By the time this article is published, the first 100 days of the three-party coalition government will be long past. The honeymoon will be over. Attention will have turned to longer-term initiatives and to whether this government will be able to achieve substantive and systemic change.

Three years is a long time in politics but a short time for developing and enacting new law and implementing new policy. Too short in our view – four years would be a much more sensible term of government.

Our advocacy is expansive – covering, for example, tax, small business settings, financial and non-financial reporting and assurance, anti-money laundering, data and technology, not-for-profits, education and immigration settings. In these different areas we are seeking public-good outcomes and policy settings that support economic prosperity for all New Zealanders. We strive particularly to ensure there are no unintended consequences or collateral damage from new legislation and policy.

Demonstrating the value the accounting profession brings to the economy is inherent in all our advocacy. We shared CA ANZ’s policy priorities with ministers and politicians across the house as soon as the new government was formed and our advocacy priorities are set out on our website. Below is a brief snapshot of some of the areas we are asking the new government to focus on.

Three years is a long time in politics but a short time for developing and enacting new law and implementing new policy.

Tax

We advocate for an effective and efficient tax system that supports economic growth, innovation and entrepreneurship. We will continue to push for more streamlined tax administration, effective ways of addressing the hidden economy, fairer taxation of trusts, a simpler fringe benefit tax regime and a permanent adverse-events mechanism. Achieving these outcomes will strengthen the broad-based, low-rate tax system that we and successive governments support.

Building a sustainable profession

Policy settings that have significant downstream consequences for the profession include those in the education and immigration areas. As I have mentioned in previous columns, the accounting profession continues to grapple with a significant talent shortage. Policy settings that support the development of homegrown talent but also enhance New Zealand’s competitiveness and attractiveness as a destination for both short- and long-term employment opportunities are critical.

We will be closely monitoring enrolments in accounting and business degrees but also in accounting subjects at secondary school, post the rollout of the broad-based NCEA Level 1 Commerce subject. We are supportive of our rangatahi (young people) developing broad business acumen skills but remain concerned that the time spent on core accounting concepts within the NCEA 1 Commerce subject is too limited. Our vision is for a refreshed accounting curriculum that demonstrates the diversity of the profession and the career opportunities it provides.

Reporting and assurance

Reporting and audit quality are paramount for effective economies and capital markets. This is a particular area of focus for us currently, given the rollout of the first mandatory climate-related disclosures reports.

As investors delve more deeply into the financial impacts of non-financial risks and opportunities, the quality and robustness of disclosures will be vital. Greenwashing is a clear area of concern for the Financial Markets Authority here in Aotearoa, but also for other financial regulators across the world.

In all our advocacy, we aim to achieve policy settings and laws that are fair, certain and efficient – not only for our profession but for the whole economy.