Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna addressed the 6th Master in Accountancy Annual Conference held at the Intercontinental Malta, St George’s Bay, St Julian’s, which also marked the 40th anniversary of the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy within the University of Malta.
PRESS RELEASE BY THE MINISTRY FOR FINANCE
When addressing the Master in Accountancy students, academics and practitioners alike, the Minister acknowledged that with change comes challenges. However, he stated that he is confident that, as has been proven in the past, the graduates will be able to overcome said challenges and pave the way for a more robust and efficient accounting system that accounts for innovative technologies, such as blockchain.
Minister Scicluna continued by stating that Malta is now being referred to as the world’s “Blockchain Island” due to the way the Maltese government views blockchain technology as a whole. While some other countries are looking at crypto and blockchain for short-term gains, he mentioned that we are looking at what blockchain technology can offer in the long run. As such, just like the government has been fast to adapt to rapidly changing technology, businesses, along with accountants too need to be able to adjust their ways to best utilize innovative technologies.
Minister Scicluna also acknowledged that although, like in every economic sector, there will always be a few bad apples, innovative technology such as blockchain should be used to further enhance efficiencies and, furthermore, as has already been seen, can allow for more transparency.
The Minister concluded his speech by emphasising that the accountants have a responsibility to ensure that companies are not misused as a vehicle to assist in unlawful activity such as money laundering. Minister Scicluna said “that whenever this happens, it results in an even greater harm to the economy and our reputation.”
Friday 7th December 2018