TEXT: I would like to congratulate the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan for keeping the tradition of organizing major events for the economic and finance fraternity in a befitting manner. CFO conference is one of the major financial industry events organized in Pakistan that provides platform to the international and national speakers, industry experts, key opinion leaders and academia.

The post-pandemic world is a different world. Covid has significantly changed the functioning of businesses and it has also redefined the key parameters for successful organizations. Financial leaders must take decisive actions to ensure that their organizations are resilient and try to move beyond “recovering” towards “thriving” in the long run.

I am pleased to know that this year, CFO conference’s theme is “EMBRACING THE ROLE AS CHIEF VALUE OFFICER”. Successful businesses have moved away from creating profits for shareholders to focusing on long-term value creation for organization, shareholders and society at large.

Today, business organizations are dependent for their sustainability responsibilities towards the finance function. In the future, this will include reporting on measures that the company is undertaking to protect biodiversity in their business operations. I am sure, this conference will lead to a better understanding among the accounting professionals about the exigency of CFOs for sustainable growth of respective organizations. Present government acknowledges the fact that reorganization and restructuring of businesses is inevitable in post-pandemic period. Without proper valuation, the aspect of value-addition at organizational as well as national level will be a hard net to crack. In this regard, present government is fully committed to promote business facilitating environment on these lines to set the economy on sustainable and inclusive growth path.

Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Ashfaq Yousuf Tola, FCA, President ICAP, Mr. Samiullah Siddiqui, FCA, Chairman PAIB Committee and all others involved in the organization of this event. I wish all the participants a fruitful and intellectually stimulating conference, which would generate multifaceted ideas for finance and economic professionals across the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022