Aurangzeb discusses economic reform priorities with ACCA team

Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb held talks with a delegation from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) at the Finance Division in Islamabad on Thursday. According to Business Recorder, the discussion centred on reform priorities, including building up the private sector, pushing export-led expansion and keeping recent macroeconomic gains intact. The two sides also explored ways to deepen cooperation with ACCA in support of Pakistan's evolving reform agenda.

Aurangzeb said the IT and IT-enabled services segment is gaining promise, and called for better connectivity such as 5G plus training in artificial intelligence and blockchain. He also stressed the need for higher-value work and more shared service centres, so that skilled Pakistanis could compete in global markets. Talent export and talent retention were presented as complementary goals, with a domestic pool of professionals able to serve both foreign and local clients.

ACCA's representatives described their work on public financial management, covering capacity building, management reporting and the move from cash to accrual accounting. The organisation offered help to public institutions with digitalisation, transparency and tax administration. On small firms, Aurangzeb underlined better bankability and cheaper access to expert advice, while ACCA highlighted fractional CFO services as a way to give SMEs professional financial expertise without a full-time finance team.