Autor: Aitor Díaz García

Publicado el

My review of the I DIBAF Blockchain Congress: a unique opportunity to learn

Primer préstamo corporativo blockchain en el mundo por BBVA e Indra

Taking part in a blockchain congress was definitely not a thing that I expected to do at some point of my life. Taking part as a lecturer was directly, unthinkable. However, last Wednesday I found myself in front of my laptop, ready to present the work I had been preparing with my team to an audience formed by more than 50 people. But instead of asking myself why was I there, I was truly satisfied to have the opportunity to share something I had been working on (with my teammates, of course) for more than a month.

The logical question now is: how did I get there? Well, everything started when Judit Mendoza, our Banking Management teacher, told us at the beginning of the semester that we would be taking part in a congress related to blockchain and its applications in different economic sectors, including banking and auditing. I would be lying if I told that I was excited at first: my knowledge about blockchain was near to zero and I had never taken part in such a big event before. However, everything changed when we started to work on it.

Preparing the academic paper for the congress was almost as thrilling as the congress itself. We chose the risks and benefits of the use of blockchain technology in the banking sector as our topic, and we set some online meetings to prepare the paper. At first it was quite challenging: none of us had written any academic essay before, and it is even more difficult when you must use a language which is not your native tongue. Besides, we had to search a lot of information about blockchain, as we wanted to understand how the technology worked.

Still, as we moved on, we started to enjoy the process. Searching for academic papers published by experts and choosing the right ones for our bibliography gave us a better insight into the fascinating world of scientific publications, and writing the paper was an experience which helped us not only to learn about the disruptive potential of the application of this technology in banking, but also to gain some skills that will definitely be essential for our academic and professional future.

The week before the congress we were already nervous, but also excited. We sent out teacher the final version of our paper and we even corrected the mistakes with the aid of Isabella, an American investigator from Chicago that came to Tenerife as part of the Fulbright programme. Everything was ready for the decisive moment.

We expounded the content of our paper in about seven minutes. I think it went well, or at least we were happy with the outcome. Also, I must admit that I felt rewarded when I answered the questions that some of the other participants asked us, because in that moment I realised about how much I had learned. And that’s the thing: we learned. We learned about blockchain, we learned about its applications in banking, we learned about how to search for academic papers, we learned about how to work efficiently and as a team… That’s why I enjoyed the congress and I appreciated it so much, as it was a unique opportunity to develop some skills that are necessary for our future.

However, the most interesting part were the other participants’ explanations, as they made me realise about the vast amount of possibilities that blockchain technology could offer not only to banking, but also to all kind of activities. We talked about auditing, accounting, and even some participants showed us the apps they created by using this disruptive technology. Personally, I think that the most interesting debate that came up during the congress was the one about if the implementation of blockchain technology could make some jobs redundant. That evidenced the need to adapt the way we work to the new technologies that are dramatically changing the way we live.

In the end, it was an amazing experience and I really hope there will be a second edition next year (hopefully in-person). I can only be thankful to all the participants and organisers for bringing up such an interesting event, even more considering the hard times we are currently living. Definitely, blockchain is the future!

Click here to watch all the videos of the Congress.

Publicado el

Fed plans new round of bank stress tests in response to Covid-19

Link:  https://www.thebanker.com/World/Americas/US/Fed-plans-new-round-of-bank-stress-tests-in-response-to-Covid-19

Date: 15th of October 2020

Media: The Banker

What happened?

Due to the ongoing uncertainty around the Covid-19 pandemic, the US Federal Reserve Board has announced another round of bank stress tests to see how large banks stand up against two scenarios featuring severe recessions.

Whom and where it affects?

Firstly, it affects US-based banks and financial institutions, especially those with large trading or processing operations, because their strength and solvency will be tested.

It also affects all creditors of those banks, as the results of the tests will give them insight into the banks’ capital strength under a tailored set of assumptions, given the ongoing coronavirus-related uncertainty.

