KARACHI: The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) organised CFO Conference 2022 on theme ‘Embracing the role as Chief Value Officer’ on Tuesday at a local hotel.
Ashfaq Yousuf Tola, President ICAP in his address welcomed the guests and congratulated the organising committee, council members, sponsors and the participants. He said this event is worthwhile to attend as it gives 500 years of experience in a single day time. Tola emphasised that the entire world is moving very fast due to the technology advancement, owing to the Covid-19 crisis. He said that the economy is the key pillar of sustainability, and in order to have the value of ascertaining, one needs to be updated and make appropriate decisions towards sustainability.
Guest Speaker of the Session, Farrukh H Khan MD & CEO of Pakistan Stock Exchange, speaking on the occasion appreciated the tremendous growth of the CFO Conference. He informed that the role of corporate has changed throughout the decade. Pakistan is going through yet another tough period, which has been poorer as compared to the last 15-20 years. Speaking about the economy, he said that what’s true at the micro-level is also true at the macro level as well. He further said that organizations need to be cognizant of ESG standards and sustainability strategies. This conference makes us realize that it’s not enough to be a CFO, but now it has become vital to become a CVO. It’s significant to understand the impact of globalization, accelerating technology, and the requirement of different skill sets for new businesses and startups.
Dr Ahmad Junaid of KSBL, presented the CFO Survey 2022 result, the survey entailed collective insights from 300+ CFOs, Finance Directors, and Financial Controllers of diversified industries from within Pakistan. It will help businesses understand macroeconomic expectations, capital availability, tech perspective, workforce requirements and other pressing concerns in Pakistan to make informed decisions. The reason to conduct this survey is to reduce lack of communication among finance professionals. Some important facts shared are the figures of expected GDP of 4.1 percent in the next year, Inflation rate at around 11.5 percent, Interest rate 12.5 percent, and Exchange rate 192.6. Macroeconomic Expectations includes USD Open market rate will be around 200 and up. The survey also includes different aspects of industries like Cost factors, Industry-specific expectations, etc.
Samiullah Siddiqui FCA Chairman PAIBC & Council Member ICAP in his address welcomed all the key note speakers, dignitaries and guests. He also thanked all the sponsors for coming forward in supporting CFO conference 2022 on much needed topic “Embracing the role as Chief Value Officer.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022