Nov 18, 2021 - A ‘black swan event’ is one that whilst being extremely rare and of severe impact, is nevertheless characterised by the widespread insistence it was obvious in hindsight. The Covid-19 pandemic was described as such an event. “Environmental damage is a swan of a different colour, a green one” says Prof Janek [...]

Accountants, Lawyers, and Real-estate professionals are actively lobbying to avoid reporting suspicious transactions. Newspapers and other media outlets have this week reported stories on corrupt activities involving casinos, money laundering, foreign influence, tax avoidance, offshore companies, tax havens, anti-corruption bodies, lax regulation, quantitative easing, and young families being shut out of overheated real-estate markets. “All [...]

Is it time for a Royal Commission on the Auditing profession? In mid-September 2021, The Australian arm of one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious accounting firms, KPMG, was fined A$613,000 by a US accounting watchdog, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), after a review found widespread cheating by staff on training tests [...]

Prof Janek RatnatungaCEO, CMA Australia & NZ In early August 2021, payments fintech Square announced its intention to acquire Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) firm, Afterpay, for A$39 billion (US$29b) - the biggest ever merger and acquisition agreement in Australian history. However, this tech company is still to make a profit. “This is [...]

Prof Janek RatnatungaCEO, CMA Australia & NZ Professor Janek Ratnatunga, CEO of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (Australia & New Zealand), says that the Australian Federal Government should be offering megabucks – at least 1 million dollars each, for every person who dies as a direct result of a Covid vaccination. And [...]

Professor Janek Ratnatunga, CEO of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants, says that Australia should change its priorities from mining lithium to refining and processing lithium batteries, and  ultimately manufacturing electric vehicles.

Prof Janek RatnatungaCEO, CMA Australia Professor Janek Ratnatunga, CEO of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants, says that Australia is a ‘conspicuous laggard’ and that its climate policy has been more ‘spin than substance’. In an hard-hitting opinion piece he says that Australia cannot continue to ignore the dramatic shift towards ‘climate action’ [...]