In the space of a decade, Pakistan has transformed itself from a nation plagued by chronic power shortages to a model for other emerging economies as it makes a phased transition to renewable energy. As a CFO at the centre of this transformation, Ekta Sitani FCCA sees endless opportunities. In her interview, she explains why sustainability, when integrated with care, becomes a strategic advantage rather than an exercise in compliance.
For now, though, businesses and their advisers in UAE are focused on compliance with the introduction of mandatory emissions reporting. For many companies, the challenge now is building systems that are capable of standing up to review.
Alongside sustainability, as a senior female leader in business, Sitani’s parallel passion is diversity, equity and inclusion. Championing gender equality in Pakistan is, she says, ‘a way of giving back to the country I love’.
This is particularly apt as we mark International Women’s Day and celebrate the work of women throughout the profession. Alia Saleh FCCA, CFO of ISG Middle East, puts forward the case for more practical strategies to achieve gender equality in the profession, and argues that this is a shared responsibility – which means, for women, looking for opportunities and reaching for them sooner.
Fairness in the workplace, including gender parity, is one focus of a significant overhaul of India’s labour laws. We look at the detail of the four new codes – which strengthen workers’ rights, redefine wages, regulate working hours and extend social security – and what the reform means for employers and their advisers.
Four months on from Cyclone Ditwah, Sri Lanka knows only too well the enormous cost of climate change. The disaster, which the World Bank estimates to have cost around 4% of the country’s GDP, exposed the limitations of a climate financing model that is built around adjustment rather than anticipation. In a CPD article, we look at what Sri Lanka, and other vulnerable nations, have learned.
Finally, a reminder that if you are looking for more CPD articles, you might like to browse our extensive collection. You can also earn more than 21 units of free CPD by watching on demand ACCA’s annual Accounting for the Future conference.
