Dar es Salaam. Members of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in Tanzania held a virtual conference at the weekend in a deliberate bid to jerk their roles in putting the economy on a smooth footing in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hundreds of ACCA members and professional ambassadors from across Tanzania took part in the Annual Members Conference 2020 (AMC 2020) at the weekend.
“As we focus on a post-pandemic economic recovery, it’s important to rethink the future together. This conference was able to bring together so many ACCA members and ambassadors for the profession, emphasising the impact of our professional body during these exceptional times,” said the Head of ACCA Tanzania, Mr Jenard Lazaro.
He said the Conference brought members across Tanzania together so they can celebrate ACCA’s success so far.
“It’s an opportunity to look ahead to what will shape the future of our profession here and globally in the coming years. It’s also an occasion for members to better understand and share with each other, which is integral to expanding the knowledge of the finance profession across Tanzania,” he said.
During the conference, participants were taken through an array of presentations that aimed at updating them with latest development in areas that are directly linked with their profession.
A Principal Tax Officer from Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Mr Beatus Nchota informed ACCA members of the benefits of filing their employers’ and clients’ tax returns through a newly introduced electronic system.
“Unlike the previous system, the e-filing one enables taxpayers to file their returns without the hassle of travelling all the way to TRA offices. They can file the returns at the comfort of their offices instead of the former system that compelled them to visit a TRA office to file their returns,” he said.
The taxpayer, he said, is no longer compelled to wait for several weeks, months or even a year for TRA to login their information before they can make tax payments.
This is because with the filing done electronically since last month (August), actual assessment is almost conducted instantly thus allowing taxpayers to pay their dues on time.
To simplify the process, TRA has also come up with a new set of forms that allow taxpayers to present their information thoroughly.
ACCA members also got a chance of understanding the types of taxes for which return filling can be done electronically.
With cybersecurity becoming a hot topic as the world goes digital, Associate Director from PwC, Ms Neemayani Kaduma, reminded ACCA members to avoid the allure of falling prey to phishing attacks.
She said, gone were the days when Tanzania could consider cybercrime as for those in other countries.
In fact, she said, data from TZ-CERT [Tanzania Computer Emergency Response Team – which tracks cyber-attacks in Tanzania] shows that attacks have been on the rise as the world goes digital.
“This means that we are not immune to cyber-attacks… We all have a role to play towards protection of our devices and information we share,” she said.
She said, as the country and indeed the world goes digital cybercriminals are also flooding the internet with numerous phishing e-mails which accountants must always be aware of.
“Falling prey to phishing e-mails may lead to them disclosing confidential and sensitive information such as passwords to cybercriminals…As people who deal with confidential information, they need to be extra careful,” she said.
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