Accounting Professionals Become Ethical And Sustainable Economic Drivers In Southeast Asia

Photo: Special

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Institute of Public Accountants (IAPI) and the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) reaffirm the strategic role of accountants in ensuring credible sustainability reporting practices at the International Conference entitled Enhancing the Roles of Accountants in Sustainability Reporting and Assurance: Bridging Experience and Standards for the Future.

During the international conference, stakeholders emphasized that accountants are now at the forefront of ensuring businesses run transparently and ethically.

"The role of accountants and auditors is now increasingly widespread, not only limited to financial reports, but also at the forefront of ensuring sustainability. This profession has a big responsibility to bridge business goals with sustainability values," said IAPI Chairman Tarkosunaryo, Monday, September 29.

"With the spirit of collaboration, IAPI and ISCA believe that the accounting profession will play an increasingly important role in building a business ecosystem that is transparent, with integrity, and sustainable," said Tarkosunaryo, who is also a member of the Audit Board of the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

Inspired by this vision, GIAR, a Public Accounting Office (KAP) focused on innovation, launched a FARMERI regeneration program, an acronym for Youth, Entrepreneurs, Tawakal, Mandate Accountants, Intentions, Worship.

This program is designed to educate and train prospective young accountants to have strong integrity and deep understanding of ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) values.

Through the PETANI program, GIAR aims not only to produce a technically skilled accountant, but also a responsible and sustainability-oriented person.

The PETANI curriculum integrates practical learning with professional ethics, as well as understanding of social and environmental issues.

"We strongly agree that businesses cannot only focus on profit. Growth must be in line with sustainability. The PETANI program is our concrete step to ensure that future generations of accountants have a complete understanding, that their responsibility includes environmental, social, and compliance with regulations," said GIAR co-founder Muhammad Mansur.

GIAR believes that through this initiative, they can contribute significantly to collective missions to build a more transparent and ethical business ecosystem, starting from the formation of the character of each young accountant.