Go Beyond the Rainbow, Forget Small Company Audit

In conjunction with its 50th anniversary, the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) held its 2nd commemorative lecture last week. It was given by Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, the Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional Berhad, a social wealth fund set up by the Malaysian government (Khazanah does not like to be referred to as a sovereign wealth fund as it does not manage the reserve of the country).

True to his form, Tan Sri Azman challenged accountants in Malaysia to ride the various waves of change which the country as a whole has to face. Using football as an analogy, accountants have various roles to play, from its traditional roles as custodians, standard bearers and measurers to more strategic roles as cheerleaders and thought leaders.

He urged accountants to join his journey in valuing companies based on their true values, beyond the fair value model which is predicated on the potential cash flow streams over the live of those companies. This would require more philosophical and conceptual understanding of value which would not be easy to figure out. In this respect, Khazanah has embarked on Project Chronos with PricewaterhouseCoopers and has started to field test its valuation model. Views from accountants would be sought to validate and improvise the model when it goes into the Beta stage.

In reinforcing his message about true value, Azman used the metaphor of a rainbow. True value is like the golden chest, believed to be there, beyond the rainbow. Hence, accountants have to do the necessary to be able to go beyond the rainbow and secure the golden chest.

Possible?

Let's go down to earth and consider the reality of the day. If asked, what is the main issue before MIA today? Without doubt, I would say, "Small company audit!".

Why such a small matter is hindering Malaysian accountants to go beyond the rainbow? I have a number of reasons as listed below:

• MIA is a statutory body set up to regulate the accountancy profession in Malaysia. Its present mission is to be a "partner in nation building". While it is not expected to agree will all the initiatives of the government, it should consider all issues from the perspective of the benefits to the nation, not with the view of protecting a particular segment of the accountancy profession.

• The issue of exempting small companies from audit had been on the table even when I was involved with MIA, easily for the past 15 years. It is not a pioneering piece by the Companies Commission. This is a standard practice in many countries, developed or developing. What matters to the economy is for small companies to be successful in their businesses until they reach certain scale where their financial statements start to be significant. The audit requirement is to protect investors, not to provide business for accountants. If you do not believe me, just read the limited clauses on the audit report, something introduced by MIA. It sounds like this "this report is made solely to the members of the Company, as a body, in accordance with the Companies Act in Malaysia and for no other purpose. We do not assume responsibility to any other person for the content of this report".

• The world keeps on changing and by not letting this issue go, it is starting to hinder MIA from becoming current with the more pressing challenges. Even the law itself has changed and the Companies Act now even allows for a single shareholder, single director company. I would certainly laugh if audit is made mandatory for such companies. Do I have to get may financial statements audited so that they would be tabled to myself? The argument that audit is also for other purposes such as taxation would not hold water due to the limitation described above. At the same time Inland Revenue has its own audit unit and many companies have been subjected to such audit.

• This does not mean that small companies need not be audited at all but it should be a choice, either because entrepreneurs love audit or they need to submit audited financial statements for their business dealings. That would make small company audit market-driven, rather than regulatory driven. What is wrong with that?

While the issue of small company audit looks "small", it reflects the constraint imposed on MIA by its own membership. That makes MIA unique. The law forces accountants in Malaysia to join MIA as a member but MIA itself cannot force its regulatory responsibilities on those members. Just look at the practice review structure of MIA. Is it as independent as the Audit Oversight Board? Who do the reviewers reporting to? 

The country really need a strong accountancy profession with members who are keeping themselves abreast with new developments and provide their services, as firms or individuals, professionally by adhering to the professional values of the profession. This requires MIA to be clear of its role, structure themselves appropriately to avoid conflicts, set performance standards with the interests of the nation in mind and enforce those standards without fear or favour. 

We need MIA members to be able to reach beyond the rainbow. However, for that to happen, they need to free themselves from the baggages of self-interests. They need to place the interest of the nation above all other interests and do whatever it takes to make Malaysia great!