Demand of acca

Pakistan is becoming a preferred destination for outsourced accounting projects. PHOTO: ACCA GLOBAL

LAHORE: The partnership of Azure Global, which offers finance and accountancy services as well as outsourcing, with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Pakistan is going to be a key agreement for professional accountants, helping the country create jobs and eventually boost the volume of services export to around $3 billion in the coming years, said the ACCA Pakistan head Sajjeed Aslam.

“Pakistan’s overall accounting services are better than its regional competitors and we are trying to market the country as the preferred destination for global accounting and financial companies for outsourcing,” Aslam told The Express Tribune.

Currently, the project, in its pilot phase, will enable job creation for around 60 accountants in Lahore for a single job. Each quarter, the company has been outsourcing a couple of jobs to Pakistan that can sometimes create jobs for around 300 accountants.

“The global finance outsourcing market size is around $35 billion, which is undergoing double-digit growth of around 12% annually. If Pakistan succeeds in getting a share of 10% out of the total, it will help in the creation of around 100,000 accounting jobs with a services export volume of $3 billion in the next five years”, Aslam said.

ACCA, the global body for professional accountants, offers business-relevant qualifications around the world. It currently has 170,000 members and 436,000 students in 180 countries, helping them to successful careers in accounting and business. The body works through a network of 91 offices and centres and employs over 8,500 people worldwide.

Interestingly, Pakistani accountants are in demand especially in Europe. The model of ACCA, based mainly in the UK, is implemented in Pakistan as well. However, any shortcoming is met by training the students in real-time working environment that boosts their exposure as well.

The confidence shown by Azure Global is an example that Pakistanis are not just required for basic, data-entry positions. Azure Global processes transactions from Pakistan and send them back to their clients, said Aslam. “It’s like a wholesale business setting in the UK by which local people outsource to Pakistan.”

The jobs are of high-end including financial compliance and tax issues. He said that Azure Global had decided to move its business from Pakistan to eastern Europe, feeling a shortage of professional accountants. “However, we invited them and presented Pakistan’s case that led to a reversal of the decision. This shows the confidence Azure has in Pakistan now.”

Lower wages in Pakistan, without compromising too much on quality, is another reason why Pakistan has become a preferred choice. According to Aslam, a professional accountant in Europe demands between £150-200 per hour. In Pakistan, however, the same job is for between £25-30 pounds per hour.

“We are trying to make it a concentrated effort to consolidate this business so the cost of doing business goes lower.  The outsourcing will boost confidence. If we hit a critical figure of 10,000 jobs by making more efforts, then we can achieve the figure of $3 billion in the next five years.”

But to achieve the target, a concentrated effort will be needed. As the pie gets bigger, it will create an opportunity not only for ACCA but for other accounting bodies of Pakistan including Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. “All stakeholders should play their role. If there is a proper eco system of IT and telecom sector added with favourable policies as per global requirements, then the growth will be phenomenal.”

“We are pushing the telecom companies to establish an eco system from where financial companies may get a hassle free environment.”

Aslam said that despite 99% of ACCA members being employed, there still exists a dearth of accountants in Pakistan. Giving numbers, he said that Pakistan is producing around 15,000-16,000 accounting professionals per year where as the demand hovers around 40,000. Our of a total of 2.7 million students enrolled in all disciplines in Pakistan, only 40,000 opt for accounting and less than half reach the professional level, he added.

Given that there is room for growth, there is potential that Pakistan can definitely tap into.

The writer is a staff correspondent

Tech-savvy: The doorbell on your mobile phone - a locally developed solution

TalLee another application showing uses of broadband technology. CREATIVE COMMONS

KARACHI: 

Pakistan may have embraced high-speed mobile broadband technology but it is yet to be fully translated into growth of locally developed solutions. However, the process seems to have started.

Jul Bujh, a locally developed smartphone application meant to control gas-powered water heaters (geysers), can help consumers save thousands on their utility bills while reducing gas consumption. This report will focus on TalLee, another locally developed solution with a range of potential applications.

