A daylong conference of South Asian accountants will be held in Dhaka today with an aim to strengthen accounting standards and practices to bolster economic growth.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed is scheduled to inaugurate the event, Safa International Conference 2014, organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

Some 500 delegates from home and abroad will join the conference of Safa (South Asian Federation of Accountants), the apex body of accountants in Saarc countries, organisers said at a press briefing in Dhaka yesterday.

Accountancy bodies of Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal are Safa members, while Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan are observers.

Formed in 1984, the federation's mission is to bring the accounting bodies together with a common forum and facilitate professional cooperation in education, training and technical and ethical standards.

"Accountancy professionals from home and abroad will share their experiences and thoughts at the daylong conference," said Abbas Uddin Khan, chairman of Safa conference committee.

The proposals and recommendations drawn from the event will be placed before the government and other regulatory organisations to help them with formulating policies and implementing those for the country's development and economic growth, he said.

Referring to the projected 7.3 percent GDP growth for the current fiscal, Khan said: "We believe it is achievable provided that a strategy roadmap is worked out on ideas of economists and chartered accountants."

He said the theme of the conference -accountants for growth: perspective South Asia - describes the purpose and importance of the event.

Mustafa Kamal Mujeri, director general of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, will present a keynote paper at the inaugural session.

The event will have three technical sessions, followed by a valedictory session to be attended by Finance Minister AMA Muhith.