After many people delayed cancer screening due to the pandemic, experts now fear that missed screenings, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, may mean cancer diagnoses have been missed or delayed, according to the Wall Street Journal.

To help increase your chances of detecting cancer early, seek guidance from your health care providers and follow these five steps:

1) Show up for your annual physical
Your annual check-up is a valuable opportunity to discuss with your primary care provider any physical or emotional challenges you’re experiencing. It also may play a pivotal role in helping to catch cancer early.
For some cancer patients, regular physicals and check-ups are critical to:

• Determining how much, if any, evidence of disease remains
• Checking on the progress of indolent or slow-growing cancers
• Checking for symptoms of a cancer recurrence or current cancer
• Discussing side effects associated with cancer treatment

2) See your dentist
If you’re about to start chemotherapy, tell your dentist so he or she can check for signs of a gum infection, cavities that require fillings, ill-fitting dentures or mouth sores. In addition, radiation therapy for head or neck cancer may impact your dental health since it may reduce calcium in your tooth enamel.

3) Show up for your colonoscopy
Colonoscopies remain the gold standard for colorectal cancer detection. These procedures allow doctors to spot abnormalities and remove growths that may develop into cancer.
During the pandemic, thousands of colonoscopies were postponed or canceled. Check with your doctor to know at what age you should get screened (the American Cancer Society recommends people begin colorectal cancer screenings at age 45).

4) Women should get an annual gynecologic exam
Watch out for symptoms of gynecologic cancer, especially since early diagnosis and treatment may result in a better outcome.

Seven common symptoms of gynecologic cancer include:

• Abnormal vaginal bleeding or discharge
• Pelvic pain or pressure
• Abdominal or back pain
• Bloating
• Changes in bathroom habits
• Itching or burning in the vulva
• Changes in vulva color or skin

Women often rely on a gynecologist to receive a Pap test to detect precancerous cells, screening for infections and conversations about birth control. If they’re diagnosed with a gynecological cancer, women should see a gynecologist oncologist, a doctor trained to diagnose and treat female reproductive cancers, such as cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulvar cancers.

5) Men should self-screen for testicular cancer
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer detected in men under 45. Common signs of testicular cancer include:

• Hard lumps or nodules on either testicle
• A change in how the testicle looks or feels
• Swelling in the scrotum
• A dull ache in the abdomen or scrotum
• A feeling of heaviness in the scrotum
• Enlarged or swollen breasts

The coronavirus pandemic has transformed our work and personal lives over the last year. But best practices in cancer screening and detection haven’t changed during that time. The earlier a cancer is diagnosed, the earlier a patient may be able to receive treatment, which may result in better outcomes.

The post CTCA: Five steps that may help catch cancer early appeared first on RG Magazines.

By Sam Strangeways

Not so long ago it was viewed by many in the corporate world as a faddish buzzword, but ESG is now a mainstream concept – and businesses in Bermuda are having to embrace it.

Increasingly, firms here are developing and honing their sustainability policies, reflecting deeply on how to be good corporate citizens and sharing their commitments and goals publicly.

They are doing so because their investors, their clients and even their own staff are demanding it – and soon it will likely be a regulatory requirement.

“ESG is definitely more pervasive now and also multi-dimensional in scope and corporate strategy,” said Pat Phillip-Fairn, CEO of Objective Consulting, which helps firms communicate their ESG strategies.
“I think the growth in strategic focus and operational practices related to ESG has evolved directly in line with societal concerns and expectations around issues of sustainability, social equity and responsible corporate behaviour.”

ESG refers to environmental, social and governance metrics which investors can scrutinise to better understand a company’s performance in those non-financial areas.

Kevin Dallas, group head of marketing and communications at Butterfield Group, said such issues had long been of importance in business.But he added: “What is new or more recent is the need to wrap that holistically into an ESG framework and to be able to articulate it and the progress we are making to stakeholders.”

Stephen Weinstein, chairman of the Bermuda Business Development Agency, told the recent Island Finance Forum that public companies were “hearing ESG pressure from a growing constellation of stakeholders”. He said: “Importantly, your team – human capital – is increasingly focused on this topic but your investors, your customers, your stakeholders, the governments with which you deal, want to know about your ESG strategy.

“They want to see that it’s aligned with your own medium and long-term sustainability as a firm and aligned with their values.”
Ms Phillip-Fairn said entities in Bermuda had “certainly been increasingly focused on ESG in recent years”. “That applies right across the IB sector, accounting and law firms, in regulation via the BMA and even the BSX,” she said.

“From what I’ve seen there’s a general recognition that implementing ESG policies effectively and realistically is beneficial for businesses, the community and ultimately the jurisdiction’s credibility and leadership position.”

Mr Dallas said the E in ESG had become “much more prominent” since the 2016 Paris Agreement on climate change. “There is much more scrutiny over what’s happening in the E space,” he said.

Butterfield, which has been giving out college scholarships since 1978, has recently looked close to home to make an impact in that area. For the last several years, it has offered a graduate scholarship for environmental studies.

“That’s an investment in the community that we believe has a long-term pay off,” said Mr Dallas. “We are making sure that the communities in which we operate have the right capabilities to thrive in the future.”

