Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) President Ahmad Saeed said that CFO conference over the years has emerged as a strong platform where professionals in business and industry meet to explore, confront and thrash out solutions to meet the challenges and issues.
He said ICAP professionals constitute an integral part of the industry and it is incumbent for the institute to cater to their needs and expectations. He accentuated the need for evolving with changing times and challenges. Further, he hailed the efforts of the ICAP PAIB Committee for their commitment and holding of the 3rd Professional Excellence Awards.
Mian Usman A. Ghani -Chairman ConfluentC, Professor of Strategy, University of Texas, USA and Senior Vice President, Harvard Business School Club took the stage speaking on ‘Financial Leaders – Meeting Future Challenges’. He emphasized on building of an emergent world, moving from spreadsheets to simulations as to create memories of the future. In today’s organizational challenges CFO’s role is transformational- leadership of change that is creating synergy and building teams. He stressed the need to move from the myopic view as the health of society is more important than the wealth creation of a nation.
Syed Masoud Ali Naqvi – Senior Partner, KPMG Taseer Hadi Co and past president of ICAP delivered the second keynote of the day. He on the outset congratulated the ICAP and PAIB team for organizing the seventh successful conference, which has become the most, looked upon professional gathering. In his session ‘Critical Analysis on Economy and how it Affects the Performance of Business’, Mr. Naqvi highlighted how the Pakistani economy is the most analysed and resilient economy which has absorbed multi-dimensional shocks over the years. The economy today is facing multiple challenges with the total debt standing at 68% of GDP, investment 11% percent of GDP, taxes 9% of GDP and consumption growth at 20%. Need of the time is to have a national economic agenda to steer the country out of the crisis, for which a robust political will and commitment is needed. Politicians supported by expert groups can counter the crisis with redefining institutions, increase investment in health and education, reduce the bleeding of the Public sector entities and introduce a more aggressive investment policy.
IFAC Senior Technical Manager -Mr. Vincent TopHoff spoke on ‘Strategic Risk Management in the Face of Uncertainty and Unexpected Risks’, in his highly interactive presentation Vincent listed out the crucial factors for strategic management.He spoke about achieving the objectives taking into account risk management, internal control and SWOT analysis. CFOs need to champion the importance of good risk management and line management. He emphasized the need to set the tone at the top.
Another feature of the conference was the presentation by Dr. Sunil Gupta – Lifetime Master Trainer, deBono Thinking Systems “Unleashing Creativity to Deliver Strategic Excellence”. The session was thoroughly enjoyed by the participants as the speaker opened new avenues to innovative solutions. In addition the Managing Director/CEO, Lahore Stock Exchange Mr. Aftab Ahmad Chaudhry apprised the participants of the scope and the status of the public private partnership on ‘How are Public Private Partnerships Faring in Today’s Tough Environment’. A highly patriotic tone was set by the charged session ‘Pakistan as a Land of Opportunity – Role of CFO in Bringing Investments’ of Mr. Kimihide Ando – MD, Mitsubishi Pakistan & President, OICCI , he outlined the key roles the CFO can play effectively to garner investments in the country. He spoke about perception and reality and the excellence achieved by the youth of Pakistan breaking world records. Pakistan is a land of opportunity strategically located, gifted with natural beauty and resources and a large young population with high potential to take Pakistan to a far better position. He emphasized on spending less time on the past and spending more time on the future. Feel the market and customers and look beyond the wishes of the CEO and believe in Pakistan, more importantly.
Nauman Asif Mian CFO, Bayt.com in his session ‘Regional Challenges & Opportunities for Finance Professionals in the Middle East’outlined the picture of the region. In addition to the sessions the conference also had two highly interactive panel discussions on ‘CFO asController or Business Partner’ and‘Is there any Expectation Gap between Auditors and CFOs’ .
