijzer, CEO, The Talent Games, Ron Thomas, Managing Director, Strategy Focus Group, Eva Mourino Busllo, SVP Human Resources, Siemens Middle East, and y Lesego Judith Sennelo, Founder & Managing Director, Gosele Advisory Services, South Africa.

ACCA was the exclusive Knowledge Partner at the conference and the conversations at the event were powered by ACCA’s award-winning Professional Insights.

realme announced a new variant of Entry level king realme C2 with a new Diamond Sapphire colour

realme's upward trajectory in Pakistan has been phenomenal since the brand's entry last year, realme has been aggressive in its approach, launching successful budget to mid-range smartphones with an attractive spec sheet and affordable pricing. realme has made a name for itself by selling smartphones with powerful hardware at prices aggressive enough to go up against its competitors. The company recently launched the Realme 5 series and the flagship realme XT and it did manage to shake the industry up. Now, the company is looking at the lower end of the market by bringing in the upgrade to the Realme C2 with new 3GB + 64GB variant at Rs. 21,999 and special discount of Rs. 2000 on the best-selling realme 5 4GB+128GB variant which will be now available at Rs. 29,999.

realme C2

Taking a leap on entry level smartphone series Realme has launched a new storage variant of the realme C2, which comes with 64GB of inbuilt storage paired with 3GB of RAM. The price of this variant is Rs. 21,999 and will be available in the offline market from November 8, 2019.The Realme C2 has so far been available in only two memory configurations – 2GB+16GB and 2GB+32GB in diamond black and blue colours.

The realme C2 is well designed and has a diamond-cut pattern on the back that makes it look premium. The phone is compact and feels comfortable to hold in the hand. It has a dual camera setup at the back which consists of a 13-megapixel primary camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. Powering the smartphone is a MediaTek Helio P22 SoC and comes in two variants- 2GB RAM with 16GB storage, and 3GB RAM with 32GB of storage. Realme has packed in a 4000mAh battery which delivers very good battery life. The supplied 10W charger is also quick enough to top the battery up.

realme 5

Big festive sales ahead in November. Realme has also announced exciting discount on the best seller budget hero smartphone Realme 5. The new price of realme 5 4GB+128GB variant will be 29,999.

realme 5 is Pakistan’s first Snapdragon 665 based mobile device. The realme 5 series have also been equipped with fireproof protective separation and triple precautions to guarantee battery safety. realme 5 is available in two new colors - Crystal Blue and Crystal Purple. Realme 5 features a 6.5-inch HD+ Mini-drop Full Screen display, which gives a larger field of view, provides excellent gaming, audio and video experience. With realme 5, the company has enhanced its diamond-cut design with holographic color and reflecting texture. It packs a brand-new image experience with an AI quad camera setup –  119° ultra wide-angle lens (8MP), main camera (12MP), portrait lens (2MP) and ultra macro lens (2MP), as well as an AI front camera (13MP). With a massive 5000 mAH battery for enjoying extra-long entertainment experience, realme 5 runs on Android 9.0 ColorOS 6.0 operating system and is available in 3 variants - 3+64GB priced at PKR 23,999 , 4+64GB priced at PKR 25,999 and 4+128GB will be now available in offline market at price point of PKR 29,999 from November 7, 2019.

Government must have legal framework in place for small businesses to flourish, meet the needs of a modern economy

 The professional body for accountants ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is asking whether businesses and policymakers in Pakistan are compromising the performance of small business in a new report called 'Building the legal framework to help business succeed'.

Whether through over-familiarity or lack of awareness, there’s a risk a key ingredient in the formula for success is being overlooked – the legal form through which businesses operate.

The report calls on government to put legal structures in place, so that all businesses can thrive and benefit from the support mechanisms available. It explores the following four key elements entrepreneurs and policymakers must consider:

Realising the returns: Success can mean different things to different businesses. The founder’s goals can range from financial security to ‘giving something back’, and increasingly entrepreneurs are looking to be measured on social and environmental goals alongside the monetary returns.

