MITI: Businesses Need To Adopt Long-Term View Of Operating Landscape
10 Jun 2021
Businesses need to adopt a long-term view of the operating landscape, encompassing global political and economic developments in order to survive during and post-COVID-19.
Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) deputy secretary-general (industrial development) Norazman Ayob said aside from the ASEAN region, the businesses should also look at what has been done by the markets in the west, such as in the European Union (EU) and the United States.
“A case in point would be the suggestion by the EU to actually come out with a proposal to impose a coven-border tax.
“We also need to look at challenges that we face, whereby, while we are still grappling to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, we also have to deal with situation where our businesses have been limited in terms of operating beyond from what is allowed by the government,” he said during a session in the Malaysian Institute of Accountants’ (MIA) conference 2021 held virtually Thursday.
Apart from having long-term view, he said businesses also need to integrate technology into their business model, particularly the micro small and medium enterprises (SMEs), by perhaps looking at what has happened in Indonesia whereby the sector has begun embracing technology.
“At MITI, we have been advocating the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies to help companies increase their productivity, reduce downtime, and make their production processes much more efficient as well as effective,” he said.
While the government is presently trying to ensure that people keep their jobs intact, Norazaman said it is also taking active measures, plans and initiatives to prepare for the post-COVID-19 era.
“What the government is currently doing is implement a series of initiatives and programmes that would help our workforce to upskill and reskill because at the end of the day, we think that it is the talent pool of human capital that would drive the economy forward, especially for the businesses,” he added.
Organised by the MIA from June 8-10, 2021, the conference sought to upskill accountants with future-relevant competencies to support and drive the global sustainability agenda, by leveraging the profession’s core competencies and ethics to advocate for business continuity and sustainability, climate solutions, and digital empowerment.
Held for the first time via a virtual platform in compliance with pandemic standard operating procedures, the conference drew more than 2,200 Malaysian and international delegates and over 100 expert speakers worldwide including the International Federation of Accountant’s president Alan Johnson, as well as global supporters and partners to defend its position as one of the largest accountancy conferences in the world.
Source: Bernama