The wireless device – similar to a more prevalent intercom service – is a GSM-based doorbell that prompts a phone call to one’s mobile number after it has been rung. It can be configured according to particular needs through an Android application from anywhere in Pakistan.

Developed mainly for urban households where residents miss their visitors, the product has a much broader scope when it comes to applications, depending upon its use – personal, commercial and security uses are only a handful of examples.

“Being the youngest in my house, I am required to check the gate every time the doorbell rings. [Instead of an intercom with a wired connection] I wanted a solution that could call my cell phone,” developer Rafi Imran Amjad told The Express Tribune, explaining how he first thought of the idea. Interestingly, Amjad is a media student, and not an engineer or a software developer.

With some guidance from people with engineering backgrounds, Amjad was able to combine his personal need and love for technology into what later became a promising startup, earning nationwide recognition.

Based in the federal capital, TalLee, which also won the ‘Top Innovator’ award at Islamabad Startup Weekend earlier this year, was the only company from Pakistan to be included in the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 50, 2014.

Released by the Kauffman Foundation, United States, the GEW 50 is an annual list that recognises promising new startups – less than a year old – from around the world through its Startup Open Competition.

In 2014, more than 600 eligible startups from 38 countries competed at the contest but the final list featured startups, including TalLee, from only 19 countries.

If he wins the GEW 50 competition, Amjad would make it to the Global Entrepreneurship Congress 2015 in Milan, Italy and meet entrepreneurs, investors and startups from across the world.

The background story

If the solution is ‘my need’, it is also the need of millions of other Pakistanis as Amjad recalled why he decided to develop the product.

A final year student of Mass Communications at National University of Sciences and Technology (Nust), Amjad explained the working of TalLee, saying that one can install a valid Sim card in TalLee and turn it on, which will connect the device to the GSM network just like a mobile phone does.

“It can be initially configured by connecting it to one’s computer by a USB wire,” the Advertising and Public Relations major said. “One can configure up to three preferred numbers for each of the two buttons it has.

“The in-built battery backup can go long enough to provide seamless connectivity during load-shedding.”

The product’s estimated cost appears to be slightly higher but Amjad wants to cut it down through mass production.

“We are in continuous search of investors who can invest in the company against a share in profits,” Amjad said. “Higher investment would ensure higher production, which reduces the costs.”

Regardless of how many investors TalLee can attract, the product already seems to have generated interest among potential consumers.

“We have received pre-orders without any marketing, thanks to word of mouth and the power of social media,” Amjad said.

The writer is a staff correspondent

Variety of uses

The applications of TalLee are not limited to the function of a door bell that calls on one’s mobile phone. It can be used for a range of purposes because of its wireless nature and GSM connectivity – the geographical reach.

It provides access control, through one’s mobile phone, for security purposes. For example, a user can connect the device with their gates if it has an electronic lock. They can unlock the gate directly from their cell phone through an SMS or a short code.

If kept inside a house, the wireless device can help one with surveillance of children, left alone at home, and the elderly who are bed-stricken, says Amjad, the developer. “You can also call TalLee and talk to those at home,” he said – it works both ways.

“We have designed TalLee in such a way that a single device becomes suitable for all sorts of uses, including indoor, outdoor, home and commercial,” Amjad said.

It can be used by small home-based vendors who do not like their door bell rung every time a customer is there and shop owners who miss their customers during breaks. What makes the product even more interesting is the privacy aspect as the customers don’t have to make this call from their personal number nor do they need to know the vendor’s number.

TalLee can be used in hospital wards where the attendants of a patient can call the duty staff by calling on their cell phone. Similarly, room attendants at a hotel can be called directly bypassing calls made to receptionists.

Another major use of TalLee is on highways and motorways — people facing emergencies can call on-duty officials directly for help, bypassing conventional lengthy procedures.