Investing into the business: regardless of the owners’ final aims, every business needs investment, and most will need more than the founders have saved. How that money is raised, and who from, will have wider implications for the rest of society. As technology changes the ways that can happen, regulators must adapt to new structures.

Legal characteristics and regulation: The defining legal characteristic of a business form will be whether the business has a separate legal identity from its owner. Who makes the business decisions, who will be liable if things go wrong, and for how much, are vital considerations for those in the business and anyone who might buy from, sell to or be employed by it. The frameworks need to be effective, efficient and trusted.

Administrative requirements: Aspiring entrepreneurs are often most concerned about the ease of starting up and the burdens of registration and the like. Advisers and existing business owners tend to be more concerned about the long term running costs of annual filings and reporting requirements. Policymakers though must address both, striking a balance between rigour and efficiency.

Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan says:

‘Small businesses are the lifeblood of society in Pakistan, creating and sharing wealth at a local level. It is vital the health and sustainability of all that the right legal frameworks exist to enable every business to flourish. Building trust and managing risk are key elements in enforcing a secure environment for entrepreneurs, investors and customers alike.

‘Lawmakers must ensure the legal forms available reflect the needs of a modern economy. The roots of existing forms can be traced back hundreds of years, and while the concepts of trust and economic growth haven’t changed, the way we do it has changed beyond all recognition, and the pace of that change is accelerating. Having the right businesses operating helps governments in two ways: by deepening the pool of talent for procurement purposes and by providing social support and social benefits that the state might otherwise have to fund directly.

‘It is vital that government can encourage, protect and regulate effectively the talents as well as resources needed by businesses.’

This report builds on ACCA’s existing body of guidance for members. In addition to drawing on

these previous publications, ACCA undertook a desktop survey of available business forms in nine jurisdictions (UK, Ireland, India, Pakistan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Nigeria and Hong Kong), analysing the key features under four main themes: realising the returns; investing into the business; legal characteristics; and administrative requirements.

The report can be found on ACCA’s website: https://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/ACCA_Global/professional-insights/business-forms/pi-business-forms-part3.pdf

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has identified the 100 fastest-growing Chinese businesses emerging as global corporations

The next generation of China’s corporate global giants

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has identified the 100 fastest-growing Chinese businesses emerging as global corporations – based on analyses of historical performance and their potential for future growth.

Together with the Shenzhen Finance Institute, ACCA has conducted in-depth research of nearly 3,000 private enterprises listed in China and overseas.

The research stems from 11 specially designed diverse indicators, with five of these measuring the companies’ historical performance and six predicting their future growth. These factors include the company’s size, growth, profitability, innovativeness, level of internationalisation, and media coverage.

Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan says: ‘ACCA has been monitoring China’s rising corporates and businesses, with an original report in 2014, followed by further analysis in 2016. What’s clear across all reports is the aspiration to go global, with many Chinese firms already doing so. This most recent report indicates that many of these businesses will become China’s next generation of global corporations over the next few years if they continue on their current trajectories. Businesses in Pakistan need to learn from these examples of accelerated business growth and should explore opportunities to build partnerships with them to jumpstart their own global expansion.’

Key findings include:

Internet: More high-tech enterprises have evolved into the leaders of China’s future economic growth. Among the Top 100 companies, 42 companies are engaged in the computer and internet-related sectors. Since the 2016 ranking, the number of internet enterprises has increased by 50%.

Diversity: China’s future giants represent a fairly diverse range of industries. Those listed overseas tend to be involved in the internet, software development and other related sectors. The seven companies which are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) are in the manufacturing, medicine and internet sectors.

Highest performers: The companies with the best overall rankings had better scores than other companies for corporate scale, growth, cash flow, overseas strategy and media coverage.

Common features: Despite not being widely-known internationally, the top-ranked enterprises have had a relatively rapid growth and support innovative development with a long-term vision and international strategy, enjoying positive media coverage and having a strong focus on R&D.

The report also profiles three companies as case studies:

1)    Sunway Communication started out as a supplier of mobile device antennas in 2006 and is now a big player among global suppliers, with its focus on maintaining an technological edge, achieving organic growth, pursuit of long-term goals and grasping the best moment to become involved in the new technologies.

