This month, our main interview is with Marios Skandalis FCCA, the new boss of the Association of Cyprus Banks. We last caught up with Marios back in 2017 when he was director of group compliance at the Bank of Cyprus Group. Now, as head of the ACB, he has an overview of the entire sector, so he is well placed to proclaim 100% confidence in Cypriot banks’ resilience. Read the interview.
Our second interview is with US-based Filipino Zernan Diaz ACCA, who helps to bring auditing excellence to myriad church-run organisations. It is quite the job, as he oversees a department of an internal audit firm that carries out financial auditing, compliance testing and assurance for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which has more than 100,000 churches, 10,381 schools, 244 hospitals and scores of businesses across the world. Find out more.
Sadly, we continue to live in uncertain times, and the current turmoil in the Middle East is prompting expat Europeans to reassess their options. But tax pitfalls loom for those looking for alternatives. The evidence at the moment is pointing towards repositioning than relocation. As one expert says: ‘This should not be described as a clear or permanent relocation trend, but rather as an initial wave of precautionary reassessment, hedging and contingency planning.’ Read the report.
This month saw the launch of a new EU initiative to help companies set up across the whole of the trading bloc without needing to register 27 times. However, there are fears that the plans for the EU-wide company registration regime could face national system hurdles. Tax, corporate reporting and company law variations are all in the mix. Get the details.
From chatbot screeners to AI-scored video interviews and even digital avatars, AI is rapidly reshaping one of the most high-stakes moments in any career: the job interview. For candidates, the experience can feel unfamiliar and even uncomfortable. But beneath the headlines, the fundamentals of what employers are looking for remain largely unchanged. What has changed is how candidates’ possession of those fundamentals is captured, processed and prioritised. The good news is that AI rarely makes the final hiring decisions. Find the answers to your questions.
Finally, are you ready for ISSA 5000? As more countries take the step from voluntary to mandatory sustainability reporting, assurance is playing a vital role in establishing trust around sustainability disclosures. But building trust in an area of reporting that often relies on uncertain information presents difficult challenges for practitioners. Learn how to prepare for the new audit standard.