RenaissanceRe president and CEO Kevin O’Donnell wrote in his 2020 letter to shareholders that the company focused on ESG issues “because they advance our business goals and are the right thing to do”. The firm published an ESG strategy which formally committed to helping the world “better manage climate risk” with green projects in Sierre Leone, Uganda and Chile.

Ms Phillip-Fairn said the evolution and growth of ESG had “occurred in the context of major economic shocks such as the global financial crisis, increasingly alarming climate change impacts, social inequality, imbalanced access to opportunity among minorities, and so forth”. She said: “Undoubtedly, companies also recognise the risks and uncertainty for their businesses from any instability that such issues can generate in their markets.”

Mr Dallas noted that shareholders didn’t only consider ESG from a philanthropic perspective. “They ask if we have considered the impact of climate change on our business,” he said. “An example would be that climate change is causing an increased frequency of hurricanes and a higher intensity of hurricanes. How does that impact Bermuda’s coastal shoreline and the houses built along it, many of them purchased with mortgages from Butterfield?

“Our shareholders want to know that our lending policies appropriately consider the risks of climate change in Bermuda.”
As ESG continues to gain momentum around the world – and regulators begin mandating disclosures – the topic looks set to remain centre-stage in Bermuda.

Last month, the importance of ESG strategies was discussed by a panel at the Bermuda Captive Conference. And in April, the BDA said it would prioritise efforts to establish and promote Bermuda as the world’s climate risk finance capital, highlighting how the island enjoyed a “rare perspective on climate-related efforts, as the country is a critical habitat for marine biodiversity while also serving as a key player on the global stage of financial risk management”.

Ms Phillip-Fairn said: “Ultimately most companies are in business to be profitable, so that objective remains paramount.
“However, I think it’s fair to say the definite shift we’ve seen towards providing more transparency in this area, and demonstrating a firm is implementing authentic ESG initiatives with long-term positive impact, will be a priority for companies as long as those issues remain important to their investors – institutional and individual, customers, other stakeholders and regulators.”

The post ESG goes mainstream and Bermuda is embracing it appeared first on RG Magazines.

By Annabel Cooper

That some of the world’s most profitable companies appear to be paying less than their “fair share” of tax has long been the subject of outcry not just from politicians around the world, but from their tax-paying citizens too. Add to that the economic consequences of a global pandemic and pressure from the Biden administration in the US, and suddenly the momentum behind a minimum level of taxation has taken off.

After receiving approval from the G7 in June, the OECD announced in July that 130 countries and jurisdictions, including Bermuda, had joined the “new two-pillar plan to reform international taxation rules and ensure that multinational enterprises pay a fair share of tax wherever they operate”.

Shortly after, Peru joined, increasing that number to 131. The eight who haven’t joined include low-tax EU nations Ireland, Hungary and Estonia, as well as Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Kenya.

In spite of this momentum and apparent agreement between so many different countries, there is still much negotiation ongoing and considerable detail to be determined.

A leading expert has also warned that larger economies are reacting more to perceived tax competition issues, and that there could not only be negative consequences for consumers, but they may not even meet their ultimate objective.

The two-pillar framework has been drawn up by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework (IF) on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) and is the latest plan from the OECD/G20 BEPS initiative which was formed in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. The aim of this was to update international tax rules to reflect the more digital, globalised 21st-century economy.

Pillar one is designed to reallocate certain taxing rights over multinational enterprises from their home countries, to the markets where they have business activities and earn profits, regardless of physical presence.

Pillar two is the introduction of a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent. It is this pillar that is likely to have the most impact on Bermuda.

Robert Moncrieff, associate partner at EY Bermuda Ltd, and the firm’s global insurance international tax and transaction services leader, said he believed pillar two, which is supposed to be addressing residual BEPS concerns not previously dealt with, “is being advanced without proper consideration of the impact of some of the earlier commitments and the effects of measures such as the economic substance requirements”.

He added: “The global minimum tax proposal is less a measure needed to combat base erosion and profit shifting than an effort from large, diverse and developed economies to address perceived tax competition issues from smaller and less diversified economies.”

While the rules are still very much under development, should pillar two be implemented in its current form, the immediate impact is likely to be a larger tax bill for reinsurers.

“For reinsurers headquartered in Bermuda, we may see an increase in the overall amount of group tax payable, through increased taxation in the subsidiaries,” he said. “For Bermuda operations which are foreign owned, any tax increase might be reflected in the parent jurisdiction to the extent not already collected.”

While blaming lower tax jurisdictions for loss of revenue might be an easy political point scorer, a minimum rate of corporate income tax across all sectors does not necessarily mean a country’s coffers will suddenly fill up. In Bermuda’s case, if the cost of reinsurers doing business goes up, it could result in a “giving with one hand, taking with the other” scenario.

“As with most business tax increases, this is likely to be reflected in an increase in the cost of insurance protection globally,” added Mr Moncrieff, who warned that “since business taxation ultimately finds its way to consumers, the benefit or cost to any given jurisdiction should really be measured at a number of layers and might not always align with the objectives of the proposals”.

Bermuda’s reinsurance industry has a critical role to play in the world economy and as a jurisdiction, its reputation and history of co-operation should serve the island well as negotiations remain ongoing.

“The fundamental attractiveness of Bermuda, such as a widely respected regulatory environment, access to a highly talented workforce, ease of doing business and Bermuda’s record of compliance with regulatory and information exchange initiatives remains unchanged,” explained Mr Moncrieff, who also praised the government’s effort to engage with this process.

