With a cloud-first strategy in place, we continue to leverage the benefits of utility-based cloud computing to easily scale our technology infrastructure to meet digital initiatives and business demand. For example, PwC launched the Asia Pacific Marketplace in 2023, leveraging cloud capabilities to support quick go-to-market. In tandem with our increasing adoption of cloud platforms and solutions, we have successfully carried out a significant initiative to streamline legacy on-premise infrastructure and applications. This ensures our technology investments are focused on platforms to support future digital initiatives.
We must evolve to meet the complex and changing trends in our landscape while strengthening the foundations which the firm is built on. To do this, we have undertaken several key initiatives.
• Established an Acceleration Center
• Creating value to our people and the business community via our sustainability commitments
• Scaling digital offerings
• Upholding quality standards
• Exploring Trust in shaping the future
Launch of Acceleration Center Kuala Lumpur
PwC US and PwC Malaysia have jointly launched an Acceleration Center in Kuala Lumpur (“AC KL”), bringing together diverse, highly skilled talent, and leveraging the latest digital technologies to deliver a differentiated experience for clients.
AC KL was launched on 14 June 2022, attended by over 60 representatives from government agencies, regulators and accounting bodies, as well as the leadership teams of the PwC's Acceleration Centers, and the Malaysia and US firms’ representatives.
AC KL is a key component in driving the firm’s global strategy, The New Equation, by bringing human-led and tech-enabled strategies together to help build trust and deliver sustained outcomes for clients and communities.
At the start of its operations, AC KL primarily supported the needs of PwC clients in the US through Assurance and Tax services. It is envisioned to be a truly cross-functional operation with capabilities across Consulting, Assurance, Tax and Business Services.
Since its inception, various initiatives have been implemented in alignment with PwC Malaysia's and Acceleration Center’s priorities:
Diverse and inclusive team leaders ❯
Balanced gender representation in AC KL staff council
Inclusive culture ❯
- Inclusive Mindset learning pathway (IMLP), an innovative learning programme that encourages our people to build awareness of concepts that foster inclusive mindsets and behaviours
- Lunch with a Stranger, a platform for our people to meet over lunch and discuss a chosen topic
- Cultural IQ Program, an avenue to deepen connections across the global PwC network
Environmental sustainability ❯
- Count Us In, a global movement which we joined as a firm - our people commit to one or more of 21 steps identified as the most effective ways to reduce carbon footprint.
- ESG eLearn
- Involvement in mangrove tree planting and environmental workshops
Guided by PwC’s purpose, we have 4 areas of priority and growth:
Trust
We entered the eighth year of the Building Trust Programme in 2022, after successfully organising a virtual Building Trust Awards in December 2021.
Against the backdrop of a tough economic climate with escalating societal and environmental challenges, we were inspired to focus our attention on exploring the role of trust in securing the future, and whether business leaders are aligned with their employees and customers on what moves the needle on trust. This initiative culminated in a thought leadership publication, and successfully engaged with C-suite leaders on critical trust-building strategies.
Members of the public were surveyed between 27 March - 19 April 2023 through a poll distributed on social media. 521 responses were received, with the majority of respondents in the Gen X and Millennial age groups, and are employed at work or active in the labour market. We considered these respondents to reflect both the customer and employee perspectives.
Business leaders’ perspectives were obtained through interviews with 7 business leaders conducted one on one between April and May 2023, supplemented by secondary research.
A key takeaway was how vital it is to nurture a work environment that supports innovation and creativity, empowers a learning culture, and celebrates growth - rewarding behaviours that will encourage innovation and transformation for the future.
The thought leadership publication was launched at an event that welcomed over 80 C-level attendees. A panel discussion with three renowned leaders in their fields, including Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, Chairman of Lembaga Tabung Haji Malaysia, Prof. Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, Executive Director, Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, Sunway University, and Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, Chairman of Bursa Malaysia, brought findings from the publication to life.
“Amidst ongoing economic uncertainties and increased complexity in the business environment, stakeholders’ priorities can shift faster than most companies are equipped to adapt — yet we need to continue working to show up for our stakeholders and society in bigger and better ways.”
“As someone who’s driven by impact, I see the most opportunities for outcomes in workforce upskilling to secure our growth in this economy. I also see a need for more mature sustainability programmes, beyond awareness and strategy. And as a woman and a mother in this profession, I appreciate how inclusion provides both opportunity and a sense of belonging in the workplace. I feel that our differences give us an edge in our client delivery.”
Quality
In a fast-changing, technology-driven world, building and maintaining trust and quality has never been more important or challenging. Shifting from dealing with post-pandemic economic concerns, to emerging challenges, enhancing trust and transparency remains a key focus and we have continued to enhance our operations to ensure we uphold our quality standards.
