While addressing the 132 members in attendance the outgoing FIA President Mr Nitesh Lal acknowledged the Institute’s perseverance and commitment recognising the achievements of the past year despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic.
“I am certain that you will all agree that despite the challenges of COVID-19, as an Institute we have persevered and remained persistent with our commitment to our stakeholders, partners, sponsors, our members and the many individuals that we have assisted directly or otherwise,” said Mr Lal.
Highlights of the Institute’s key achievements include:
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Successful 2019 Congress with the highest number of participants; contributing immensely to the 86% increase of the financial surplus from 2017 to 2019.
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Successful delivery of the Technical Workshops in the month of March in both 2019 and 2020 followed by webinars and seminars in both Suva and Nadi since the relaxation of the COVID19 restrictions. More trainings are expected for members with recent partnership with Leadership Fiji for more skills courses and training;
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Sponsorship of academic awards with the aim to inspire and nurture students towards a career in Accounting i.e. Most Outstanding Graduate with a Major in Accounting at the University of the South Pacific’s Medals & Prizes Awards, Best Accounting Student at the University of Fiji, and Year 13 top Accounting students for academic years 2018 & 2019;
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The launch of the Women in Leadership (WiL) initiative that has been well received by members of the Institute as well as non-members. Since its inception in March 2019 the Institute has conducted five WiL events for member in the central and western divisions. There was one WiL event held in March 2020;
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Increase in financial membership by 6% from 2018 to 2019;
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Contribution of FJD10,000.00 to the Prime Minister’s COVID-19 Fund to assist Government’s initiative in supporting Fijians who were impacted the most by the impacts of the virus; and
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Partnership with Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation, Fiji Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and Women in Business in forming Business Assistance Fiji (BAF). In-turn BAF signed an MOU with Government to assess applications for concessional packages for Micro-Small-Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the pandemic.
In his acknowledgement Lal thanked the members for their support and urged members to continue to diligently support the Institute. “I would like to sincerely thank my fellow Council members, the Secretariat, the members of the various Committees, the FIA financial members and all other stakeholders for their invaluable support and contributions during my term as President. This has been an immensely enjoyable and fruitful experience.”
In conclusion he requested members to extend the same support accorded to him during his presidency to the incoming President, especially in preparation for the FIA’s 50th anniversary in 2022.
Following the adoption of the 2019 FIA Annual Report the Council conducted its elections for its new members who join current and ongoing members: Pravinesh Singh (President), Tarlochan Singh (Vice President), Sikeli Tuinamuana, Nitesh Lal, Ashwin Nand, Wiliki Takiveikata, Sharvek Naidu, Rajeshwar Singh and Ravinesh Singh. The Council alongside various working committees will be tasked to steer and support the work of the Secretariat, to deliver its annual strategic objectives.
Pravinesh Singh was elected the President of the FIA at a special Council meeting held after the 2020 AGM and Council elections. He was admitted to the Institute as a Provisional Member in August 2002 and as a Chartered Accountant in February 2006. Pravinesh was elected to Council in May 2018.
Building on the work undertaken by the previous President, Mr Singh intends to focus efforts on COVID19. “There is a need to look beyond the pandemic and our pathway to recovery. We can do this by recognizing the key challenges faced by our members and we need to explore avenues on how best we can address these challenges and build our resilience as an Institute to support our members better during such trying times.”
For 2020-2021 other than growing its members Mr Singh is committed to intensifying the implementation of the FIA Strategic Plan, fostering innovative approaches through strong partnerships and amplifying the work the Institute’s has undertaken around gender and women empowerment by encouraging more representation on the Council.
“To be able to move forward I want to also acknowledge the dedication of current and all previous Council members. We are where we are today because of the strong foundation that is already in place and for that I acknowledge all Council members and the Secretariat. I must also thank outgoing Council members Zarin Khan and Mohit Raj for their unwavering commitment in the last year on Council. I also congratulate the newly elected members and I look forward to working with them and the Secretariat in 2020-2021,” said FIA President Mr Pravinesh Singh.
Newly elected members
The three new Council members elected for 2020/2021 are:
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Sharvek Naidu joined the Council in January 2020. He was admitted to the Institute as a Chartered Accountant in October 2015 and issued with a Certificate of Public Practice in October 2015.
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Rajeshwar Singh was admitted to the Institute as a Provisional Member in April 1992 and as a Chartered Accountant in April 1994. He was elected to Council in April 2016 and was Vice President from May 2018 to May 2019.
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Ravinesh Singh was admitted to the Institute as a Chartered Accountant in August 2019.
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