2)    Autohome Inc began life as a traditional media company in 2005 and is undergoing a successful evolution into the world’s most-visited car website. Even with the decline in growth and fierce competition in China’s current automobile market, Autohome was able to outperform its benchmark and recorded a 39% year-on-year growth in net profit.

3)    Aier Eye Hospital is a leader in ophthalmology with significant growth, offering various types of diagnosis and treatment, surgery and optometry services, with a network spread across mainland China, Hong Kong SAR of China, Europe and the US. The chain has treated almost 6 million patients in over 560,000 surgeries. Among all the companies ranked earnings Aier Eye Hospital achieved the highest scores in earnings quality and cash flow among all the companies ranked.

To increase understanding of the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, ACCA is actively collaborating with a range of strategic partners, working together to explore and define the opportunities and challenges facing countries and businesses along the routes, with special focus on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

ACCA publishes a wide range of Belt and Road focused research and insights to support its members who are already working and supporting BRI projects.

Samsung Brings People Together With #ShareYourScreen

In continuation of the brand’s highly successful campaign, #DekhoMeriNazarSe, initiated last year to help bridge the social divide prevailing within Pakistani society, Samsung Pakistan has introduced yet another project, #ShareYourScreen, with an aim to create greater inclusivity and bring the nation together through the spirit and love for cricket.

Samsung Pakistan, one of the world’s leading electronics brands, has always been a staunch advocate for the elimination of social biases and prejudices as well as integration across all classes. For this purpose, the company has promoted its latest movement, #ShareYourScreen, in an effort to bring Pakistanis together via nationwide cricket match screenings. People of all ages are being encouraged to view live screenings of all cricket matches at orphanages and old age/retirement homes, thereby expressing solidarity with those who live on the fringes of society and who have otherwise been forgotten. With popular hashtags such as #CricketForAll, the younger generation is also being brought onboard via social media platforms to reach out to needy and underprivileged groups and make them feel wanted and welcomed.

Through its #ShareYourScreen platform, Samsung Pakistan plans to build upon the foundations formed by the #DekhoMeriNazarSe campaign initiated last year and motivate a greater number of people to lend a helping hand to those in need.

Samsung Launches Galaxy S10 | S10+ in Pakistan

As a way of celebrating a decade since the launch of the first Galaxy S, Samsung Electronics Pakistan, one of the leading electronics companies in the world, launched the Galaxy S10 | Galaxy S10+ at a press conference in Karachi today. The new revolutionary smartphones saw a record number of pre-orders since it’s unveiling in February and have also received extremely positive feedback.

The Galaxy S10 line is engineered to meet the distinct needs of today’s smartphone market, so consumers can do more of what they love. Each device delivers a next-generation experience in the categories consumers care about the most: groundbreaking innovations in display, camera and performance.For consumers looking for a supercharged device, Galaxy S10+ promises to take every spec – from display, to camera, to performance – to the next level. The Galaxy S10 line offers consumers more choices and expects to set a new standard for smartphones. 

ROY CHANG Managing Director Samsung Electronics Pakistan & Afghanistan" Our vision is to be the leading innovator of new mobile experiences that enrich the lives of our customers. We believe that meaningful technology has the power to unleash the true human potential and that is exactly what our revolutionary S10|S10+ has the power to do”.

Some of the features of the Galaxy S10 include Samsung’s best screen yet, the world’s first Dynamic AMOLED display. As the first HDR10+ certified smartphone, the display delivers vivid digital content combined with dynamic tone mapping which provides a wider range of color for a brilliant, more realistic picture. Galaxy S10’s Dynamic AMOLED display is also VDE-certified for vibrant bright colors[1] and extraordinarycontrast ratio for even deeper blacks and brighter whites.[2]

Verified by Display Mate, consumers will be able to enjoy exceptionallyaccurate colors on their mobile device[3]– even in harsh sunlight. The Dynamic AMOLED display also reduces blue light through its TÜV Rheinland-certified Eye Comfort display[4] without compromising picture quality or adding a filter.

