Senator Ishaq Dar of PML-N said on Tuesday that Pakistan can meet current global economic challenges by increasing management efficiency through dynamic young professionals trained by high-reputed institutions like Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
He stated this at the branch opening ceremony of CIMA in Islamabad here on Tuesday adding that this is the era of efficient management in all economic sectors like energy, agriculture etc. Addressing the gathering, Ishaq Dar emphasised the importance of providing the best education available for the next generation of business people and entrepreneur as over half of the county's population is below the age of 19. For this reason, we must ensure that we can make the best education available for the next generation of business-oriented people and entrepreneurs.
Moreover, Pakistan is surrounded by nations that are competing for the world's attention on this front, which makes it all the more pertinent to raise our standards, skills and professional approach, he stated. He said that special efforts are made by CIMA to develop students into accomplished professionals. This is only possible through quality teaching, extensive presentations by students throughout their learning period, attending seminars on subjects of contemporary interest, holding of students' conferences and quality-oriented external examination system.
"We may be facing some fierce competition, but against this backdrop, our country's educational framework has been developing at an astonishing rate over the past decade," he remarked. Pakistan has 150,000 students enrolled in colleges of commerce, between 15,000 and 16,000 enrolled in business schools and 14,000 in accountancy institutes.
This situation is even reflected in the Guinness Book of Records where it is a Pakistani student, Ali Moin Nawazish, who holds the record for unprecedented performance in A-level exams. Within 12 month, the 18 year-old netted himself 22 A grades, one B and one C.
He stated that in spite of their well-recognised role in the public and private sector, there is still room enough for these professionals to get their profession truly recognised in the industry. There is no denying the fact that a true management can make or mar the business. On the other hand, it is important that Management Accountants play their due role so no industry may create monopolistic situation or create cost crisis like we observe in case of sugar, cement, and other consumable items of core necessities from time to time, Ishaq Dar stated.
Today's competitive business era, the focus is on cost cutting along with improved quality. Management Accountants can play their unique role in this regard. They help increase productivity, avoid wastages, rationalise cost structures, and help in adding or dropping products or market outlets, machines and money.
He said that the dire need of today's Pakistan is to increase efficiency and productivity in agriculture, industry and the services sectors; achieve optimisation in the use of manpower and generation of data to serve as decision support system. The CIMA has continuously been updating its curriculum as per international standards. Its commitment to upholding highest ethical and professional standards is indeed praiseworthy, Ishaq Dar added. He urged the institute's management to keep it up and bring continuous improvements to achieve yet higher quality standards to serve the ever-growing needs of the society in Pakistan and abroad.
In her welcome address, Ms Javeria Hassan, Pakistan Branch Representative of CIMA, said that the CIMA office in Islamabad has been launched in response to the increasing demand for international finance professionals throughout the region and follows the successful launches of its offices in Karachi and Lahore in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
CIMA has experienced such a high demand for its qualification that it is expanding into capital city Islamabad to help develop the growing pool of young talent the region has to offer. CIMA Regional Director Bradley Emerson hosted the launch event.
The vice president of CIMA UK Gulzari Babber, was the Guest of Honour. He stressed on the increasing importance of ethics to companies for their long-term survival. Gulzari also mentioned how business ethics play a central role in training and development of CIMA members.
During the launch event, Emerson emphasised how Pakistan has not been immune to the effects of the global economic downturn, but that the nation is renowned for its young, ambitious population which is destined to take the country even further along the road to prosperity. They also mentioned the importance of providing a top level, international education for this young generation to ensure that business excellence is the norm rather than the exception. They will further speak on the phenomenal growth CIMA has experienced across Pakistan, and how following the launch of offices in Karachi and Lahore the region has experienced year on year student growth of 100 percent.
The Islamabad office will provide support services for students in the region as well as advice and counselling on the CIMA qualification for prospective students. In line with CIMA's purpose of the ever greater employability of its members, the office will also provide a hub for services to its members to help them develop their careers. CIMA provides a high quality range of tools, planners and extensive learning resources to assist students and members professional development as well as benefits designed to support their careers and general working lives. These, include guidance on professional standards, networking facilities and access to career progression opportunities, which will be delivered by the new office, he added.
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