Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises Hassan Zareer has stated that the role of the accounting sector in keeping the government accountable when they bring about fiscal reforms is vital.

During the Maldives Accounting Forum held by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Maldives (CA Maldives), Minister Zareer said the accounting industry's efforts in overseeing economic activity, securing state funds and monitoring it via a complete system is very important.

He said that when the current government took office in November 2023, they started with a "home grown" fiscal reform agenda. The minister said the most important part of this is to increase incoming state revenue and the issue of state debt under control.

"Results are visible with these reforms. The current government has paid off loans more than USD 1.4 billion in the last two and a half years. He highlighted that this gave Maldives the opportunity to improve its rating across international rating agencies.

The minister went on to say that the government's aim is to ensure that Maldives is a developed country by 2040 and in order to get there, the economy needs to be diversified, the financial sector needs to be strengthened and a digital economy needs to be established. He also said that when these steps are being taken, a trusted and transparent financial system needs to be in place, with financial details being available.

"Accounting is not just about numbers. Holding public funds accountable and monitoring whether they're being managed are also the sector's responsibilities. The accounting industry's role is also important in proper business decisions," said the Finance Minister.

He said that in addition to businesses, the accounting sector needs to be taken advantage of when it comes to monitoring the government's financial statistics.