“Bermuda has consistently made the case as to the value which reinsurance provides to the global economy and thus the potentially detrimental effects of any increased pricing for businesses and individuals looking to obtain protection from the increasing perils, natural and otherwise, which face us all,” he continued.

“Bermuda is fully engaged in the OECD’s process in an effort to ensure that the rules are fairly and consistently applied across all jurisdictions and industry sectors, and that they remain focused on combating base erosion and profit shifting. This is in line with Bermuda’s continued commitment to global standards on transparency, disclosure and economic substance.”

In spite of the magnitude of these reforms and the number of countries involved, the OECD is planning to release model rules and other framework documents in October 2021 and hopes to have them in place in 2023. Mr Moncrieff, however, believes this timeframe to be “optimistic”.

“For many jurisdictions, those rules will need to be transcribed into legislative proposals and will need to go through some form of legislative process as well as possible domestic consultation with industry. It remains unclear how much latitude any given jurisdiction might have in drafting its rules and therefore how closely aligned the various jurisdictional proposals will be. We also have to factor in whether the existing rules in the US will be amended to align more closely with pillars one and two and how they might interreact.

“This suggests that anything prior to 2023/4 for effective dates is optimistic. Further, if consensus across the board proves to be difficult, given the need for the 139 members of the IF to agree, and the existence of eight objecting members at the time of writing, we may see a more phased implementation being adopted.”

The post What global tax overhaul could mean for Bermuda reinsurers appeared first on RG Magazines.

Elizabeth Cava, audit and assurance partner, Deloitte Bermuda

The many impacts of climate change will have a profound impact on individual companies over time. Boards and managements are having to consider the risks and how they should respond to them.
While climate risk has traditionally been treated as a long-term issue and something more talked about than acted upon, the pressure to act is growing.
In a world when ESG is gaining momentum, investors and consumers increasingly demand sustainability. Regulators in some parts of the world are also starting to mandate disclosures of climate risk, particularly when it is connected to financial risk.
Navigate Bermuda spoke with Elizabeth Cava, audit and assurance partner at Deloitte Bermuda, for her thoughts on how Bermuda’s financial-services industry in particular is managing climate risk.

Navigate: What are the greatest challenges faced by company boards and senior managers as they decide what they should do to address climate change?

Cava: Two challenges which stand out to me are how boards will drive integrated thinking (in which sustainability is embedded in all aspects of a company’s operations) and how companies will manage the data required to report on their chosen metrics and targets.
Climate risk may currently be on a company’s risk register, though as organisations progress, climate risk will need to be fully integrated into a company’s risk-management framework and all areas of operations. The shift to integrated thinking will be important for organisations to build credibility when reporting on their metrics and targets. Being credible to stakeholders will be important, and a change in thinking should cascade from the board of directors down the organisation. Appropriate training and briefings will be necessary. Stakeholder expectations are and will continue to change so management cannot be complacent in the execution of overseeing this change in thinking.
Management and boards will need to carefully think through the metrics and targets used to assess and manage climate-related risks, including an appropriate timeframe for achievement. Different standards and frameworks will suggest or prescribe certain metrics to disclosure. For example, the Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures (TCFD) has certain cross-industry climate-related metrics such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, carbon pricing and the proportion of assets and/or activities materially exposed to physical or transition risks. However, with GHG emissions, there are currently limitations to reporting on Scope 3 emissions (the indirect emissions which occur in a company’s value chain), as one of the most widely used methodologies does not quite allow for comparability between entities. Climate-related targets might require the need for scenario analysis, requiring a technical understanding of assumptions and models in which the expertise to properly perform a review may be limited in the organisation.
Underlying all of this is data. There is a scarcity of data that is fit for purpose and at the right level of granularity for companies to work with. Many organisations do not currently capture or have the controls in place to report on targets and metrics. For companies with investment portfolios to manage, thinking through the various data points and providers can pose a challenge in that companies have different reporting methodologies compounded by the different ranking and screening methodologies for data providers.

Navigate: What kinds of climate risks should companies in Bermuda be considering?

Cava: Bermuda’s financial-services companies will need to consider both the transition risk related to moving to a lower carbon economy and the physical impacts of climate change. Certain financial-services companies may also need to consider liability risk, should parties who have suffered loss and damage from climate change seek to recover those losses.

Physical risks, or the damage from weather-related events such as storms, certainly affect the losses that insurers and reinsurers will record. Even life insurance companies will also face greater impact as heat waves, droughts, fires, can change morbidity and mortality assumptions. Banks and capital markets are exposed to physical risks through their lending activities and the associated collateral. Monitoring of credit loss exposure should include data points to capture climate risk exposure on the loan portfolios. Asset managers and asset owners are exposed to physical risks through their portfolio companies and models producing valuations of companies should include assumptions on exposures to climate risks. For companies needing to hold “safe” assets, the changes in climate may affect credit quality of certain sovereign or municipal issuers.
Transition risk can take the form of changes in technology, regulation and policy changes and consumer sentiment and can be difficult to measure due to interconnectivity with other variables. Banks will need to assess transition risk in their loan origination and credit monitoring processes. Asset managers and asset owners will incorporate monitoring of these trends in reviewing portfolio company performance and due diligence in projects to invest in. For insurance companies, transition risk will impact underwriting activity for certain lines of business as well as the assets insurers will invest in.

