Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/544403
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 22 JULY 2015 11 Business Today www.creditinfo.com.mt info@creditinfo.com.mt Tel: 2131 2344 Your Local Partner for Credit Risk Management Solutions Supporting you all the way Toshiba CEO resigns amid accounting scandal Japan's Toshiba Corp said its chief executive was stepping down on Tuesday after an independent inves- tigation found he had been aware the company had been infl ating its profi ts over a number of years. CEO and President Hisao Tanaka will be replaced by Chairman Masashi Muromachi effective Wednesday, the company said in a statement, adding it was considering appointing outside directors to over half of its board seats. Tanaka's predecessors, Vice Chairman Norio Sasaki and adviser Atsutoshi Nishida, will also step down after the third-party report showed they also played a part in the overstatement of profits going back to the 2008 financial year. The report released on Monday said Toshiba had overstated its operating profit by 151.8 billion yen ($1.22 billion) over several years, roughly triple Toshiba's initial estimate. The findings are expected to lead to the restatement of earnings, a board overhaul and potentially hefty fines at the computers-to- nuclear conglomerate in Japan's worst corporate scandal since Olympus Corp was found to have covered up $1.7 billion in losses in late 2011. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said earlier on Tuesday that the accounting irregularities at Toshiba were "very regrettable", coming at a time when Japan is trying to regain global investors' confidence with better corporate governance. New President, Council and CEO for the Malta Institute of Accountants Franco Azzopardi was elected President of the Malta Institute of Accountants (MIA) following the Institute's Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 16 July 2015. Az- zopardi is taking over from outgoing President Maria Micallef who served her two-year term as the Institute's President between July 2013 and 2015. The AGM elected a new Council for the Institute. Franco Azzopardi, Etienne Borg Cardona, Simon Flynn, Maria Micallef, Noel Mizzi, William Spiteri Bailey and Franz R. Wirth were elected for the term 2015 – 2017. These joined the other seven Council Members elected at the 2014 Annual General Meeting: Fabio Axisa, Christopher Balzan, David Delicata, Anthony Doublet, Hilary Galea-Lauri, Ivan Grixti and Stephen Paris. Franz Wirth returns to Council after a one-year absence and Noel Mizzi has been elected for the first time. Maria Micallef thanked outgoing Council Members, Anthony Zarb and Kevin Mahoney for their dedication and contribution towards the Institute and the local profession. Zarb is KPMG's Managing Partner and a former MIA President. He retires from Council after having served for 24 years. Mahoney is the Managing Partner of Mahoney & Co and served on Council for 13 years in representation of Small and Medium-sized Practitioners. At the first meeting of the new Council, Franco Azzopardi was elected President, William Spiteri Bailey Vice-president, Fabio Axisa as Secretary and David Delicata as Treasurer. New CEO for the Malta Institute of Accountants Former Technical Director, Mark Abela has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Institute of Institutes (MIA) with effect from 1 July 2015. A Certified Public Accountant, Mark joined the MIA in 2012, as Technical Director. Previously, he enjoyed work experiences in audit and assurance with PricewaterhouseCoopers, in financial management with the Maltese Ministry of Finance, in IFRS Endorsement with the European Financial Reporting and Advisory Group (EFRAG) in Brussels and in Enterprise Risk Services with Deloitte Malta. Mark holds a Bachelor's degree in Accountancy and a Masters Degree in Financial Services from the University of Malta. The CEO's role was created following changes to the MIA Statute made at the 2014 AGM. He is responsible for the implementation and execution of the strategies, decisions taken and policies set by the Council of the Institute and as such it is considered as vital by the Council to enable the Institute to meet its current and future challenges. From left to right standing: Franz R. Wirth, Christopher Balzan, Noel Mizzi, Etienne Borg Cardona, Hilary Galea-Lauri, Stephen Paris, David Delicata, An- thony Doublet. Seated (from left to right): Simon Flynn, William Spiteri Bailey, Franco Azzopardi, Maria Micallef, Fabio Axisa and Ivan Grixti (in absentia) Environment minister praises Malta Chamber's proactive approach In a meeting with the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Indus- try's Board of Management, minister for sustainable development and the environment Leo Brincat praised the way the Malta Chamber took a posi- tive and proactive approach by pro- posing an economic vision that would sustain economic growth, promote environmental issues while ensuring the country's competitiveness. Brincat said that the Malta Chamber provided invaluable feedback during the consultation process related to the WEEE reform, rendering the process so successful he proposed it should be taken as "an exemplary blueprint of how consultation should be carried out". The Board of Management met Brincat as part of a series of meetings the Malta Chamber is holding with leading authorities and decision makers of the country, in order to advocate the implementation of the 52 recommendations within the Economic Vision for Malta 2014- 2020. In the past weeks, the Malta Chamber went through an exercise of establishing the key players involved in the implementation of the recommendations of the vision, in order to facilitate implementation. Malta Chamber President Anton Borg told Brincat that the Malta Chamber was satisfied with the way discussions about the WEEE reform had progressed, and said that the Malta Chamber would continue to collaborate with the relevant authorities in order to bring the reform into effect in the shortest time possible, for the benefit of affected companies and the public. Focusing on the Economic Vision for Malta 2014-2020, Borg said that the Malta Chamber was proposing three recommendations that would fall within the responsibilities of Brincat's portfolio. The undertaking of an urban regeneration programme should become Malta's strategic focus towards which the building and construction sector should be directed, channelling investment in regeneration as against the continued, and unnecessary development of green field sites. In designing and adopting a strategic approach to urban generation, government should take the central leading role through the restructuring of the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation into a Malta Urban Development Corporation that would also incorporate the private sector and potentially public shareholding and in such a way as to ensure improved balance between retro-fitting and new buildings and between open spaces and built up areas. A vibrant green economic sector will only emerge once the government stops acting as the economic operator and assumes the proper role that it should hold: that of the regulatory authority in waste management, etc. with the private sector becoming the economic operator. In conclusion, Borg said that the Economic Vision was a document that proposed a number of recommendations that would ensure economic growth for Malta. The vision however required the political will in order to move to the implementation stage. For more information log on to: www.maltachamber.org.mt