E-commerce: Pakistan very much on investors’ map

Asia Internet Holding co-CEO keen to invest more in country. CREATIVE COMMONS

KARACHI: Pakistan has always been on the radar – for good reasons and bad. When it comes to online shopping and advertising portals, the market seems ripe to invest.

Foreign investors, keen to expand in other countries, have seen South Asia as a lucrative market with its bulging population and growth in internet penetration. Rocket Internet is one of the foreign companies that have made their presence felt in Pakistan, taking on local competition with its aggressive expansion strategy. Backed by heavy investments, the German based e-commerce focused venture capital firm and startup incubator has captured a share in the country’s growing market.

The company has given stiff competition to leading portals in various spheres including pakwheels.com, zameen.com and homeshopping.pk with clones including carmudi, lamudi and daraz.pk clones. Since the start of their operation in 2012, they have doubled the number of their ventures, pouring in millions of euros.

During his visit to Karachi, Asia Internet Holding co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Koeen Thijssen said that Pakistan has the most number of ventures opposed to the rest of the Asian countries Rocket Internet has invested in. Asia Internet Holding, a joint venture between Rocket Internet and Qatar-based Ooredoo, builds and funds startups across Asia, particularly focusing on ecommerce and mobile services. The core focus is emerging economies in Asia, particularly Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

He said Rocket Internet will pump €180 million during the next three to four years as investment in Asia, declining to quote even a ballpark figure for Pakistan’s share.

“But a major chunk will be invested in Pakistan,” he said.

Recently, Daraz.pk – based on the amazon model – included the electronics category on its online shopping store. “The response has been very good with almost 100 iphones sold in a matter of seven days.

“The profit margins in electronics are very low. The local sellers did not have the platform, skills or the delivery network to sell in high volumes, so they go through us.”

The co-CEO said Pakistan is an interesting case because most of the local ventures are headed by Pakistani nationals, while in the rest of the Asian countries, expats tend to head the ventures. “It’s very unique for Pakistan. It seems that the country naturally has the entrepreneurial gene,” he said, appreciating the country’s workforce. “It’s difficult for expats to recognize local market mechanics.”

When asked about the company’s market strategy, he said, “It is simple; it aims at transparency by providing comparable prices on its websites. We are also using market place strategy for all our ventures,” Thijssen added.

Internationally, the German company – owned by the Samwer brothers– is criticised for its business model that focuses on replicating successful ventures rather than coming up with genuine ideas.

Energy cooperation: Pakistan, Iran to discuss how to push ahead

Negotiations on the electricity price could take around six months and there are hopes that in the meantime issues will be settled between Tehran and Washington. PHOTO: APP

ISLAMABAD: 

With hopes high for a settlement of the nuclear dispute between Iran and global powers, Islamabad and Tehran will meet next week to steer the way towards power and gas supply deals stalled since long due to economic sanctions on the Gulf state.

Officials of Pakistan and Iran will meet in Islamabad on December 8 and 9 in a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC), say officials.

Key issues that will come up for discussion include gas and power supply deals and breaking the deadlock with the US over Iran’s nuclear programme to pave the way for implementing the agreements.

Pakistan has already told Iran that it could not press on with energy trade unless economic curbs are lifted by the US and European Union. It believes that its companies and banks will have to face US and EU penalties if they engage with Iran in any deal.

Last month, Tehran and Washington agreed in Vienna to extend the deadline to March 2015 for a political agreement and reach a final deal by the end of June. This has revived hopes that the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project and 1,000-megawatt power import plan could be undertaken.

According to officials, Pakistan has submitted an alternative plan according to which a liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline will be laid from Gwadar to Nawabshah and connected with Iran after US sanctions are lifted.

Pakistan has also signed an initial deal for the award of a $3-billion LNG terminal and pipeline contract to China. “This will be discussed with Iranian authorities in the upcoming JMC meeting,” an official said.