- Transparency Report
- Quality Taskforce
- Recognition and Accountability Framework (RAF)
- RISQ Week
- Exploiting technology to enhance client experience
- Online Speak Up
Transparency Report
We are committed to transparency and building trust that matters. PwC Malaysia’s Transparency Report 2023 highlights our approach to quality, our culture and values, our people, our digital innovations and commitment to the environment, social impact and good governance.
We are continuously improving our audit quality through the design and operation of an effective system of quality management. Our focus is on inculcating the right ethical and quality culture, a comprehensive recognition and accountability framework, real-time quality monitoring and root-cause analysis.
Read more in our Transparency Report 2023.
Quality Taskforce
PwC's leadership structure reflects our commitment to quality at multiple levels throughout the firm and we dedicate the necessary resources to ensure quality. To further support our commitments to our people, we appointed a Chief Culture Officer in 2022 and identified the behaviours to focus on, to best support our strategic business goals.
These culture enablers play a crucial role to proactively shape and reinforce the intended culture.
- Tone from the top
- Communication and engagement
- Development and training
- Employee experience
- Recognition and performance management
- Client and work
- Technology and tools
Recognition and Accountability Framework (RAF)
Every partner and staff is expected to demonstrate mindset and behaviour that are consistent with PwC Values and Purpose, and adhere to our risk management policies, quality standards, firm policies, independence policies, and Code of Conduct.
Our comprehensive Malaysia and Vietnam (MYVN) RAF recognises partners and staff who are role models with exceptional and exemplary mindset and behaviour beyond mere compliance. It addresses the high expectations of our clients, regulators and stakeholders on quality and ethics.
The MYVN RAF guidance provides comprehensive assessment criteria and corresponding recognition or sanction for each of the 7 pillars below:
Risk, quality & regulatory compliance
Independence
Significant adverse matter or TPM
Significant client feedback
Mandatory learning
PwC Code of Conduct
Firm policies and Network Standards
RISQ Week
Risk, Independence, Solutions and Quality (RISQ) has adopted creative ways through different “fun” themes to deliver learning with impact across all LOS this year.
The RISQ Week for MYVN Tax was called, “The Queen’s Gambit RISQ Week”, and the inaugural Assurance edition was named “The Kingdom Quest RISQ Week”. Both events were filled with games, quizzes, prizes and food as part of serious learning as well. Advisory opted for RISQ Refresher Cafes this time round.
Exploiting technology to enhance client experience
In 2023, RISQ launched various new and enhanced tech-enabled processes to improve “client experience” when interacting with the RISQ team. Key highlights were:
"Ask RISQ 2.0" built on the ServiceNow platform which has greater capability, including tracking of turnaround time for online queries or consultation sought by partners and staff.
- “Polaris” is an integral part of the Independence system of quality management that enhances personal independence compliance, and we will be progressively adding more features to Polaris.
Online Speak Up
PwC is committed to ensuring that we have appropriate policies and procedures in place to address any complaints or allegations by firm personnel, clients or third parties that a PwC Member or Network Firm (“PwC Firm”) or its personnel has failed to comply with appropriate professional, ethical, regulatory or legal requirements or its own systems of quality control.
The Firm has established the following Speak Up! channels as a means for staff to raise ethical issues.
Speak Up! box
PwC Ethics Helpline
Ethics Champions
Ethics Officers / Ethics & Business Conduct Committee members
HR Managers
Engagement partners/manager
Career Coaches
Speak Up Investigation Procedures
The EBC Committee members are responsible for all investigations initiated and will act as the primary point-of-contact for information and status reporting.
The investigation process must be thorough, fair and respectful of the rights of the staff member, including the accused.
Digital
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Sustainability
CEO Action Network or CAN is a closed-door peer-to-peer informal network of CEOs and board members focused on sustainability advocacy, capacity building, action and performance. Through a dedicated Working Group, Workstreams and active members driving bespoke initiatives, CAN aspires to catalyse its members towards shaping future-ready and ESG-integrated business models and ecosystems.
PwC Malaysia is a Founding Member and Steering Committee Member of CAN. From 2021 - 2023, we led the Awareness & Capacity Building workstream. We are committed to engaging with various stakeholders including our supply chain, regulators and policy makers, government, as well as our peers across various sectors to forge partnerships that are committed to responsible business practices and sustainable development. In the process, we will not only exchange industry best practices, but also share proven strategies and future-proof ideas with CAN participants. During PwC’s tenure as the workstream lead, as of July 2023, we have organised and contributed to the following sharing sessions.
In April 2023, PwC introduced the ESG Race. It is a sustainability upskilling journey to equip our people with awareness and knowledge to enable us to understand the interactions and impact to businesses so that we can be better client service professionals. The initiative included a series of talks, social enterprise field visits, experience sharings sessions and a sustainability hackathon. PwC Malaysia was the first among the PwC network in Southeast Asia to organise this large scale ESG learning event. This concept is now shared with our clients.
To know more, visit the PwC Academy website.
