Global matters

GLOBAL MATTERS

BY FIONA WAKELIN

After 16 years in public office, Angela Merkel is stepping down as German Chancellor. And what historic events she has witnessed, with seismic shifts happening not only in Europe, but around the world – from the 2008 financial meltdown to Covid in 2020.

Not only was she at the helm in Germany during the global meltdown, but she was key in the response to the Eurozone debt crisis which could have led to the economic collapse of Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Cyprus. In 2015, she was faced with making policy decision around the influx of more than a million refugees fleeing Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan across the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, with thousands losing their lives on the way. Under her guidance, Germany famously adopted an “open-border” policy. This extensive support for refugees was “both a remarkable humanitarian gesture, and an example of economic pragmatism. Complex, costly, and controversial up front, integration efforts have already had some positive short term economic impact. More importantly, they may emerge as part of a muchneeded solution to the long term economic challenges posed by a rapidly aging native population.” – WENR

Merkel is an ambassador for green economies and she more than earned her nickname “Climate Chancellor” for her long-standing international promotion of carbon emissions cuts. Her last Council of the European Union presidency forged consensus among EU member states on a more ambitious 2030 climate target and a pandemic stimulus programme that promises a green recovery. Her tenacity has paid off with renewable power production in Germany increasing in 2020 and, for the first time, overtaking generation from coal, natural gas, and oil in the country.

On her watch, the scar of the Iron Curtain which had divided East from West has now become a green belt, home to more than 600 rare and endangered species of birds, mammals, plants and insects. In 2018, Merkel was elected for a fourth term in office, but with the loss of a number of votes her party formed a collation and she decided she would not run for a fifth term. Now that she is stepping down, her party has a new leader — Armin Laschet who will lead the Christian Democratic Union in the September polls.

After the UK’s exit from the EU, the European Union remains a divided bloc – this has been exacerbated by varied responses of different leaders to the Covid outbreak. However, Merkel’s handling of the pandemic entrenched her reputation as a pragmatic leader, whose shoes will be hard to fill.

Ghana’s 76-year old President, Nana Akufo-Addo, became the world’s first recipient of a coronavirus vaccine from Covax with 600,000 doses to be distributed across the country.

“It is important that I set the example that this vaccine is safe by being the first to have it, so that everybody in Ghana can feel comfortable about taking this vaccine,” - President Akufo-Addo

Ten minutes from the city of Atlanta’s busy airport, and a 30-minute bus ride to the nearest grocery store, the largest free food forest in the U.S. has been planted. With one in three residents of the Browns Mill area living in poverty, the nearly 3-hectare forest is abundant with 2 500 pesticide-free edible and medicinal plants and is the result of a partnership between the city, the Conservation Fund, and Trees Atlanta.

“Food forest also known as forest gardens, are low-maintenance, sustainable arrangements of edible plants that are designed to mimic natural ecosystems. Comprised mostly of perennial plants, there’s no need for tilling, weeding, fertilizing or irrigation. While food forests first became popular in European and North American gardening in the 1980s, the concept has taken off in recent years as cities have started to integrate edible public spaces in their planning. To date, there are more than 70 other free food forests that have been planted across the US.” – Lindsay Campbell, Modern Farmer

And whilst the initiative, funded by a US Forest Service grant is an innovative project aimed primarily at addressing food insecurity, it has also been a catalyst for community building and education. A definite win-win for the city and its residents.

On 19 February the United States officially rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement after Donald Trump put a red pen through it during his presidency. “The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century. The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.” - The United Nations

On 4 November 2020, the U.S. became the only country to leave the agreement, which had been signed when Barack Obama was president. Under Joe Biden, the red pen has been typexed out, with people around the world celebrating the reinvigoration of the global fight against climate change n

BY CHANTYL MULDER

Every professional, regardless of whether they are an engineer, lawyer, doctor or accountant, exists to serve society.

