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25.04.19 2 NEWS THE Malta Institute of Accountants hosted the 2019 edition of the Ac- countancy Professionals Strategic Forum (APSF). Coordinated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the annual event has grown into a key in- ternational event for professional ac- countancy bodies since its first convo- cation in 2012. Organisations from 23 countries in- cluding Malta participated in the APSF this year, representing thousands of professionals working in different re- gions to discuss emerging technical and strategic issues affecting the profession and its stakeholders. e event provides a unique opportunity for professional bodies to connect in a peer-to-peer en- vironment. Addressing the Forum, the president of the Institute of Accountants (MIA) William Spiteri Bailey said that with challenges becoming increasingly glob- al, accountants must rally together to find effective solutions and add value to national economic performance and the general public interest. "Our mission is to serve a new genera- tion of business, public, and social lead- ers," Spiteri Bailey said, speaking about the profession's responsibilities towards stakeholders as they experience struc- tural shifts driven by market and tech- nological developments. is was the first time that Malta was chosen to host the Accountancy Pro- fession Strategic Forum, a sign of the growing respect that the Malta Institute of Accountants and local professionals command on the international stage. MIA has established strong partner- ships with bodies in other countries and the collaboration with ICAEW on the Forum was, in fact, one in a series of joint projects that the two organisations are currently cooperating on. e Accountancy Profession Stra- tegic Forum provided a unique op- portunity for professionals and reg- ulators in Malta to network with counterparts from other countries while enabling the Institute to set the agenda for international discussion based on the interests of the profession in Malta. e discussion engaged various inter- ested participants and organisations in- cluding: the European Contact Group, the European Group of International Accounting Networks and Associations, the Malta Accountancy Board, the Mal- ta Financial Services Authority, and the Public Interest Oversight Board. Delegates from 23 countries participated in the Accountancy Profession Strategic Forum hosted by MIA International accountancy event held in Malta LEADING retail chain The Con- venience Shop, which operates 62 outlets after just 10 years in operation, has raised €5 million through a fully subscribed bond operated by the Malta Stock Ex- change. The Unscured Callable Bond, which forms part of Prospects MTF, was snapped by over 500 investors who will benefit from a five percent return between 2026 and 2029. The Convenience Group com- prises a mix of fully-owned stores and franchisees operat- ing a highly-successful formula which is present in numerous locations around Malta. Convenience Group CEO Mar- tin Agius said: "We would like the public for placing their trust in the Group. "The Convenience Shop has come a long way since its hum- ble beginnings as a single store in Zebbug a decade ago and we will be using this cash injection to finance our ambitious growth strategy. "We intend to continue to ex- pand our presence in Malta and Gozo and seek to launch further products and initiatives tailored for fast-paced modern lifestyles." Agius and Benjamin Muscat, Chairman of e Convenience Shop (Holding) plc, rang the bell at the Malta Stock Exchange in the presence of shareholders and di- rectors of the Group, marking the admission of the company bond to the Prospects MTF market. Corporate social responsibility is also key to the Group's philos- ophy: it recently launched The Convenience Shop for Puttinu Cares in Qormi that will do- nate profits from operations to the Puttinu Cares Foundation, which offers support to cancer patients and their families. "Our business is not just about profits. We want to play an ac- tive role in the community," Agi- us said. Convenience Shop goes public with fully subscribed €5m bond FROM PAGE 1 Asked whether the lower projection was the result of a bleaker outlook, Sci- cluna insisted it was a cau- tious approach. "I do not adhere to the saying that 'all good things must come to an end', but neither do I believe that growth will continue on its own steam without ac- tive management. It needs daily tending," he said. Scicluna said the lower forecast would enable the government to be prudent when planning its 2020 expenditure. "It is my, and the Finance Ministry's, habit each year to set economic and finan- cial projections slightly below the most probable rate and the year 2020 is no exception. Our original [economic growth rate] target of 6% was reduced to 5.7%. This will ensure that we err on the cau- tious side when we plan the 2020 expenditures. This is a safe strategy to avoiding fiscal slippage and accidental deficits," Scicluna said. This approach would ensure that government finances could return a surplus. Figures released by the National Statistics Office on Tuesday indicated that government finances end- ed with a surplus of €250.8 million in 2018. This was the third year in a row that public fi- nances were in surplus and the NSO figures show that this would still be the case even if income from the sale of passports was not taken into account. Scicluna rebutted criti- cism that has often been made that government finances were propped up by money from the Individual Investor Pro- gramme. He told this newspa- per that the surplus was achieved because the gov- ernment had managed to follow its plan of increas- ing expenditure at a lower rate than revenue. For this to be successful, he said, the government engaged in a monthly analysis of any variations in revenue and expendi- ture, ensuring prudence in its projections. "Once you aim to bal- ance the Budget, you pre- pare a plan whereby you plan your expenditures to grow by less than the reve- nue. This government has managed to do this over a three year period, from 2013 to 2015 and by 2016, the year when we achieved the first surplus, the ex- penditure ratio of GDP was reduced from 42.7% in 2012 to 36.5%," he said. This trajectory in public finances allowed revenue to exceed expenditure, which produced a surplus. "This is not a year on year effort but a daily one with attentive gate- keeping, monthly variance analysis and prudence in your pro- jections," he added. Erring on the side of caution when establishing economic growth forecasts

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