Over the past couple of decades, the financial services industry in Malta has undergone remarkable expansion, emerging as an appealing destination for global players and creating thousands of high-quality and well-paying employment opportunities. This sector remains a crucial catalyst for economic growth and plays a significant role in the country’s overall development.

While this growth is testament to the resilience of the industry, it does not guarantee future success on its own. The recent grey-listing was a major wake-up call which prompted all stakeholders to take determined and decisive action. Authorities, regulators, and professional organisations, including the Malta Institute of Accountants, collaborated to address existing weaknesses and enhance the system’s ability to combat financial crime.

Concurrently, it is also acknowledged that it is time to look forward. Other countries have quietly leveraged smart technologies to gain a competitive edge, highlighting the importance of adaptability and flexibility in today’s global economy. As a jurisdiction which has always been forward-looking in its approach, there is a clear opportunity to embrace a new era of digitally empowered financial services and reaffirm Malta’s position in a highly competitive global market.

With this background, a unique joint effort of public and private forces, led by the Malta Financial Services Advisory Council (MFSAC), mapped the way forward and came up with a new Strategy for the financial services sector. This Strategy aims to strengthen Malta’s position as a professional jurisdiction supported by a digitally enabled and user-friendly financial system. A total of 175 tangible initiatives have been proposed, which will truly take the industry to the next level. Even better, the Strategy goes beyond the identification of solutions, but it assigns responsibilities and timeframes, ensuring their feasible implementation.

It covers a number of industry verticals namely Banking and Payments, Capital Markets, Insurance and Pensions, Wealth & Asset Management and Fintech, while also tackling requirements related with Taxation, Human Resources and Education, and Sustainability and Sustainable Finance.

The Malta Institute of Accountants played a central role in formulating the Strategy and will continue to actively participate by representing the concerns of its members and addressing them at the relevant levels, including regulatory bodies. Additionally, the Malta Institute of Accountants has been entrusted with the responsibility of planning and overseeing the implementation of recommendations related to human resources and education, with human resources and skills gaps being major limiting factors for the financial services sector.

Furthermore, the Malta Institute of Accountants is extensively involved, occasionally even taking a leading role, in fulfilling other supporting requirements such as taxation and sustainable finance.

Understanding the profound impact of these reforms, the Malta Institute of Accountants will be dedicating its traditional Biennial Conference to a comprehensive examination of these proposals. The objective is to delve beyond a mere overview but rather to provide participants with in-depth insights into the anticipated changes in the coming months.

This year’s event, being held on the May 31, 2023 in collaboration with the MFSAC, will offer a unique opportunity to receive first-hand insight on the Strategy and gain visibility of the new growth avenues being identified for the months and years ahead.

The MIA Biennial Conference 2023 Rethink and Reform, A Blueprint for Malta’s Competitiveness in Financial Services will be held on May 31, 2023 at the Hilton Hotel. Book your place at www.miamalta.org/Biennial23