Ayla Majid elected ACCA vice president

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Ayla Majid has made history by being appointed as vice president of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a statement said.

Ayla, chief executive officer of Planetive, is the first South Asian to hold this position in the 118-year history of ACCA.

She was elected as vice president along with Joseph Owolabi, who was elected ACCA president, the first-ever from Africa to lead world’s leading professional accountancy body.

“Being a finance professional has equipped me with the tools and connected me with people who are working towards creating action-oriented solutions for a sustainable world,” she said.

For Ayla, promoting the role of women in governance is something she is very passionate about, “It is the need of today’s forward-looking organisation.”

Ayla is a champion of board diversity and actively engages in promoting women on boards. She was the first female to sit on the board of any stock exchange in Pakistan.

ACCA plays a major role in offering young Pakistanis a promising career path full of growth and opportunities while creating a positive global impact, Ayla said.

“ACCA is a wonderful qualification, with high quality standards, up to speed with addressing global needs and provides flexibility, and therefore fits really well with the requirements of a diverse audience. It is particularly a very attractive career choice for women in all parts of the world including developing countries,” she added.

Ayla joined ACCA in 2006 and has been serving on ACCA’s global council since 2014. Ayla is an international speaker and is a strong advocate of sustainability and energy transition. She takes part in contributing to important themes such as digital transformation, climate finance, future of work, future of energy and sustainable infrastructure. She sits on the boards of various public and private entities in Pakistan in the areas of energy, pharmaceutical and not for profit sectors.

In her various roles she focuses and advises on the adoption of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) across different industries. Ayla is Eisenhower Fellow, and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. She sits on the Global Future Council of Energy Transition of the World Economic Forum.

The newly elected ACCA president, Joseph Owolabi, grew up and studied in Nigeria, and has lived and worked in Africa, North America and the UK, and now is an adoptive Australian.

He became an ACCA member in 2011 and has served on ACCA’s International Assembly 2014/15 and has been a Global Council member since 2015.

“If you had told me as a child growing up that I would one day be the first African leading the largest, truly global accounting body, I would not have believed you. ACCA is an inclusive open and global community for members, future members and partners. Wherever in the world I have found myself, ACCA has given me a home and a family,” he said.