Officials pointed out that Pakistan had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran for the import of 1,000MW electricity but progress on the plan stalled in the wake of international restrictions.

Separately, 73MW was being imported from Iran to meet the needs of Gwadar, but payments could not be made since 2011 as no bank was ready to offer its services for clearing the outstanding amount worth millions of dollars.

The government has even failed to pay dues from barter trade also because of the reluctance of banks and shipping companies.

“In the JMC, officials will discuss the progress on the 1,000MW power import plan and suggest ways how to move forward in the face of restrictions,” the official said.

Negotiations on the electricity price could take around six months and there are hopes that in the meantime issues will be settled between Tehran and Washington.

Pakistan is now studying Turkish and Indian models to clear earlier power bills of Iran owed to energy firm Tavanir.

Turkey is making payment against supply of gas by offering precious metals like gold to Iran. India, on the other hand, is paying for the import of petroleum products through a local bank which does not have branches worldwide.

Officials said these models would be discussed with the Iranian authorities in the upcoming meeting.

7 Facts About Bill Gates That Will Definitely Shock You

1. He is not a college graduate.

Bill Gates never completed his college studies. Instead of completing his studies, he founded Microsoft with his friend Paul Allen in 1975, at the age of just 20.

Bill Gates even scored 1590 in his SAT, 10 less than the then highest score of 1600.
At that time, SAT score of 1590 was approximately equal to an IQ of 170.

2. Bill Gates was arrested.

Bill Gates, the founder of world’s biggest software company – Microsoft  was arrested in New Mexico in 1977 for allegedly jumping a red light and driving without a licence.

3. The Richest Man On The Earth

If Bill Gates was a country, he would have been the 37th most richest country on this planet.He was at #1 position on the Forbes list from 1995 to 2009 – except in 2008 where he was pushed to number 3.

4. Money facts

Bill Gates earns about 250$ every second. That’s about 20 million dollars a day and 7.2 Billion dollars a year.

Its is said that if he drops a thousand dollars note, he won’t even bother to pick it up. Because in  those 4 seconds in which he will pick them up, he would will probably already earn it back.

If he donates US$ 15 to everyone on this earth, he will still be left with US$ 5 Million.

5. This is how Bill Gates can get bankrupt.

If Microsoft Windows users can claim just 1 $ for every time their computers hang because of Microsoft Windows, the worlds richest man will be bankrupt in just 3 days.

6. Bill Gates v/s India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest person is ranked 40 in the Forbes list of richest person in this world. His net worth is estimated to be $18.6 billion

Big Gates is the man who has topped this list and has been at same position for 15 of the last 20 years. He has a net worth of $76 billion, 4 times the net worth of Mukesh Ambani.

7. This is how he can spend his money

It is assumed that if Bill Gates lives for another 35 years, then he will have to spend US$ 6.78 Million per day to finish all his money he has before he goes to heaven.

With the money he has, Bill Gates can pay off the entire United States debt in less than 10 years.

In 1959 there were 9 Russian Mountain Hikers found dead. Their skulls were crushed and one of them was missing his tongue, yet all their clothes were highly radioactive.

The Dyatlov Pass Incident is a rare and eerie mystery in Russian history. Nine experienced hikers died on the mountain of inexplicable causes.

It’s a story that has seen so much speculation as to what could have killed nine young students on holiday, skiing in the Ural Mountains, Russia. They never returned and when their bodies were found days later, five of them had been frozen to death and four more had mysterious injuries. One had a missing tongue while another had a smashed head. They all seemed to have fled in terror in the middle of the night from their camp. They left behind their food, skis and warm coats and ran towards a thick forest down a snowy slope. Here, their survival chances were minimal with temperatures of around -30°C (-22° F). Investigators on the case termed the cause of death as “a compelling unknown force”. They filed the case as top secret and closed it.