From the onset, we believe that professionals have a duty to serve society. This stems from the fact that, first of all, they are a part of the elite class and are in the very top echelons of leadership and, by the nature of their positions and knowledge, it is for the benefit of society to invest in their value. It may sound altruistic, but it is something we believe – that all professionals have a noble cause to bring to bear, a noble obligation to serve society. One that does not warrant non-payment of servitude.

For accounting professionals this mandate goes even deeper. In its Constitution, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) stipulates that its mission is to serve the public’s interest. This is a nobility that sometimes gets forgotten. If we think about the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), it is an institution that serves its members and associates, regulates their behaviour, delivers talent into the economy and society, upholds standards, but ultimately serves and supports members in fulfilling their duty of serving society. If SAICA and its members and associates do not serve society, the profession would lose its relevance.

Some query, for example, if it’s reasonable for an accountant to serve as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and have the same obligation, and public duty, as a public auditor. Whilst the public auditor might certify accounts, this brings a different responsibility. In the same way as a CFO who provides information for decision making supports the entity that he or she serves so that it meets its own responsibilities, the entity has a responsibility to society. It has a responsibility to deliver financial or commercial returns to its investors, but it also has a duty to behave as responsible corporate citizens.

Serving society informs our sense of what SAICA should always be (inside that sweet spot of relevance where the organisation needs to find itself) as an important facet to help its members become more accustomed to what it means to serve the public interest while it offers support to this quest.

SAICA, therefore, must continue to create platforms for members to collaborate in delivering that value so needed by society. It has to be about dealing with the really pertinent questions of our time. In a nutshell, we are not going to be relevant as long as we don’t help our members understand their public interest

responsibilities, while also failing to set up platforms for their efficiency. It isn’t helpful for SAICA and the profession to have a narrow view of what society expects of its membership.

Ultimately, we should be aware that the profession doesn’t exist for itself. It exists to serve society.

In 2015, world leaders gathered at the United Nations to adopt an ambitious framework of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated targets to address the full range of social and economicdevelopment issues facing people around the world. These goals included finding solutions for poverty, hunger, health, education, climate change, gender equality, water, sanitation, energy, environment and social justice. When bunched up these goals, provide governments, businesses and civil society with a universal roadmap to tackle urgent challenges, to meaningfully engage with emerging risks and discover new opportunities for creating value.

Whenever we think about themes relating to ‘a profession of national value’, the UN SDGs or nation building, we are reminded that it is imperative that we find a very good way to anchor all of this very good work in the idea that the profession needs to be in a position to be able to solve some of society’s most pressing problems. We are not going to do that by ourselves as SAICA. We can only achieve this by ensuring that our members understand their public duty. Of course, making sure that they have the technical competencies they need to have is also important and we shouldn’t take it for granted.

As the leading accountancy body in South Africa, SAICA has been calling on its members not only to ‘adopt’ one of the SDGs, but also show the work that members do – in their personal and business capacity – in assisting to help the world reach the SDGs by 2030. SAICA has undertaken to track the manner in which its members are contributing to a better world and showcase this in a special annual report. Through the voluntary contributions of our members and associates, SAICA has, for the third year running, extracted key learnings that can help build the momentum required across the sector. It is notable, for example, that quality education, poverty eradication and inequality remain top three concerns among both our individual member and company responses. This is no surprise when you consider that these areas remain the key priorities South Africa needs to focus on if we are to move our country forward.

We are encouraged by our profession’s commitment to the SDGs. However, the commitment and actions of individuals alone is not enough to see us deliver on the Global Goals. As Goal 17 outlines, it is the partnerships-based approach underpinned by collective actions that will truly see us reach the targets set in the 2030 Agenda.

As SAICA, we have united around the SDGs to deepen the country’s understanding of the challenges, opportunities and dynamics that can be leveraged to accelerate and prioritise the delivery of the SDGs. It should be incumbent on all professionals – not just those in the accountancy profession – to rally behind these Goals for the greater good of our country and our planet.

SAICA’s 2020 SA Chartered Accountancy Profession and the Sustainable Development Goals Report is available at http://saicasdg.co.za/sdg-reports.