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November 8, 2021, Myanmar: Peak accounting bodies CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) have withdrawn their support from the upcoming ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA) annual conference, following a grassroots campaign. The Myanmar military junta’s auditor general, Dr Kan Zaw, is going to be a “Guest of Honour” at the conference. The conference is co-organised by the Myanmar Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), a body affiliated with the Myanmar military junta.
In a joint response provided to Justice For Myanmar, CPA Australia and CA ANZ stated: “Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and CPA Australia recognize the importance of supporting the accounting profession in the ASEAN region and ASEAN Federation of Accountant’s (AFA) role in achieving this. However, we are concerned that the recent focus on our involvement in the upcoming ASEAN Federation of Accountants conference may distract from this important goal. So we have decided to withdraw our involvement in this event. We will continue to support AFA in other ways as it builds out the accounting capacity in the region and look forward to contributing into the future.”
On November 3, Justice For Myanmar released a statement demanding international accounting bodies withdraw from the conference unless the junta’s auditor general and MICPA are excluded. Justice For Myanmar further called on AFA to suspend MICPA’s membership. On November 5, Justice For Myanmar launched a change.org petition calling on CPA Australia and CA ANZ to help delegitimise the military junta. In less than four days, over 12,000 people had signed the petition.
Event partners for the AFA conference are the UK-based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the US-based Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA). The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is participating in the conference.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “We welcome the decision by CPA Australia and CA ANZ to withdraw their involvement in the AFA annual conference. This sends a strong message to ASEAN and its related organisations that it is untenable to recognise the terrorist Myanmar military junta as a government and to continue business as usual. The Myanmar military junta is trying to use the AFA platform to legitimise their illegal rule. We demand remaining international accounting bodies immediately withdraw from the AFA conference unless the Myanmar military junta and MICPA is excluded. The signature of more than 12,000 people calling for Australian accounting bodies to delegitimise the junta is a testimony to continuing grassroots resistance against the illegal military junta. Regional and international organisations must listen to the voices of the people of Myanmar.”
Justice For Myanmar has launched a second petition calling on peak UK, Japanese and international accounting bodies ACCA, ICAEW, IFAC, IMA and JICPA to withdraw from the AFA Conference unless the Myanmar military junta is excluded. Sign and share the petition here: https://chng.it/Lphv6BCQ
Note to editors
See Justice For Myanmar’s press release on the AFA Conference here: https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/press-releases/international-accounting-bodies-are-reputation-laundering-for-the-terrorist-myanmar-military-junta
Justice For Myanmar, a group of covert activists campaigning for justice and accountability for the people of Myanmar, is calling for an end to military business and for federal democracy and a sustainable peace.
ENDS
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Yadanar Maung
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