Navigate: Are companies treating the potential impact of climate change on their businesses as something that requires action now or something that can wait a few years?

Cava: Companies are at various stages of maturity currently, though the discussions around climate risk, from regulators to company boards, have increased exponentially in the past year. Certain larger reinsurers publish separate sustainability reports, with metrics, targets and disclosures mapped to one or more frameworks or standards, with independent assurance reports. Others are just starting to think about the materiality of ESG factors to their business, the governance structure and incorporation into the risk-management frameworks. Another change is that whereas in the past, exclusionary practices, such as not underwriting or investing in carbon-intensive companies, might have been sufficient, stakeholder sentiment is evolving, making financial-services firms key in addressing climate change, given their vital role in capital markets.

Navigate: What effect, if any, has the pandemic had on companies’ attitudes to climate risk?

Cava: While not necessarily affecting a company’s attitude toward climate risk, the pandemic has shown that companies might have identified a risk but not thoroughly thought through the potential changes to their operating model and business. For example, there were companies which, prior to 2020, had pandemic risk on their risk register but not in business continuity plans. Many business continuity plans were in place with short-term inaccessibility to physical spaces and not months-long remote working. Companies could draw on this experience when building enterprise support to have climate risks be fully integrated in their operations.

Navigate: Will companies in Bermuda be impacted by regulatory requirements for climate risk disclosures in the European Union coming in the next couple of years? Would you expect regulators elsewhere to require such disclosures over time?

Cava: Bermuda has a number of companies with operations in Europe which will be impacted by changes in the EU regulations. Additionally, insurance companies regulated by the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority will be expected to have embedded the TCFD disclosures by the end of 2021. The United States is quickly catching up with Europe, from the Biden administration committing to rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement to the SEC directive to enhance its focus on climate-related disclosures in public company filings. Bermuda’s SEC-listed companies will be impacted by any enacted rule changes.
Other regulators are certain to follow as stakeholder focus on climate risk increases. The New York Department of Financial Services has published a climate change regulatory framework, though no additional regulation at the moment. Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority recently announced it will require certain insurers and banks to disclose qualitative and quantitative information pertaining to climate risks on their businesses. New Zealand has also enacted similar regulatory changes.
The Bermuda Monetary Authority (the “Authority”) has communicated that it is increasing its focus on climate change matters with the introduction of a regulatory and supervisory team specialising in the licensing and supervision of innovative business model proposals to address climate change risk and the associated protection gap. The regulator has also communicated its goal to integrate sustainability into its regulatory frameworks. Earlier this year, the Authority published the results of a survey conducted last year on the impact of climate change to Bermuda’s insurance industry and also indicated that it is actively monitoring and responding to developments with respect to climate related disclosures. In 2021 the Authority has indicated that it will be performing an exposure and vulnerability analysis pertaining to climate change risk of Bermuda’s commercial insurance market.

The post Climate risk: what should companies do about it? appeared first on RG Magazines.

By Annabel Cooper

Amy Ellison has been appointed chief executive officer of Legal & General Reinsurance, replacing Thomas Olunloyo who is relocating to the United States to become deputy CEO of Legal & General America.

Tony Thompson has been appointed CEO of Gibbons Company, replacing Paula Clarke, who has retired. He joined Gibbons Company in 2006 and during that time he has been involved in buying, planning, visual merchandising, web development and management.

Jennifer Collier-Souza has been promoted to CFO of SiriusPoint Bermuda, managing the Bermuda finance group and working with global CFO, David Junius. She was most recently vice-president of operations and reinsurance controller.

Andrew Markus has been promoted to CEO of Langhorne Re Bermuda. He has also been elected to Langhorne Re’s board and has been with the global reinsurer since inception.

Tom Wakefield has been appointed CEO of Gallagher Re after a 17-year tenure at Aon. He takes over from Simon Behagg, who will transition into the role of managing director.

Jonty Davies has been appointed CEO of Lockton Re (Bermuda). He joins from Aon Reinsurance Solutions, where he was most recently head of Global Re Speciality Bermuda.

Steven Rees Davies is joining the corporate practice of Carey Olsen Bermuda as a partner in August 2021. He joins from Appleby, where he is currently a partner and joint global head of technology and innovation.

Henry Tucker has been promoted to partner, while fellow Bermudians Kyle Masters and Jay Webster have both been promoted to counsel at Carey Olsen. Mr Tucker relocated to the firm’s Hong Kong office in 2019. Mr Masters and Mr Webster are based in Bermuda.

Kelvin Lam joined Deloitte Bermuda as a partner to launch the organisation’s newly rebranded actuarial and insurance solutions practice. He joined from Deloitte’s Toronto office and specialises in the reinsurance and insurance industry.

Simon Davis has been made a partner at BeesMont Law. He joined the firm six years ago from MJM Ltd and in that time has built up BeesMont’s property practice in addition to continuing the development of their banking law practice.

Keitha Caines has been appointed director of finance, data and administration at the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation. She joins from the Bermuda Tourism Authority where she was general accountant.

Vincent Prabis has been appointed managing principal for Hiscox ILS to spearhead the evolution of its ILS offering. He also takes a place on the Hiscox Re & ILS executive team.

