Update from the CPA Australia Board 20 July 2021

1. CPA Virtual Congress 2021: Save the Date

CPA Virtual Congress will once again be an interactive online experience this year where members can network with peers in a virtual setting and learn from global thought leaders and industry experts.

Held over three days from Wednesday 20 October – Friday 22 October 2021, CPA Virtual Congress features an eminent line-up of international speakers including Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States, Professor Edward Freeman, Academic Director at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, Hon Julia Gillard, 27th Prime Minister of Australia, and Jim Hagemann Snabe, Chairman Siemens and Chairman Maersk.

Registrations open in August. Further details available on the Conferences and Events page of the website.

2. Tax time campaign

Tax time is a busy period for many members and CPA Australia provided comprehensive coverage to coincide with the end of the financial year. The tax time campaign focused on ensuring members have access to the tools, resources and information they need to support businesses and their clients as well as educating the public about tax time considerations.

The Board is encouraged by the positive response to the campaign that included Tax Tips 2021 to support public messaging about tax obligations and the benefits of seeing a tax agent, dedicated tax time editions of our weekly Tax News to promote key messages and resources to members, and complimentary webinars and podcasts tailored for public practitioners. Widespread media commentary achieved exposure for CPA Australia in a range of online, print, television and radio outlets. Our media releases focused on topics of interest such as the gig economy, small business, mum and dad investors and top tips for employees.

3. Semester 1 exam results and Semester 2 enrolments

Exam results for Semester 1 were released last month for ASA members studying subjects in the CPA Program. A total of 23,623 results were released across 10 subjects. Approximately 35 per cent of the CPA Program exams were delivered as an online proctored exam, with the remaining delivered via test centres. There was a small increase in the number of ASA members accessing our guided learning resources across all subjects.

Enrolments for Semester 2 closed last week with candidates in most regions again having the option to schedule their exam in either a computer-based testing centre, where available, or an online remote proctored exam. In Semester 2 2021, the CPA Program has introduced a new elective subject, Digital Finance, that has seen positive uptake with 894 members enrolling. Overall, there have been 26,361 enrolments across all subjects.

4. Australian Accounting Awards 2021

CPA Australia was proud to sponsor the Australian Accounting Awards 2021 held on Friday 18 June in Sydney. It was a wonderful occasion and a fitting opportunity to celebrate excellence in the accounting profession. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners in the various individual and group categories, including several CPAs, for being recognised as exemplars for our profession.

5. Public Practice Virtual Conference

In line with our objective of providing members with personalised and engaging experiences, CPA Australia’s Public Practice Virtual Conference is being held on Thursday 19 August. The conference program has been curated with a mix of live and on-demand sessions offering professional development and practical learning opportunities for everyone working in public practice, both in Australia and internationally. A renowned line-up of speakers includes John Cleese, actor and comedian, who will speak about creativity in business, as well as a panel of five CPA Australia members from around the globe discussing how to position accounting firms for growth. Full details are available on the Public Practice Virtual Conference page of the website.

6. Modern Slavery Statement

CPA Australia last month published our first modern slavery statement setting out the actions we are taking to identify and address any potential risk of involvement the organisation may have in modern slavery. Modern slavery has a devastating impact on many individuals who are among the most vulnerable in society. Our response to modern slavery is guided by three key principles:

• the risk to individuals is paramount to all other risk considerations
• we actively seek to identify the risk of modern slavery in our operations and supply chains even if we do not find instances of modern slavery
• assessing modern slavery risk and taking actions to address those risks is the right thing to do and drives commercial and social value for CPA Australia, which results in value for members.

Our statement reflects these principles and illustrates how we will assess areas of risk in our operations and supply chains and the measures we have put in place to mitigate against instances of modern slavery. CPA Australia supports the reporting requirements under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) and our statement is listed in the Australian Border Force online register for modern slavery statements.

Merran Kelsall FCPA

President and Chairman
On behalf of CPA Australia’s Board of Directors