The Quest For Prosperity

The Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) recently released a report on the Quest For Prosperity: Shaping The Future Of Our Region. It is based on the Legatum Institute Foundation's Legatum Prosperity Index which measures prosperity of 149 countries in the world.

The index measures prosperity on a broad measured covering:

Economic quality

Business environment

Governance

Education

Health

Safety and Security

Personal Freedom

Social Capital

Natural Environment

The data-driven report analyses prosperity across Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK - key markets for the CAANZ and its members.

I was invited to share my views and thought on the topic at a forum organised by CAANZ with the same title.

During the discussion, I highlighted my concern on the direction of Malaysia's education performance as education was the tools used in helping many people to move out of poverty and enabled them to contribute towards nation building.

At the same time, given that the whole world is competing based on knowledge and innovation, excellence in education would provide any country or community competitive edge.

When asked about the role of accountants in enhancing prosperity in the markets they are in, I argued that being competent and performing their respective roles with the highest standards of professionalism and integrity would be critical. In Malaysia, many accountants are occupying C-suites with decision making power which would influence wealth creation and distribution. Hence, they carry heavy responsibilities on their shoulders to ensure the country progresses in the right direction.

Accountants should also be willing to walk away if required to do things which are against our professionals values and the best interest of our society. We need to stand tall and be counted.

Looking at prosperity beyond financial wealth would provide a more balance idea of the meaning of being citizen. I hope this report would provide Malaysians ideas of assessing the performance of their leaders and this report is an independent view of where Malaysia stands compared to markets which we are competing with.

The report could be downloaded here:

https://www.charteredaccountantsanz.com/news-and-analysis/insights/future-inc/shaping-the-future-of-our-regions