Nicholas Garside has been appointed chief underwriting officer of Liberty Specialty Markets Bermuda. He previously led the LSM Bermuda property unit.

Andrew Rippert has joined Aspen Insurance as executive vice-president, head of mortgage. He has over 20 years’ experience in building global mortgage insurance and reinsurance businesses and portfolios.

Erik Manning is joining the Bermuda office of Miller as head of ILS from Peak Capital where he was co-CEO. He has over 20 years’ experience in the sector.

Jasmine DeSilva has joined Horseshoe as senior vice-president, ILS strategic initiatives and business development. She was previously at the Bermuda Business Development Agency.

The post Movers and shakers appeared first on RG Magazines.

• Most businesses are keeping their cards close to their chest when it comes to their views on the proposal for a global minimum tax rate. The plan for all profits of large, multinational companies to be taxed at a rate of at least 15 per cent moved a step closer to reality in June when 130 jurisdictions agreed to an outline of a global tax system overhaul plan developed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development/G20 Inclusive Framework, which includes Bermuda.
  As Annabel Cooper’s story in Navigate suggests, challenges of achieving broad international agreement on complex mechanisms required to make it work could delay the day when it becomes reality, possibly by a couple of years or more. However, with the Biden administration in the US firmly behind it, joining a slew of revenue-hungry governments, there is a powerful impetus for the changes to take effect in some form. Depending on the scope and carve-outs of any agreed minimum tax, the implications for Bermuda could be substantial.
  The main concern will not be over the “mailbox” entities that have no physical presence here and who may leave in droves if their tax advantage evaporates, it will be for the international businesses who employ people, particularly our flagship re/insurance industry.
  A minimum tax may create incentives for Bermudian re/insurers to change the way they operate, but unsurprisingly the industry seems reluctant to talk about the potential impact.
  Perhaps we are approaching the time when we find out whether re/insurance leaders have been completely honest with their consistent message over many years that tax is well down the list of the reasons they choose to domicile in Bermuda. Actions will speak louder than words.
• In June, Curtis Dickinson, the finance minister, unveiled an economic recovery plan featuring 31 priorities to boost Bermuda’s medium-term economic growth as the island looks to rebound from the damage caused by the pandemic. The plan is intended to “stimulate job growth, tackle inequality and help shape the future of Bermuda”, Mr Dickinson said. The plan includes support for specific sectors, economic diversification, labour market interventions, and efforts to accelerate digital transformation. Among more specific aims are the launch of a casino, the construction of a shoreside “fish factory” in St David’s and a national digital bank.
• Fintech developments included the launch of Circle Yield, claimed to be the “first regulated crypto-yield product in the world” out of Bermuda. Circle, an Irish-based company with a Bermuda subsidiary, operates USDC tablecoin, one of the top ten largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation, and has plans to become a public company with shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
  Meanwhile, 60 digital nomads employed by Afiniti, a Bermuda-incorporated company that develops artificial intelligence software, are to leave the island after less than a year, the company announced in June. Afiniti owner Zia Christi had said in January that he planned to build up his island-based staff to 1,000 over the next five years. A spokeswoman for Afiniti said the company remained “firmly committed to our headquarters in Bermuda”.
• Retail sales extended their winning streak to nine consecutive months of sales volume growth, as figures released by the Department of Statistics indicated year-over-year gains of more than 4.5 per cent in February and 7.7 per cent in March of this year. The increases in on-island spending, likely linked to fewer residents travelling overseas during the pandemic, may be one of few economic spin-off benefits of Covid-19. This follows a bumper Christmas for local retailers with December sales volume up 14.2 per cent. However, takings in April would inevitably have taken a hit when a spike in Covid-19 cases caused restrictions to be tightened again.

The post Business developments appeared first on RG Magazines.

If you need an operation, you want to know that the surgeon has the right credentials, up-to-date skills, and knowledge to carry out your procedure correctly.

The same applies with accountants. By law, those individuals that reside in Bermuda and hold themselves out to be professional or public accountants, are required to be a member of CPA Bermuda, the regulatory body for accountants on island.

Qualifications and designations indicate that a professional is highly educated and extensively trained. CPA Bermuda reviews all applications for membership to ensure applicants are members in good standing with their home institution prior to joining CPA Bermuda. This is part of our role in protecting the public.

With ongoing changes in accountancy rules and standards, as the regulator we want to maintain trust in the accounting profession and ensure that members’ skills and training are fully up to date. That is why annual Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a requirement of membership.

CPA Bermuda also has a comprehensive code of professional conduct that sets out in detail a member’s responsibilities to clients, the public and colleagues, reflecting high ethical standards. An accountant who acts unethically may cause harm to the public and damages the integrity of the profession. Our rules of professional conduct carry more weight than a set of guidelines, given that CPA Bermuda is empowered by law to deal with complaints against members and impose sanctions on those found to have fallen short of those standards.

Complaints can be sent to our Professional Conduct Committee and if grounds are found, they are passed on to our Discipline Committee. Where professional misconduct is proven, the tribunal, under the Chartered Professional Accountants of Bermuda Act 1973, may impose reprimands, fines, suspensions, revocation of membership, or practice restrictions. It may also order those sanctions be published in the media.

For CPA Bermuda to protect and serve the public interest and fulfill our regulatory role, all professional accountants who live and work on the island are required by law to be members. We are aware of some individuals who are not members and are holding themselves out as professional accountants in Bermuda and using accounting designations.

