FinanceMalta supports JA Malta’s Company Programme

FinanceMalta is among the sponsors of the JA Company Programme, which offers post-secondary students the opportunity to take a business idea, formulate it and make it a reality over the course of nine months – all within a framework connecting an international network of youths to a large network of business professionals, both nationally and internationally.

FinanceMalta will be awarding the Best Financial Statements Signature Award, which will be presented during the JA Malta Finals and Awards on 20 May 2023.

The FinanceMalta Best Financial Statements Award seeks to enhance the quality of financial and business reporting by encouraging the implementation of financial reporting standards and best practices. The award will be given to the mini company with the best financial statements along the entire course of the JA Company Programme. This will include looking at key assumptions made prior to beginning operations, as well as bookkeeping throughout the company’s journey.

The financial statements submitted by the 18 companies participating in the programme will be evaluated by a group of professionals composed of Marvin Zammit – member of the Board of Governors of FinanceMalta, together with FinanceMalta members Lawrence Buttigieg – CEO of Alpine Group, and Marlon Sammut – Director – Corporate Accounting Advisory Services at KPMG Malta.

Whilst thanking FinanceMalta for its support, Matthew Caruana, JA Malta CEO said: “The Company Programme offers students the opportunity to run a business for the duration of a scholastic year. This learning by doing experience is critical for their personal development irrespective of whether they will eventually run their own business or be employed in an enterprise. We always stress the importance of good practices when it comes to financial management, reporting and governance, apart from the experience of issuing share capital, opening a bank account, bookkeeping requirements, and the dissolution of their business, that are all important milestones for the programme. We therefore wanted to have a signature award specifically for financial statements and financial management as it is a key part of running a sound business. In this regard, we believe FinanceMalta to be the ideal partner given its role as a major stakeholder in the finance industry at large.”

George Vella, FinanceMalta Chairman, underlined that: “FinanceMalta is proud to support the JA Malta Company Programme, a project that offers hands-on enterprise experience to the young ones. Good governance is pivotal for every business, and through the Best Financial Statements Award we aim at stressing the importance of the principles of financial projections, proper bookkeeping and reporting, which are crucial for every entrepreneurial activity.”