RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) organised a students’ conference on the theme ‘Achieving Excellence’.

The conference was organised by the Northern Regional Committee and CASA North, which was attended by more than 500 students, accountancy professionals, fraternity of finance and business, and council members of ICAP.

President ICAP Hafiz Muhammad Yousaf in his address stated that ICAP’s professionals constituted an integral part of the industry and it was incumbent for the institute to cater to their needs and expectations. ‘The ICAP Students’ Conference is a strong platform where trainee students of Chartered Accountancy profession and professionals in business and industry meet to explore, confront and thrash out solutions to meet the challenges and issues that being faced by the entrepreneurs in recent times,’ he added.

CEO LUMS Nabiha Shahnawaz emphasised on ‘the way forward’ that must be taken into account by CA professionals in order to fulfilling the role of a strategic partner to the CEOs. ‘The way forward for the young lot is to extend themselves in search of happiness and that can be achieved through pleasure, engagement and meaning which are major constituents of happiness,’ said Nabiha.

An interactive panel discussion on the topic of ‘Opportunities for Finance Professionals’ was key part of conference to discuss evolving opportunities for young CAs in reshaping the finance functions and promoting business innovation within an organisation to streamline operations, altering dynamics of the business.

The session was moderated by Saad Qureshi. Panelists included Rashid Ibrahim (partner A F Ferguson & co), Almas Hyder (Chairman Board of Directors SPEL), Sajjad Iftikhar (CIO Packages), Mustafa Ahmed Khan (COO Atv), and Khurram Zaffar (Director Lums Centre for entrepreneurs).