In Bermuda, holders of any professional accounting designation are only permitted to use their designation if they are current members in good standing with CPA Bermuda.

Although we are  primarily a regulatory body with a mandate to protect the public, we have been working on increasing public awareness, expanding the benefits of membership, increasing member engagement, and initiatives to teach young Bermudians about the profession and how obtaining a professional accounting designation can open the doors to a fulfilling, diverse and rewarding career.

Our intention is that all qualified accountants residing and working in Bermuda understand the requirements of joining CPA Bermuda and how it will serve their interests by being part of the mission: to enhance the influence, relevance and value of the accounting profession in Bermuda by protecting the public interest and supporting the members and students with skills and resources to excel.

For more information, visit www.cpabermuda.bm or email [email protected]

The post CPA: Why Regulation of Professional Accountants Matters appeared first on RG Magazines.

As a public-private partnership, the BDA bridges the gap between government and the private sector. The BDA’s business concierge service connects investors with industry professionals, regulatory officials and key government figures. The BDA’s high-calibre team of business development, marketing & communications, and conferences & event planning professionals, works by a set of core values, which include:

• Innovation: forward thinking, planning, execution to expand horizons
• Integrity: honesty and harmony in words and actions
• Respect: treating others better than you expect to be treated
• Passion: enthusiasm, desire and commitment to succeed
• Teamwork: succeeding together

The BDA’s board of directors is made up of industry leaders and seasoned experts who volunteer their time and efforts to advance Bermuda’s development as a blue-chip jurisdiction. The agency further harnesses Bermuda-based expertise, thanks to the industry representatives who serve voluntarily on its working groups, providing input on key focus areas and issues.

In its ability to bring together government and the private sector, the BDA plays a key role in supporting legislative reform to maintain and improve Bermuda’s business environment to enhance economic growth. In 2020, 11 pieces of policy and legislation were progressed to promote growth in both existing and new sectors.

While the impact of Covid-19 made 2020 a challenging year, the BDA delivered on its mandate. Through its business concierge service, it assisted in the incorporation of 20 new entrants to the market – including three class 3A commercial insurers, a high-net-worth family office, an investment fund, a digital asset business and a technology incubator. It also generated 23 new opportunities and 60 new leads for potential future company incorporations in Bermuda.

In its work to promote Bermuda’s reputation as a premier jurisdiction, the BDA focused on adopting digital initiatives to communicate with clients and markets worldwide, after its staff switched seamlessly to a remote working model in response to the pandemic. This work yielded:

• 15 webinars, produced with globally recognised partners, which attracted more than 3,200 registrants from 59 countries
• Social media campaign to promote the Work From Bermuda One-Year Residential Certificate, which generated 2.7 million impressions, more than 5,800 clicks to the website and 160 direct application enquiries
• “Bermuda Central” creative campaign which highlights how Bermuda sets the standard for many global industries under a clear unifying theme; generated 1.2 million social media impressions and increased website traffic
• Visitors to rebranded and updated website up 300 per cent year-over-year

Roland Andy Burrows, chief executive officer of the BDA, said: “The BDA works for all Bermudians. What we do trickles down through the economy. It impacts hotels, restaurants, taxi drivers, retail and many more. The sustainable and equitable economic growth that we work to promote is for all of Bermuda.”

For more information, visit www.bda.bm

The post The BDA: Driving economic prosperity to benefit all Bermudians appeared first on RG Magazines.

Environmental, social and governance considerations are increasingly important for companies that want to show they are acting responsibly when it comes to reducing their impact on the environment, addressing social concerns, including diversity and human rights, and displaying good business ethnics.
The shipping industry is no exception. According to global financial services company PwC, momentum is gaining in linking the monitoring and reporting of ESG performance to shipping finance.
There is increasing pressure on institutional investors’ credit ratings liked to the ESG performance of their portfolio companies.
Many shipping companies are Bermuda-registered or headquartered on the island, including Teekay Tankers, Nordic American Tankers, Frontline, Golden Ocean Group, and DHT Holdings, together with a variety of ship management operators.
Jens Alers, who is group director of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (Bermuda), which has offices in Par-la-Ville Road, believes the shipping industry is ahead of many other sectors when it comes to ESG performance.
For instance, on environmental concerns the sector has been actively tackling its carbon footprint with measures to reduce pollutant levels.
Mr Alers said: “The technology to monitor and measure emissions, mainly CO2, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, already exists and is being deployed on ships now. Monitoring and measuring emissions will be crucial in a number of ways.
“Since carbon taxes will be levied on shipowners under the EU Emission Trading System starting in 2022, the industry cannot just rely on hypothetical carbon calculations, but requires real time data.
“The analysis of those data will also greatly assist efficiency improvements ship owners can put in place in co-operation with engine makers.”
Low emission fuels, exhaust fume scrubbers, switching to cleaner alternative energy, and new ship designs and ship propulsion methods are all areas that have seen progress in recent years.
Mr Alers said: “Research into low and zero carbon fuels and engine technology is in full swing and far advanced: green ammonia, methanol, hydrogen, biofuels will all play a role in future maritime propulsion. Even nuclear options are back in the table.
“What engines and fuels shipowners opt for greatly depends on availability of the fuel. Once the shoreside supply infrastructure for green fuels grows it will be much easier to make that choice. Until then, owners rely on the improvement of existing propulsion systems.”
He believes the maritime industry is pulling ahead of others in tackling its impact on the environment. He said: “Decarbonising shipping isn’t an easy task, but I believe the maritime industry will achieve targets which today appear ambitious, in a much shorter period of time than currently anticipated.”
As for the social and governance components of ESG, Mr Alers said many people outside the sector regard the maritime industry as a laggard on matters such as human rights, business ethics, anti-corruption practices, tax matters and accounting transparency. However, he begged to differ.
“By its very nature, shipping is the most international of industries. On any given day, a ship owner has to deal with complex multi-jurisdictional issues one would rather like to avoid. It is not the shipping industry that is corrupt, but officialdom in the countries the industry serves,” he said.
“Lack of enforcement of human rights, including equal opportunity and pay, are also aspects maritime employers are often criticised for. A vast majority of seafarers are citizens of developing nations.
“I challenge anyone critical of maritime employment practices to name another industry employing citizens from developing nations with better wages, fringe benefits, and higher investment into training and career development for their employees than the maritime industry.”
Regarding tax, he questioned where ship-owning companies domiciled and registered in one or more countries, and with international shareholders and earnings created from services provided in international waters and across different continents, should pay taxes.
He added: “I am sure the OECD, or maybe the 131 countries which have signed up for the new global corporate tax pact, will be able to guide us on this. Here is what I know: shipowners are no more or less tax compliant than participants of other industries.”

