New global president of ACCA to highlight dynamic and evolving role of accountants

The CEO of a firm which advises on decarbonisation, sustainability, and energy transition has been elected president of ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

Ayla Majid will lead more than 252,500 members and 526,000 future members of ACCA across 180 countries during her year-long term of office.

The first member from Pakistan and South Asia to become president of ACCA, she joined the accountancy body in 2006. Currently founder and CEO of Planetive Middle East and Planetive Pakistan, Ayla Majid has more 20 years of experience in energy, transaction advisory, mergers and acquisitions, investments and corporate governance.

Ayla is an international speaker on energy, decarbonisation, hydrogen and climate tech with an emerging markets lens. In addition to being an advocate of sustainability Ayla has over 15 years of governance experience having served on boards including chairing companies in energy, pharmaceutical and engineering and banking sectors.

She said: 'I would like to thank ACCA members for putting their trust in me. The themes I wish to highlight in the months to come can be summarised under the broad heading: 'A new future for accountancy with a strategic lens and a stakeholder approach'.

'The accountancy profession is dynamic, forward-looking, and endlessly evolving. We're working to promote it as an exciting, purposeful and attractive career choice, embracing sustainability and social value. I look forward to speaking about how the role of the accountants is widening and working to update perceptions of the profession in the age where technology is a dominant player.'

Ayla Majid takes office in the year in which ACCA celebrated a major landmark of exceeding quarter of a million members and will also celebrate its 120th anniversary.

'When ACCA was founded in 1904, nobody could have predicted quite how much we'd achieve. Our story has been one of innovation and of growth. I'm proud of how we are leaders in embedding ethical practice in both the profession and the wider business community while working alongside our multifaceted stakeholder group.'

As well as her ACCA work, Ayla Majid is a member of the Global Future Council of Energy of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and is a Young Global Leader of the WEF. She is also Eisenhower Fellow.

In addition to ACCA qualification, she holds MBA degree from Lahore University of Management Sciences and LLB (Hons) from the University of London. She has also attended leadership modules at Harvard, Oxford and Princeton Universities.

Ayla Majid is joined in the leadership of ACCA's global governing Council by fellow officers - deputy president Melanie Proffitt, from England, who is CFO of Farncombe Estate, a hotels group in the Cotswolds; and vice-president Datuk Zaiton Mohd Hassan from Malaysia, chief executive officer of the Malaysia Professional Accountancy Centre (MyPAC), which aims to help students from poorer backgrounds find careers in finance.

This is the first time in ACCA's history that women have held all three officer posts at the same time.

She takes over the presidential role from Ronnie Patton, a retired lecturer from Northern Ireland, to whom she paid tribute to his strength and for his inspirational leadership during his year in office.

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