Smiling before disaster: (Left to right) Nicolai Thibeaux-Brignolle, Luda Dubinina, Semyon Zolotarev and Zina Kolmogorova image source: www.dailymail.co.uk

“If I had a chance to ask God just one question, it would be: ‘What really happ¬ened to my friends that night?’”, says the only survivor of this expedition, Yury Yudin. He had turned back due to illness a few days into the expendition. What happened to his friends remains a painful mystery to him.

Yudin and his friends started the journey on 23rd January 1959. Ortoten Mountain was their destination, in the Northern Urals. Yuri and eight of his friends were students in Ekaterinburg, at the Ural Polytechnic Institute located in Sverdlovsk. They were led by Igor Dyatlov (23), an expert in mountaineering, cross-country and skiing.

The group consisted of Dyatlov, Yudin, Georgy Krivonischenko (24), Zina Kolmogorova (22), Yury Doroshenko (24), Rustem Slobodin (23), Ludmila Dubinina (21), Alexander Kolevatov (25) Nicolas Thibeaux-Brignollel (24) and Alexander (37) who was the only non-student.

The students travelled by train, road and on foot to get to their destination. Yudin became ill on the way and turned back and that was the last time he ever saw his friends alive. The rest of the journey was documented in the diaries and photos they left at their final camp.

The group skied across uninhabited areas, frozen lakes and arrived at river Auspia where they set up base. Here they left food and equipment for their return journey. From here on, they began climbing towards Otorten. They got lost form here, probably due to bad 

weather

 and ended up on the slopes of mountain Kholat Syakhl, at 3, 600ft height. They pitched tent for the night. Their diaries, photos and the Evening Otorten (a newspaper they produced), show them in good spirits at this point. 

A rescue team was sent when the students failed to return home. The volunteers found the camp, but it was half torn and covered with snow. All their belongings were there, but the tent was cut open from the inside, and had slashes that were big enough to get through. They found footprints that matched the students.

The first two bodies (Yury Doroshenko and Georgy Krivonischenko) were found one and a half kilometers from the tent. They were dressed in their underclothes and barefoot under a pine tree near the edge of the forest. Their hands appeared burned and charred remains of what appeared to have been a fire nearby. 300m further, they found Dyatlov’s body lying on his back, clutching a branch in one hand and facing the camp’s direction. 180m further towards the tent, they found Rustem Slobodin while Zina Kolmogorova lay 150m from him. They appeared to have been trying to crawl back to the tent. Cause of death according to doctors for the five was hypothermia. Slobodin had a fractured skull, but this was not the cause of death.

image source: www.sptimes.ru

Two months later, the other four skiers were found. Their bodies were buried under 4m of snow in a forest ravine that was 250ft away from the location of the first bodies. The deaths of Nicolas Thibeaux-Brignollel, Alexander Kolevatov, Ludmila Dubinina and Alexander Zolotaryov looked traumatic. The skull of Thibeaux-Brignollel had been crushed while Zolotaryov and Dubunina had several broken ribs. No external wounds were found on the bodies however. Strangely though, bits of clothing they wore contained higher than normal levels of radiation.

Some anomalies after postmortem were that some were fully clothed while others were nearly naked. Dubinina’s body was also missing her eyes and tongue. The investigation was closed by the end of that month and files kept in a secret archive. Adventurous and skiers were barred from the area for three years after this incident.

Half a century later and the deaths of these students are still a mystery. What was the “unknown force”? Was there a cover up? Why did the students leave their tent? How and why was the second group buried in the snow? 

Different theories have come up including an attack from a hostile tribe or criminals, aliens, snowmen and secret military technology. They have however been discounted since no other footsteps except those from the students were found. Others have suggested an attack from bears but animal tracks were not found either. An avalanche too, but no snow was found pouring over the tent. Others have suggested being caught up in a bizarre military accident but no experimental weapons were found at the site.

We probably will never know what happened on those mountains and the mystery on the Mountain of the Dead will still go on unresolved and as intriguing as ever.