President urges CAs to act most professionally
President Abdul Hamid yesterday asked chartered accountants to act most responsibly to ensure transparency and accountability in financial management.
Transparency and accountability are very important to ensure proper utilisation of the money being invested by the public and private sectors in the economy, Hamid said.
“Chartered accountants must play a more responsible role by maintaining professionalism in both public and corporate sector accounting.”
Ensuring the security of public money is the responsibility of all, and a chartered accountant can play an effective role here, he said.
Lack of vigilance, transparency and accountability in financial activities put the country at risk: a huge amount of money can be siphoned off through forgery, Hamid said.
ICT is an important instrument in ensuring transparency and accountability in the financial sector, he said in his speech at the inaugural session of SAFA Regional CFO Conference 2017 in Dhaka.
The event, styled 'navigating through digital transformation towards better accountability', was organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh at the capital's Sonargaon Hotel.
The regional conference will help owners, directors and officials of the countries under the South Asian Federation of Accountants to ensure transparency and accountability in their companies, and as a result, a culture of security will be formed in the financial sector. The main challenge of the region is poverty, Hamid said.
“The members of Saarc countries are fighting against this menace to free their people from the curse of poverty.”
Huge investment has been made, both from domestic and international sources, for attaining sustainable development. “I believe that concerted efforts, both from public and private corners, are imperative to address this issue,” he added.
SAFA President ASM Nayeem said the CFO needs to deal with the issue of digital transformation.
“But whatever the challenges and difficulties in the digital transformation, the South Asian countries have been experiencing every year an accelerated pace of economic development, which creates new opportunities in a sustainable manner,” he added.
ICAB President Adeeb Hossain Khan said innovation and transformation are two of the principles that guide society and business.
Presenting a keynote paper, Fayezul Choudhury, chief executive officer of International Federation of Accountancy, said the role of CFO continues to change and evolve.
Technology helps a CFO to be more transparent and accountable, according to Choudhury.
Referring to the McKinsey Global Survey on the role of CFOs, he said the CFOs are finding new demands such as digitising critical business activities and managing cybercrimes in addition to traditional duties.
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal; Commerce Senior Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon; and President of International Accounting Standards Board Hans Hoogervorst also spoke at the event.