Page 30 - CMA Journal (Jan-Feb 2026)
P. 30

Focus Section



             4)  Risks and the Way
                 Forward

             Regardless of its potential, the digital
             asset and blockchain journey is not
             risk free. Key considerations for the
             Modern CMA include:
               •  Custody and Private Key
                 Management: The  control  of
                 digital assets lies with private
                 key holders; failing to manage
                 the keys correctly or to keep
                 them secure is equivalent to
                 losing them forever. Custody
                 strategies, including institutional and self-custody,
                 have to strike a balance between security, operating
                                                               References
                 risk, and regulatory compliance.
                                                               1.   Sunyaev, A. (2024). Distributed ledger technology. In Internet
                                                                   Computing: Principles of distributed systems and emerging
               •  Cybersecurity and Operational Resilience: Proto-
                                                                   internet-based technologies (pp. 239-272). Cham: Springer Nature
                 cols, smart contract code, and integration points   Switzerland.
                 introduce attack surfaces; their governance should   2.   Truong, V. T., Le, L., & Niyato, D. (2023). Blockchain meets metaverse
                 be strict, and the code should be tested and continu-  and digital asset management: A comprehensive survey. IEEE Access,
                                                                   11, 26258-26288
                 ously monitored.
                                                               3.   Shahid, A (2025), Pakistan to allow Binance to explore 'tokenisation'
               •  Skills and Capability Upgrading: The modern CMA   of up to $2 billion of assets, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-
                                                                   pacific/pakistan-allows-binance-htx-start-process-applying-crypto-
                 needs to complement traditional skills with
                                                                   exchange-licences-2025-12-12/
                 cryptographic literacy and distributed systems
                                                               4.   Weber, I., & Staples, M. (2022). Programmable money: next-
                 knowledge, smart contract logic and digital asset   generation blockchain-based conditional payments. Digital Finance,
                 valuation methods to create a hybrid skill set that   4(2), 109-125.
                 cuts across the domains of finance, technology, and   5.  https://www.pvara.gov.pk/
                 governance.                                   6.   Ali, S. I., Mehdi, S. K., Manzoor, A., Ali, S. M., Khan, M. M., & Hasnain, S.
                                                                   R. (2025). Evaluating Cryptocurrency Risks in Pakistan: An
             5) Conclusion                                         Action-Oriented Assessment of ML/TF Vulnerabilities and Alignment
                                                                   of FATF Recommendations. Research Journal for Social Affairs, 3(6),
             Blockchain and digital assets have moved beyond the   703-724.
             periphery of technological novelty to become founda-  7.   Jackson, A. B., & Luu, S. (2023). Accounting for digital assets.
                                                                   Australian Accounting Review, 33(3), 302-312.
             tional elements of contemporary corporate finance. The
             efficiency, transparency, and strategic value that are not   8.   Скорик, М., & Ковальчук, І. (2024). Possibilities of applying individual
                                                                   IFRS provisions for accounting digital assets. Український
             available in legacy systems are enabled by asset tokeni-  економічний часопис, (5), 112-117.
             zation, programmable contracts, and distributed ledgers.
                                                               9.   Beigman, E., Brennan, G., Hsieh, S. F., & Sannella, A. J. (2025). Fair
             The developments in Pakistan's regulatory landscape   value measurement in inactive crypto asset markets. Journal of
             and the global accounting discussion reflect how coun-  Accounting, Auditing & Finance, 40(1), 241-269.
             tries and standard setting bodies are moving toward a   10.  Handayanto, A. B., Pontoh, G. T., & Ferdiansah, M. I. (2024, May). The
                                                                   future of accounting: Triple-entry accounting enabled by Blockchain.
             framework that enables innovation while safeguarding
                                                                   In 8th International Conference on Accounting, Management, and
             financial integrity. Within this emerging paradigm, the   Economics (ICAME 2023) (pp. 628-667). Atlantis Press.
             CMA will not be a spectator but a strategic architect and
             manager of digital assets, ensuring their inclusion in   About the Author: Dr. Azeema Begum holds a PhD in Economics
             financial statements and their effective utilization for the   and has authored over 23 published articles and presented more
                                                                than 15 research papers at international and national conferences.
             benefit of stakeholders. The accounting, regulatory, and
                                                                With eight years of diverse research experience across multiple
             strategic aspects of Blockchain will define the competen-  organizations, she currently serves as Assistant Manager, Research
             cies of the next generation of financial leaders.  and Publication, at Saviours.



              28    ICMA’s Chartered Management Accountant, Jan-Feb 2026
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