Learning Badge: Sustainability Climate Impact
Introduced in 2023 and developed by PwC’s Sustainability & climate change experts, this e-learn aims to understand how climate change is impacting organisations and also how organisations are impacting climate change. It also delves into the best practices to identify corporate climate leadership, navigate client conversations and discuss PwC's climate-related offerings within the framework of our business, while tackling climate issues in one's daily life.
> e-learns
were completed within a month during the ESG Race in April 2023.
'Positioning Corporate Malaysia for a sustainable future', a research publication released by PwC Malaysia in collaboration with Capital Markets Malaysia highlights that the capital market is in a unique position to drive meaningful change in sustainability practices among corporations.
The research shows that Malaysian public-listed companies are faring well in environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors among their ASEAN peers based on leading ESG indicators including disclosure and commitments to sustainability practices.
The research concludes that the capital market, through a combination of incentives and deterrents, is in a unique position to drive meaningful change in sustainability practices among corporates.
Embracing the ESG revolution: Zeroing in on investor expectations. This is a MICPA - PwC Malaysia survey in 2022 which explores what is on the minds of investors and how companies can take action to secure long term value among the investor community.
It was found from the survey that ESG considerations are now a top priority in investment decision making and that investors want to see progress made across all ESG dimensions.
In September 2020, PwC announced that we will achieve Net Zero with 2030 goals.
To achieve Net Zero, we have to re-evaluate the way we operate and innovate on how we can continue to service our clients with reduced travel, ensuring expectations and quality are maintained (business travel being the largest carbon emission). It is a new area of focus for all of us, which requires some technical understanding of the various aspects of climate change. We are “walking the talk” in ensuring that we have our aspirations and action plans, while we advise clients on their Sustainability and climate change strategies and how to implement them as part of their business strategies, and measuring and reporting outcomes.
Our efforts to date:
Tracking our emissions
- The #JomNetZero dashboard was launched in April 2023. It shows our emissions in real time, enabling our people to take ownership of their emissions at work and plan their travels better.
- Our sustainability assurance team has provided limited assurance on our baseline year FY19 and FY22 data. Through the audit, we improved on the completeness of data. The emission chart here shows updated data following the audit.
- Our FY23 emissions are 65% of our FY19 baseline, reflecting the increase in business travel, number of people working in the office and people engagement events. We are working across the firm to put in place long term responsible business practices to reduce our emissions.
Emissions reduction efforts
Business travel
- 1) We have seen a reduction of business travel over 2020 through to half of 2022. Business travel has picked up from late 2022 onwards to half of 2023.
- 2) We have provided travel guidelines for staff to help plan their business travel and there was a Business travel policy update for our leaders to manage business class flights.
- 3) We have been offsetting all our emissions from flights since our financial year 2019 through the purchase of carbon credits from certified projects.
Electricity use
- Electricity consumption reduced by 13% on average per month after we reduced approximately 30% of light tubes following the energy audit in October 2022.
- We have bought Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) for energy used in all our buildings starting from our financial year 2023 (July 2022 to June 2023) for our entire electricity usage.
- We have also worked with the building management to increase the temperature. Subsequently the building was awarded the BEI (Building Energy Intensity) of 128 kWh/m2 and a Four Star rating from Suruhanjaya Tenaga Malaysia, in April 2023.
Engaging the our value chain in our pursuit of a just transition, supplier engagement
- 1) As part of our near-term science-based targets, the top 50% of our suppliers by emissions are required to establish near-term science based targets by 2025.
- 2) At the end of 2022, we identified our top 50% of suppliers by emissions and shared our expectations to understand the level of support needed.
- 3) Based on their feedback, in June 2023, we developed and organised a workshop to upskill our suppliers. We plan to have more sessions in 2023 to engage a broader supplier base.
- 4) 67% of our suppliers rated the workshop as very informative (5 out of 5 rating).
Other environmental initiatives
Tree planting
- 1) We have been promoting environmental conservation by organising mangrove tree planting sessions at Hutan Simpan Banjar Utara since 2019. As of 2023, we have planted 2,700 mangrove saplings, involving 189 PwC volunteers.
- 2) We check on the saplings yearly and from our latest assessments in June 2022, survival rate of the trees exceeds 95%.
Paper reduction
- 1) 12% reduction of paper usage in 2023 from 2022. We observe that more of our engagements are now going paperless and we foresee this trend to continue.
- 2) In 2021, we reduced the number of printers in our Kuala Lumpur office by 53%.
- 3) In July 2021, we started using Docusign, a service which allows us to manage electronic agreements securely. As of June 2023, we have sent over 16,600 documents to be signed electronically and avoided printing 238,024 pages.
Count Us In
- 1) Count Us In is a global initiative which was introduced to our people to commit to one or more of 21 steps that have been identified as the most effective ways to reduce carbon footprint.
- 2) PwC Malaysia is ranked 24th globally.
- 3) From November 2021 to September 2023, 380 steps were taken by 193 people, resulting in 31,317 KG CO2 potential carbon savings.
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