Credit : Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's X
KUALA LUMPUR, November 11, 2026 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has congratulated Malaysian finance leader Datuk Zaiton Mohd Hassan on her appointment as president of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), describing the post as recognition of her leadership, experience and contributions to the profession.
In a Malay-language post shared on X on Wednesday afternoon, Anwar offered his warmest congratulations and called ACCA a professional accountancy body of global standing. The post was accompanied by a photograph of Datuk Zaiton.
What the Prime Minister said
Anwar wrote that her appointment was an acknowledgement of her leadership, wide experience and contributions in finance and the accountancy profession. He specifically pointed to her efforts to widen access and opportunities for young people who want to enter the field.
He added that he hoped her leadership would continue to strengthen standards of professionalism, expand opportunities for talent development and prepare the profession for an economic and technological landscape that is changing quickly.
Anwar closed the message by expressing the hope that her success would inspire and energise more Malaysians to keep striving, develop their potential and build achievements on the international stage.
Who is the new ACCA president
ACCA announced her election in a statement on Friday, November 6, 2026. According to The Edge Malaysia, Datuk Zaiton is chief executive officer of the Malaysia Professional Accountancy Centre (MyPAC) and chairman of digital bank GX Bank Bhd. She takes over from Melanie Proffitt of the United Kingdom and will lead ACCA for a one-year term.
ACCA said that during her year of office she will lead a global community of more than 266,000 members and 546,000 future members across 179 countries. Trade reports on the announcement say she was first elected to the ACCA Council in 2016 and went on to serve as vice president and then deputy president, engaging with members across Asia Pacific and other markets.
Her background spans auditing, banking and corporate governance. Reports say she worked at PwC and later helped to establish and lead one of Malaysia’s national credit rating agencies. She is joined among ACCA’s officers by deputy president Cristina Gutu, a KPMG director from Romania, and vice president Gary Kent, a senior leader in regional government in Canada.
A profession in transition
ACCA said her presidency comes at a time of change for accountants, as artificial intelligence and new technologies widen their roles and a greater focus on sustainability and social value changes how success is measured. Her term also coincides with ACCA’s planned rollout of a redesigned professional qualification in mid-2027.
In the statement, Datuk Zaiton said ACCA had shaped her life and career. “I came into this profession because it was open to anyone willing to work for it, whatever their background, and I’ve seen how it can lift people and whole communities,” she said. She added that opportunity “is everything” and that accountancy remains one of the most powerful routes to it.
She also said the newly redesigned ACCA qualification retains an open access route and will help to change the face of accountancy education worldwide, preparing the next generation for a profession in which technology takes on routine work and frees accountants for work of greater value, which she described as the judgment, insight and ethics that only people can bring.
Source: https://x.com/anwaribrahim/status/2120373753788190852. Details of Datuk Zaiton’s election are from ACCA’s statement as reported by The Edge Malaysia and People Matters.
Credit : Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s X
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