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The world has changed. A major pandemic will do that. Covid has altered not just what we do but also how we all think about what we do. It has been one of the biggest, if not the biggest, forced experiments the world has ever seen. The repercussions of which will undoubtedly alter much of how we do things but also where and why we do them. Bermuda will, of course, be part of this change. The post-Covid world will also affect the island and how work and the economy functions. Here are a few ways in which we think the island will change after the pandemic.

Work From Home will massively affect working in Bermuda

“A lot of people have found they don’t need to be [in an office]. I think all kinds of things are going to happen that we don’t go back to what we did before.” – Charlie Munger, CNBC Interview, June 29, 2021
Part of the forced experiment from Covid was the requirement to stay home. If you were fortunate enough to have a job that was amendable to a shelter-in-place order, the side effects of this were not so dire. Many companies were able to use technology to adapt to a new environment. In doing so, many employees realised that a different work environment was potentially as efficient, if not more so, than the pre-Covid environment. This experiment is almost assuredly to lead to persistent change for many jobs and workers. Various studies and surveys have propagated the discussion surrounding this.

Here are some findings:
•      The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimates that the share of working days spent at home by full-time workers is likely to triple after the pandemic relative to pre-pandemic levels.
•.     A University of Chicago research paper found that 37 per cent of jobs in the United States can be done entirely at home.
•      A recent survey of 2,033 office workers worldwide by the commercial real estate firm JLL found that roughly one-quarter of office workers hope to return to the office full-time after the health risks of the virus subside, while about half hope their employer supports a hybrid model of being remote part-time (on average twice a week, per survey results) and in the office for the remainder of the work week. The remaining one in four workers hope to make their work-from-home arrangement a full-time and permanent adjustment.
•      A couple of surveys from Harvard found “about 40 per cent of both large and small firms expect that 40 percent or more of their workers who switched to remote work during the crisis will stay doing remote work after the crisis. These estimates suggest that at least 16 per cent of American workers will switch from professional offices to working at home at least two days per week as a result of Covid-19.”
•      According to GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com a typical employer can save an average of $11,000 per half-time telecommuter per year.
•     “A Gartner, Inc survey of 317 CFOs and finance leaders on March 30, 2020, revealed that 74 per cent will move at least 5 per cent of their previously on-site workforce to permanently remote positions post-Covid 19.”
•      97.6 per cent of remote workers would like to work remotely at least some of the time for the rest of their careers.

Obviously if these various findings are correct there will be a dramatic and persistent shift in workplace norms around remote work, and this will have implications for companies, employees, and policymakers alike within Bermuda. In fact, this could alter the allocation of labour resources domiciled in Bermuda, which could negatively affect taxes, real estate, and the overall level of the economy. If you do not need to be in Hamilton to do your job, then you can likely do your job in Halifax. Sadly, this has been the case for some time in certain industries in Bermuda like the fund administration sector.

A few international businesses are considering moving entire finance departments off island to cheaper domiciles noting the success of remote working. Other companies continue to allow relocation of expat workers to their countries of origin onshore as well. The high cost of living has always been a challenge for the island, and it is important that Bermuda continues to attract high-paying jobs that are located domestically.

It could be noted that some of this is being offset by digital nomads who have come to work in Bermuda. Figures suggest there could be more than 400 digital nomads in Bermuda. Although they contribute to the local economy from spending on things like rent and food, they are, however, not a viable substitute for a full time equivalent (FTE) worker in Bermuda. An FTE is more likely to contribute to our health care system and pay taxes locally – two rather large factors that Bermuda desperately needs. They may also be causing problems in the rental market where some Bermudians and local expat workers are finding it difficult to find rental accommodation.

Work from Home (WFH) will shift work outside of Bermuda, and even within Bermuda. In turn this will affect the city of Hamilton and Bermuda’s major urban corridors. The fewer people who come into the city, the less overall activity will be generated by foot traffic. This is likely to dramatically impact the overall level of lunch traffic in restaurants, coffee bars and even retail.