Finally, it indirectly affects everyone, as the strength and health of the international banking system is something that has effects on our daily life.

What sort of public or private institutions are involved?

The most important institution involved in this piece of news is the US Federal Reserve, which is the central bank of that country and the competent authority for carrying out stress tests, which are now needed because of the fragile economic situation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also, private banks are important in the article because they will be subjected to those stress tests, what means that their resiliency is going to be evaluated by the FED.

Why is it important for Banking and Finance?

As we are facing a pandemic that is affecting all aspects of our lives, the strength of the international financial system is a fundamental key to prevent possible future crashes.

Therefore, it is important to evaluate the health of the most important financial institutions worldwide, especially private banks, because we need to know if they would be capable of resisting to an adverse economic scenario derived from the pandemic. Depending on the results of those tests, the confidence in the financial system will either increase or decrease.

What do you think will be the consequences in the foreseeable future?

If the results are positive and banks can demonstrate their solvency and strength despite the adverse financial situation, creditors and investors would be more willing to keep investing on them, and therefore, the economic situation might improve, as those investors would maintain their confidence in the system. That could also reduce the impact of the pandemic in the economy.

However, if banks fail those tests, the confidence in the banking system would plummet, and consequently depositors and investors might want to withdraw their money, what would lead to a bank failure that could easily extend to the rest of the institutions because of the adverse situation resulting from the pandemic.

Key words

Stress test, banks, FED, scenario, economy, pandemic.

Publicado el

Realidades y retos de la mujer auditora

En las últimas décadas, hemos asistido a una profunda transformación de las estructuras económicas, sociales y culturales. La gran cantidad de cambios acontecidos y su repercusión en todos los ámbitos de nuestras vidas reflejan claramente que estamos entrando en una nueva época donde se va a romper con todo lo anteriormente establecido.

Sin embargo, la gran mayoría de estos cambios no hubiesen sido posibles si no se hubieran producido previamente dos hechos clave: la efectiva emancipación de la mujer y el auge del movimiento feminista en los países occidentales. Aunque es cierto que aún quedan algunos derechos por conquistar, las mujeres han pasado a ser un elemento clave de nuestra sociedad. Con su valentía, nos han demostrado que son igual e incluso más capaces que los hombres para realizar cualquier tarea o actividad, y cada vez son más visibles en lugares que antes parecían impensables.

Esta nueva situación nos hace tener que abordar todos los problemas con perspectiva de género, con el objetivo de obtener una visión inclusiva de todos los aspectos de esta contingencia. Así, cuando hablamos de auditoría, no podemos realizar ningún tipo de análisis sin detenernos en el papel que juega la mujer en ella. Y es que, pese a los indiscutibles avances, la mujer sigue en un segundo plano en esta disciplina, hecho que tenemos que cambiar entre todos si queremos realmente avanzar hacia una sociedad igualitaria.

Si analizamos los datos proporcionados por el Instituto de Contabilidad y Auditoría de Cuentas (ICAC) en su informe “Situación sobre la Auditoría en España 2018”, podemos comprobar como el número de auditoras ejercientes es solo un 19% del total (744 de un total de 3997 personas), una cifra muy baja teniendo en cuenta que los estudios superiores relacionados con la contabilidad y la auditoría suelen tener de media el mismo porcentaje de graduados hombres que mujeres.

Al mismo tiempo, el número de auditores hombres no ejercientes casi triplica al de mujeres. Sin embargo, echémosle un vistazo a las personas que aprobaron el examen del ROAC en los últimos años. Si observamos la información, podemos comprobar que más de un 40% (aproximadamente) de los candidatos aptos son mujeres. Entonces, ¿cómo se pasa de este 40% de aprobadas a un 20% real? ¿Qué ha ocurrido en el camino que ha cercenado las oportunidades de estas mujeres tan preparadas?

