Experts propose solutions to Pakistan's economic woes at ACCA'S post-budget conversation.

• Position: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants - Conference notes

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Pakistan organised a high profile post budget conversation "The Budget 2019-20: Opportunities and Challenges for Economic Reforms" in Islamabad to provide a platform to business community and thought leaders to propose key economic reforms and share their feedback and recommendations on the proposed Finance Bill 2019-20.

The conversation was opened by Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan. In his speech, he summarised the budget recommendations submitted by the global body for professional accountants and shared actionable recommendations toward making the current taxation regimen more transparent, efficient and progressive to meet country's economic and social needs. He emphasised that the focus should be on human development and progress in the country and not merely on improving a few macroeconomic indicators. He stressed on the importance of professionalism and ethics for talent in the public sector.

"Budget is a subset of economy. You can never have a good budget unless you correct the flaws in your economic model and bring radical reforms. Economies are built by the people, without investing in the human resource, prosperity can never be achieved," said Sajjeed Aslam.

The event featured an insightful panel discussion with contributions from prominent policy makers, senior bureaucrats, tax consultants, influential thought leaders and senior ACCA members. Notable speakers included Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, SDPI, Zia-Ul-Mustafa, President, ICMA Pakistan, Salman Amin FCCA, Senior Energy Professional, Hassan Daud Butt, Project Director-CPEC, Zafar-ul-Hassan, Chief Macro Economist, Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms and Omer Zaheer Meer FCCA, Chairman, ACCA Pakistan Member Network Panel.

"To solve our circular debt crisis, we need to work on improving the performance of our public sector enterprises and should encourage those who're buying dollars to invest in conventional savings and investment products. Also, rationalisation of slabs in the gas tariffs is necessary," said Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri.

The Conversation Leaders commented that to truly solve Pakistan's current economic woes and to meet its social challenges, it's imperative to work on increasing the size of the economy and to aim at a higher average annual GDP growth rate compared to what is predicted in the budget document. The panel also pointed out that the Finance Ministry and the Planning...