A vibrant office environment lends itself to a vibrant commercial ancillary service sector. The Chamber of Commerce recent foot survey, for example, exemplifies what can happen when city activity contracts and mobility collapses. The latest survey noted 57 businesses of Bermuda are now permanently closed (8 per cent surveyed), while 27 per cent were temporarily closed or at reduced hours.

In general, WFH does not really work for Bermuda. If its uptake is extensive, we are likely to see a falling working population, a stagnant urban corridor, and a much lower level of economic activity. Although the ability to work remotely has saved many businesses in Bermuda, it ultimately has uncovered the reality that lots of work has no geographic permanence. Bermuda will need to continue to emphasise its centre of excellence for the reinsurance industry, its large intellectual capital base and high standard of living.

Travel and tourism

“We will go to the office somewhat, we’ll do some business travel, but dramatically less…My prediction would be that over 50 per cent of business travel and over 30 per cent of days in the office will go away” – Microsoft (MSFT) Co-Founder Bill Gates

The WFH phenomenon and the alteration of how work is conducted will likely lead to less business travel. Bill Gates comment above echoes with the analysis conducted by McKinsey. They note that after the financial crisis it took business travel five years to recover, versus two years for leisure travel. They also reference a survey that notes travel managers expect business travel spending in 2021 will be only half of 2019 and may “never recover to the 2019 level”. Business travel is important. One study notes that business passengers represent 75 per cent of an airline’s profits despite only being 12 per cent of their total passengers. For Bermuda, it is roughly 20 per cent of air arrivals. So, a 50 per cent reduction in business travel effectively lowers overall air arrivals by 10 per cent, not an insignificant amount considering it is likely to account for a disproportionately higher level of spending.

On the tourism side, we are not constructive on the near and medium term based on the Government’s current Covid restrictions, which look overly punitive compared to competing destinations and in relation to our largest trading partner, the United States. See the attached PDF to view a table that compares and contrasts travel policies of various competing jurisdictions current protocols.

Bermuda’s aggressive testing regime is likely to act as a deterrent to near-term tourism and thus we believe this tourism season will not be productive and is likely to fall dramatically short in terms of air arrivals, hotel stays and ultimately overall contribution to the island economy. Until the Covid protocols are relaxed, we do not envision much of a successful tourism industry on the island. In fact, it is unlikely the cruise industry will resume in any material fashion this season due to the current restrictions. Longer term, we do not see Bermuda’s tourism industry hitting pre-Covid numbers until 2025, a few years later than that projected in the Government’s economic recovery plan and more in line with the IMF projections for Caribbean economy recoveries.

The two Bermudas – widening inequality

Inequality in Bermuda has persisted and grown over the last few decades. The pandemic has only helped to accelerate this and widened the gap. This can be seen in several ways. The international business sector could conduct operations digitally and has fared well and, in some cases, excelled over the past year. Blue-collar and customer-facing jobs were most affected by the “shelter-in-place” restrictions. Many domestic industries, like restaurants and tourism have suffered immensely and rely to large degree on businesses returning to normal.

The growing divide is also evident from the recent Labour Force Survey, dated November 2020, which notes the disparity amongst different parts of our population. While the unemployment rate jumped from 3.8 per cent in 2019 to 7.9 per cent in 2020, this was disproportionately driven by those with less education and by those under the age of 24.

For instance, unemployment among those with no formal qualifications rose from 7.4 per cent to 21.3 per cent, and those with just a high school certificate increased from 5.2 per cent to 15.5 per cent. On the other hand, unemployment for those educated with a degree fell from 2.5 per cent to 2.4 per cent. By age cohort, Covid and related lockdown measures had the largest impact on younger workers with the unemployment rate for those aged 16-24, who typically work in the retail and restaurant sectors, rose from 18.1 per cent in 2019 to 32.1 per cent in 2020. Many training and internships have had to be discontinued due to the Covid restrictions, because these types of positions typically require more face-to-face and in-person management.

Governments globally have been faced with increasing pressure to rectify expanding inequality and Bermuda is no different. Covid has introduced a sense of urgency and ignited the feeling that this is the time and opportunity for change. The result of all this is likely to translate into further policy actions by government. We have already seen it in the restriction of certain job categories to essentially force local employers to hire Bermudians.

The belief that we cannot go back to the way things were before, and that the world must evolve is becoming a majority opinion. This will lead policy makers to also favour more progressive tax policies, labour-friendly regulation and further assessment of taxing capital earnings, such as real estate. We see increased likelihood of this affecting the tax reform initiatives which are being considered in Bermuda.

We also would not be surprised to see a more comprehensive and progressive healthcare initiative that pushes funding towards those of greater means. Unfortunately, this will not offer a great deal of relief for businesses trying to crawl back out of the Covid abyss and may increase the overall cost of business and the competitiveness of Bermuda even further.

The post-Covid world, as noted, does not play overly favourably for Bermuda. Although many companies will adapt and adopt more digital business models and operations, doing so will not necessarily increase domestic demand. The adoption of working from home, tourism/travel struggles and policies surrounding the correction of inequalities are not positive economic factors that will drive enhanced growth opportunities in Bermuda. Sadly, they will make the uphill climb only steeper.

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