The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for digital transformation. Many organisations, including Small and Medium Practices (SMPs), are embracing digitalisation to manage their clients and employees remotely.
In a recent webinar on Leading a Digital Transformation Journey in Your Practice for the SMPs, organised by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), the Institute’s CEO, Dr Nurmazilah Dato’ Mahzan emphasised the importance of digital transformation to ensure organisations remain relevant and are in line with the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint and MyDigital initiative launched by the government in March 2021.
MIA has carried out research in this area and has identified the Digital Competency Maturity Model, developed by the European Federation of Accountants and Auditors for SMEs (EFAA) as a suitable tool to meet such a need. The tool, which was presented by Paul Thompson, Director of the EFAA during the webinar, allows SMPs to rate their current level of maturity on digital competency, develop a strategy and identify the resources they need to achieve this transformation.
“Digital adoption is about making our practices future-ready, diversifying our service offerings, attracting and retaining the right talent, and also digitalising our work,” said Paul Thompson during his presentation.
The presentation was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Lim Fen Nee, Chair of the Digital Technology Implementation Committee (DTIC) at MIA, and joined by Paul Thompson, Dato’ Lock Peng Kuan, Managing Partner, Audit and Assurance, Baker Tilly Malaysia and Mahathir Mahzan, Member of the DTIC Public Practice Working Group, MIA.
The panellists discussed the importance of understanding the needs of the SMP before adopting new technology, and the need to be strategic in choosing the right systems.
The panel concluded that before any transformation process can begin, public practices must be able to assess their current digital competency and identify areas for improvement.
