Since 2018 there has been a significant increase in CPA Australia’s media presence with our public commentary focusing on issues that matter most to members, the profession and the public interest.

In 2019 we have received widespread coverage in national, metro and regional media – including print and online newspapers, industry publications and radio. Our commentary has covered a variety of topics in 2019:

• Australian Federal Budget
• Announced policies of the major parties for Australia’s federal election
• End of financial year tax time messaging
• Tax tips
• Regulatory Burden on public practitioners
• ASX Corporate Governance Principles
• Government proposals to limit cash transactions
• Review into the effectiveness of the Tax Practitioners Board/ Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (the Act) and the Tax Agent Services Regulations 2009
• CPA Australia’s 10th annual Asia-Pacific Small business Survey

Independent monitoring of Australian media shows continued improvement in CPA Australia’s favourability rating against industry benchmarks.

In 2020, major topics include:

• Bushfire recovery
• Retirement Income Review
• COVID-19 government stimulus measures, i.e. JobKeeper and JobSeeker
• Early access to Superannuation
• Tax tips

In November, CPA Australia represented members at the Australian House of Representatives Economics Committee on the implications of removing refundable franking credits.

CPA Australia conducted a survey on Hong Kong’s economic outlook for 2019, the results of which were released in November 2018. The report received widespread coverage on TV, radio, print and online. View the media release in English (PDF) or Chinese (PDF). 

A survey of 220 CPA Australia members in Greater China to measure business sentiment. View the media release in English (PDF) or Chinese (PDF).

CPA Australia provided commentary on major initiatives in Singapore 2019-20 Budget (PDF).

CPA Australia developed joint publications with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) on behalf of the Australian Auditing and Accounting Public Policy Committee (APPC) to improve audit quality.   

- Improving audit quality using an individual recognition and accountability framework (PDF)
- Improving audit quality using root cause analysis (PDF) and individual recognition and accountability framework

Submissions
CPA Australia is providing thought leadership and representing views of members on issues affecting the profession. Submissions are made in response to calls for comment by government, regulators and standard setters. CPA Australia’s submissions are informed by input from members and are made on behalf of members and the profession.

In 2019 we’ve made more than 40 submissions to governments, regulators and industry stakeholders in Australia, Asia, Europe and New Zealand, across a range of disciplines:
- Audit and Assurance
- Economics
- Environmental, Social and Governance
- Ethics
- Financial Planning
- Financial Reporting
- Not-For-Profits
- Taxation

Major submissions have been:
Pre-Budget submission to the Australian Government – 2019-20 (PDF) 
ASIC – Cost recovery and search fees (PDF) 
FASEA – Relevant Providers Exam Draft Legislative Instrument (PDF) 
IASB – Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity (PDF) 
Tax Practitioners Board review – joint submission with CA ANZ (PDF)

View all submissions

Australian federal election analysis
Detailed analysis of the outcome of Australia’s federal election in May.

• INTHEBLACK article
• Podcast

Tax tips
CPA Australia’s annual end of financial year guide for employees, investors, small business, students, and tax agents was widely reported by media outlets.

Personal income tax changes
A guide to the Australian personal income tax changes introduced in July 2019.

#AuditorProud day
Thursday 26 September – #AuditorProud day is a day when auditors from across the globe celebrate the profession in online forums. CPA Australia ran a social media campaign to encourage auditors to get involved and post about their experiences on the day.

In light of Australia’s bushfires, CPA Australia updated the Disaster Recovery Toolkit. The Toolkit provides guidance to businesses impacted by disaster and can assist members and their clients with the steps to recovery. It includes information and useful links for members to access support from Australian government agencies.

The APAC Small Business Survey was released across Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. The media release attracted more than 600 media coverages across those markets. Survey findings and recommendations were also given to the local government as reference.

In Hong Kong we released the findings of the tax survey on 17 April. The release attracted 166 media coverages and a webinar on the findings will be held for members on 29 May.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) invited CPA Australia to participate in its global webinar on the topic "Impact of COVID 19 pandemic on the Reporting and Assurance". 

COVID-19 Hub

To help members and their clients respond to the impact of COVID-19, CPA Australia developed a COVID-19 hub on the website that features information and resources, including:

• Business advice and tips
• Financial reporting and auditing resources
• Fact sheets, FAQs, webinars, podcasts and other guidance materials
• Information about relevant regulatory responses

• Tax Tips Australia 2020
• Worldwide accounting profession’s call to action on climate change

January 2020: CPA Australia published comprehensive research on climate change policy and accounting disclosure assumptions.

• Australia's international climate change commitments – Associated accounting assumptions and auditing of climate risk disclosures

In February 2020, CPA Australia was one of 14 of the world’s largest accounting organisations - together representing 2.5 million accountants worldwide - to jointly call for action on climate change.

The Call to Action acknowledges the significant role the accountancy profession can play in climate change mitigation by helping businesses adapt as economies transition to renewable energy and sustainable practices.

CPA Australia Centres of Excellence (COEs) – refer 6.4 – provide a forum for expert members to contribute to CPA Australia. 
We have reinvigorated our existing COEs (Environmental, Social & Governance, External Reporting, Retirement Savings and Taxation) and established two new COEs in Digital Transformation and Ethics & Professional Standards to help inform CPA Australia’s policy positions and benefit from the input from members. 
 
Consultations and Submissions

Members are invited to provide input to submissions that CPA Australia is preparing – details are communicated via the website, CPA Update and CPA Tax News.