A strong stockmarket is an indicator of a strong economy and its development encourages entrepreneurships to lead national development, said Commerce Minister GM Quader onThursday.

“We learned many new lessons from previous market crashes and the crisis in the stockmarket is an opportunity for learning,” he said.

The minister was addressing a two-day international conference, "Enterprise Governance for Stockmarket Development: The Role of Management Accountants”, after inaugurating it at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban at Dhaka University.

South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), the apex body of professional accountants of Saarc countries, organised the conference.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) member Arif Khan, presenting a keynote, emphasised on enterprise governance which opened up a new era of disclosure, transparency and accountably for the development of stockmarket.

Enterprise governance is the structure and relationships which control, direct or regulate performance of an enterprise, projects, portfolios, infrastructure and process and constitutes the entire accountability framework of an organisation, he said.

Weak enterprise governance reduces investors' confidence, he said.

In this regard, GM Quader said the practice of enterprise governance in the stockmarket will help accountants be professional.

SEC Chairman Prof M Khairul Hossain said, “I address and stress the need for good corporate governance.

“A system with sound corporate governance is essential for the sustainability of an organisation, a robust financial system and a well functioning economy as a whole.”

The extent of volatility in the stockmarket of developing countries remains extremely high due to poor enterprise governance, he said, adding that SEC prepared new corporate governance guidelines which are being finalised.

The country's stock exchanges also established corporate finance departments to ensure proper supervision and monitoring of corporate governance of the listed companies, he added.

Management accountants can do more to improve enterprise governance, having the professional expertise to work and establish discipline, transparency and accountability in the corporate world, said ASM Shaykhul Islam, co-chairman of SAFA International Conference Committee.

They can also investigate market abuse and financial frauds and tackle the risk of manipulation in stock and financial markets, said Islam.

He said the outcome of the conference will act as a catalyst to improve the current frustrating situation of the stockmarket.