ACCA: GBS the next phase in outsourced model

KUALA LUMPUR: The global business services (GBS) industry potentially represents the next phase in outsourced or shared service model, said the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

In a statement here yesterday, ACCA said, an increasing number of companies in Malaysia and across the Asia- Pacific had started to use shared services and outsourcing to improve their quality, lower costs and increase efficiency.

ACCA said the contributions of the GBS industry towards the overall economic progress of Malaysia were brought to the fore at a forum it held in Penang on Sept 19.

It was jointly organised with Xtrategize Consulting Sdn Bhd.

The association said essentially, GBS aggregated key functions such as finance, human resource, i n format i o n t e chnolo g y, customer service and operations into one organisational structure and governance model, providing business support across the entire enterprise.

It said the shift to a GBS model of operation translated to job opportunities and revenue generation for the country that hosted GBS companies, which were generally large corporations.

It said Penang, as an established hub for GBS provision in Malaysia, could play a crucial part in maximising the prospects this sector promised.

Director of InvestPenang, Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon, said it was important to nurture the talents to support the GBS industry.

“Attracting international companies into Malaysia and developing our talents should be done concurrently.

"We cannot wait until companies are set up before starting to look for talents.

“That's why we work with agencies such as Malaysia Digital Economy Corp, Outsourcing Malaysia and Talent Corp Malaysia Bhd ( TalentCorp) to ensure there was a solid pipeline of talents,” he said at the panel discussion at the forum.

Meanwhile, TalentCorp's Head of Malaysian Talent DevelopmentGraduate Employability, Siti Norliza Mohd Sahar, said the universities today welcomed interventions from external parties to train their students before they graduated.

“This has enabled us to implement various initiatives that groom talents earlier in preparation for employment.

“One such initiat ive is TalentCorp's collaboration with ACCA to support undergraduates from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Unive r s i t i Pendidikan Sultan Idris to study the ACCA certificate in GBS,” she said. — Bernama