President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Maldives (CA Maldives), Mohamed Haleem Abdullah, today emphasized that external auditors examining private sector companies must review the quality of their work.
CA Maldives is an independent body established by law.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Maldives Accountants Forum 2025, Haleem stated that CA Maldives has a legal responsibility to monitor the quality of work performed by auditors providing external audit services to private companies. Therefore, he said, state assistance is needed to fulfill this responsibility.
He noted that the Maldives' capital market, stock exchange, and investment activities are increasing daily, and the audits conducted by auditors are used to ensure the authenticity of such transactions.
"Therefore, the quality review of the work done by the auditors is essential. If this is not done regularly, we must all accept that if we do not pay proper attention to this, we are very likely to face unexpected losses," he said.
Haleem also explained some other reasons why CA Maldives should evaluate the quality of auditors' work .One of the reasons, he said, is the auditors' role in ensuring that the state receives the correct amount of tax revenue it is truly due.
"The amount of revenue and taxes received by the state is based on the financial statements audited by the auditors. It is essential to ensure the fairness of the revenue received by the State to ensure that the auditors have complied with international auditing standards and laws and regulations of Maldives" he stated.
Another reason to check the auditors' performance, he said, is that loans given by banks and credit extended by companies are based on the companies' financial statements. Therefore, he asserted, it is necessary to ensure that such calculations are prepared in a balanced and transparent manner, without any deception.
For these reasons, he concluded, reviewing the work of auditors is essential to maintain the credibility of the country’s financial system.
If the work is done regularly, the Maldives will gain more confidence from international financial institutions, he noted.
CA Maldives is also required to register and compile a register of accountants working in the Maldives. He said that this will allow the number of foreigners working in the sector to be known, and ultimately, the number of foreigners can be systematically reduced.
More than 300 participants are attending this year's Accountants Forum. The theme of this year's forum is "Strengthening Financial Governance and Accountability."
The Platinum Sponsor of the Forum is the Bank of Maldives.