Susana Dabán, Censora jurado de cuentas de España y miembro del ROAC desde 2002 nos da la respuesta. Para ella, los motivos de la retención del talento femenino son “las dificultades reales de conciliación, la falta de apoyo cuando llega la maternidad, la existencia de un sesgo inconsciente en el momento de la promoción dentro de las firmas y la inexistencia de suficientes referentes femeninos en puestos relevantes en el sector”.

Por lo tanto, al igual que en otros sectores, se discrimina a la mujer por el hecho de que puede quedarse embarazada, o simplemente porque se piensa que no tiene la capacidad de los hombres para asumir puestos de liderazgo, cosa que se ha demostrado absolutamente falsa. Tal y como afirma Dabán, esta falta de mujeres puede llegar a convertirse en un problema para la imagen comercial de las grandes firmas en el futuro, especialmente para aquellas que presumen de la equidad como uno de sus valores corporativos. “Ya no quedan excusas”, afirma contundente.

Por estos motivos, son tan importantes iniciativas como la emprendida por el Col·legi de Censors Jurats de Comptes de Catalunya (CCJCC), que ha creado un grupo de equidad de género para impulsar la presencia de la mujer en la profesión. El objetivo es “el incremento de representación femenina en cargos directivos de empresas del sector con el objeto de introducir la perspectiva de género en su gestión”.

Gracias a estas medidas, se impulsará la efectiva participación de las mujeres en la toma de decisiones, de tal manera que existan referentes femeninos en el sector. Al mismo tiempo, otro de los objetivos del programa es reducir las barreras que puedan afectar a la contratación de las mujeres, como por ejemplo la baja por embarazo. “En ocasiones sí que se percibe una falta de apoyo, puesto que tenemos más dificultades relacionadas con la maternidad”, afirma Mercè Martí, presidenta de Kreston Iberaudit y miembro del grupo para la equidad de género. Es de esperar que esta iniciativa pionera se traslade pronto a otras empresas relevantes del sector de la auditoría de cuentas.

Y es que la plena inclusión de las mujeres en la auditoría no es solo algo necesario, sino beneficioso para la propia actividad. Según un estudio publicado por el Journal of Business Research, las auditorías firmadas por mujeres son de mayor calidad, y por tanto contienen menos errores que aquellas firmadas por hombres. Esto se debe a que, en términos generales, los hombres son más propensos a tomar riesgos, lo cual reduce la fiabilidad de sus informes. Sin embargo, pese a este interesante descubrimiento, solo el 20% de los informes de auditoría de empresas españolas que cotizan en Bolsa fueron firmados por mujeres entre 2008 y 2015, un registro claramente insuficiente, dada la demostrada capacidad de las mujeres auditoras.

Es por tanto un deber de la sociedad, que afortunadamente es cada vez más igualitaria e inclusiva, desarrollar los mecanismos necesarios para conseguir la plena inclusión de las mujeres en el mundo laboral en general y en la auditoría en particular, con las mismas condiciones que tienen los hombres. No se trata de suprimir el sistema meritocrático, sino de eliminar las barreras que impiden el acceso a la profesión y a puestos relevantes a mujeres suficientemente preparadas. Porque tal y como afirma Bill Thomas, presidente global de la big four KPMG, “las mejores organizaciones son aquellas en las que la diversidad y la inclusión son asumidas como parte de las mismas”.

Fuentes

http://www.icac.meh.es/Documentos/INFORMES/01.Situaci%C3%B3n%20de%20la%20Auditor%C3%ADa%20en%20Espa%C3%B1a/08.A%C3%B1o%202018.pdf

https://creandosolucionesdevalor.com/2018/09/07/mujeres-en-auditoria-financiera-un-camino-por-recorrer/

https://www.icjce.es/auditores-catalanes-crean-grupo-equidad-genero-para-impulsar

http://www.rrhhdigital.com/secciones/actualidad/136472/Las-auditorias-firmadas-por-mujeres-de-mayor-calidad-y-fiabilidad?target=_self