ACCA to hold Accounting for the Future virtual conference from 15 to 18 September

Source: ACCA website.

Corporate culture, sustainability and global business service models are the burning issues up for discussion at the sixth annual Accounting for the Future global virtual conference, to be held by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the global body for professional accountants.

Four days of video and audio webcast content, on a range of subject matter involving the future of the accountancy profession, will be streamed live and on-demand for the conference from 15 to 18 September 2014:

15 September 

Risk and culture: how much does corporate culture influence effective risk management and governance? 

16 September 

Investors and reporting: a new reporting framework. 

17 September 

Tomorrow's world: how are changing economies going to impact on finance professionals? 

18 September

The smart finance function: how can finance teams work smarter to become the drivers of success with a business? 

Key highlights to look out for during the conference include a panel on culture and channelling corporate behaviour on the first day. Based on a report to be released in September 2014 in collaboration with UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), this session looks at recent scandals in the banking sector and at hospitals where the blame has fallen on "poor corporate culture". As a result of this, the Financial Stability Board expects more awareness of risk culture and that boards of financial institutions will be asked to judge their own organisational culture.

On the last day of the conference, a live audio webcast will cover talent transformation in Asia. A cross-discipline panel will look at available, established and emerging and converging technologies, and the ways in which they could potentially impact on the profession over the next five to 10 years. They will consider new technologies, their potential impact, the role that accountants can play and new  opportunities that will be created. 

Faye Chua, ACCA's Head of futures research, said: "The finance profession is ever-changing, especially with the rapid advancement in technology we have seen in recent years. We need to keep up-to-date with the changes and see how beneficial they are to our work and to the profession as a whole. Of course everyone wants to be ahead of their competitors too, so this would be another incentive to keep up with change, as well as to build a stronger and sustainable economy."

Register for the conference here. The agenda is here. ACCA members can receive CPD points that count towards their training and education.

Qatar Airways adds flights to Muscat, Islamabad, Tehran from September

Qatar Airways has announced more flights to the popular destinations of Tehran, the capital of Iran, Islamabad, capital city of Pakistan, and Muscat, capital of Oman in response to a steady increase in passenger demand. 

Source: Qatar Airways. From left: Muscat, Islamabad, and Tehran.

The additional flights, which include four for Tehran, two for Islamabad and four for Muscat per week, will commence September 1, 3 and 16 respectively. The Doha-Muscat route will go up from 31 to 35 per week. Qatar Airways has five flights daily to Oman while Tehran, which is currently served with 14 flights a week, will see an increase to 18 flights weekly when it adds the four flights. 

The airline now flies to Islamabad once a day; two more flights added to the schedule bring the number of weekly flights up from seven to nine. Qatar Airways increased frequencies to Islamabad last year, from four flights a week to daily flights. 

The additional flights will help meet the needs of those travelling to and from the Americas, which is a popular destination for many passengers from Pakistan. The short connection time at Hamad International Airport in Doha is another strong draw for those looking to make the cross-Atlantic journey.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker said: “People from all over the world are becoming more and more interested in discovering this part of the world. With such rich histories and stunning, undiscovered landscapes, these destinations are hidden gems that are slowly coming into their own.

“We have witnessed a great increase in passenger demand for both local passengers in each market, as well as international passengers looking to travel to each of these cities, and passengers on these flights can look forward to an enhanced travel experience with Qatar Airways’ five-star service as we welcome them onboard.”

The additional Doha – Tehran weekly flight schedule commencing September 1 (all times local)

Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays

Depart Doha QR488 at 0720 hrs, arrive Tehran at 1055 hrs
Depart Tehran QR489 at 1155 hrs, arrive Doha at 1230 hrs


The two additional Doha – Islamabad flights commencing September 3 (all times local)

Wednesdays and Thursdays

Depart Doha QR616 at 0050 hrs, arrive Islamabad at 0630 hrs
Depart Islamabad QR617 at 0730 hrs, arrive Doha at 0915 hrs


The additional Doha – Muscat weekly flight schedule commencing September 16 (all times local)

Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays

Depart Doha QR1126 at 1440 hrs, arrive Muscat at 1705 hrs
Depart Muscat QR1127 at 1805 hrs, arrive Doha at 1830 hrs