The result of a groundbreaking engineering process, Galaxy S10’s unique Infinity-O Displaypacks an array of sensors and camera technology into a hole-in display – allowing customers to maximize their screen real estate without any distractions.

The Galaxy S10’s Dynamic AMOLED display also includes the first-ever in-display Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanner[5] that reads the 3D contours of its user’s physical thumbprint – not a 2D image of it – for improved anti-spoofing. With the world’s first FIDO Alliance Biometric Component certification, this next generation biometrics authentication offers vault-like security to keep the device safe.

Pro-Grade Camera

Building on Samsung’s camera leadership of Dual Pixel and Dual Aperture firsts, Galaxy S10 introduces new camera technology and advanced intelligence that makes it easy to take epic shots and videos:

·         Ultra Wide Lens: A first for the S Series, Galaxy S10 offers an Ultra Wide Lens with a 123-degree field of view, like the human eye. Perfect for impressive landscape shots, big panoramas and even fitting the entire extended family into the photo.

·         Super Steady & High-Quality Video Recording: Galaxy S10 offers Super Steady recording with digital stabilization technology which allows customers to capture a variety of moments. Both front and rear cameras can shoot in upto UHD quality, and in an industry first, the rear camera gives the customers the flexibility to record in HDR10+.[6]

·         AI Camera: Galaxy S10 makes already smart features more accurate with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for pro-grade shots worth sharing without having to manually select any advanced camera settings. Scene Optimizer can now recognize and more accurately process additional scenes because of the NPU. And with Shot Suggestion, Galaxy S10 offers automatic composition recommendations.

Intelligent Performance Features to Help You Get the Most Out of Your Phone

Galaxy S10 is built with premium hardware and machine-learning-based software. From brand new power sharing capabilities to AI-powered performance enhancement and Intelligent Wi-Fi, Galaxy S10 is Samsung’s most intelligent device yet, from the inside out.

·         Wireless PowerShare[7]: Samsung introduces Wireless Power Share on Galaxy S10, making it possible to easily charge Qi-certifiedsmartphones and even compatible wearable devices. In addition, Galaxy S10 is capable of charging itself and a second device simultaneously via Wireless PowerShare[8], while connected to a regular charger.

·         Intelligent Performance: The new AI software on the Galaxy S10 automatically optimizes battery, CPU, RAM, and even device temperature based on how customers use their phone and continues to learn and get better over time. Leveraging AI-capabilities, Galaxy S10 also learns how they use their device in order to launch their most frequently used apps faster.

·         Intelligent Wi-Fi: Galaxy S10 comes with Intelligent Wi-Fithat allows for an uninterrupted and safe connection by seamlessly switching between Wi-Fi and LTE, as well as showing alerts of potentially risky Wi-Fi connections. Galaxy S10 also supports the new Wi-Fi 6 standard, making it possible for better Wi-Fi performance when connected to a compatible router. 

·         Bixby Routines: On Galaxy S10, Bixby automates customers’ routines and provides personalized recommendations to make life easier. With pre-set and personalized routines, such asDriving and Before Bed routines, which are customized based on customers’ habits, Galaxy S10 makes things simpler by automatically reducing device touches and cutting steps out of the day.[9]

·         Samsung Members Benefits: The new Galaxy S10 not only offers top of the line features to its customers but also offers exclusive benefits via the Samsung member’s app.

o   S10|S10+ owners can avail a 25% discount on Swarovski crystal jewelry.

o   S10|S10+ owners can avail a 20% discount on Careem rides.

o   S10|S10+ owners can avail a discount of up to PKR 26,000 on selected Samsung Smart TV’s.

o   S10|S10+ owners can get priority service at all service centers of Samsung’s authorized distributors across Pakistan.

o   S10| S10+ customers will get 10GB mobile data free from Telenor Pakistan.

·         Launch Bundle: Customers will get an exclusive bundle of a wireless charger and a 10,000 mAh battery pack on the purchase of the Galaxy S10|S10+