The World Accounting Summit, which takes place at the Madinat Jumeirah, Mina A’Salam Hotel in Dubai on 26-30 May, will examine how the metrics of management, measuring the progress and success of an organisation are changing under a new focus on Corporate Balanced Scorecards. Experts will call for regional organisations to embrace these changes, which now not only measure financial results, but also the longer term sustainability of an organisation.
John Petty, National Vice President and past President (NSW) of the CPA in Australia and author of four Articles of Merit on best practice business management and financing, will deliver one of the international keynote presentations. Entitled ‘Finance Function Of The Future – The Changing Role Of The CFO’ John’s presentation will describe the many facets that the new breed of CFOs will have to accommodate in their future role.
“Where CFO once meant Chief Financial Officer, CFO now encompasses a much broader context and role covering all aspects of performance, including the financials. CFO in many ways means Chief Performance Manager. The CFO incorporates scorekeeper to strategist, backward looking accounting and finance expert to business advisor, as well as analyst and presenter of the performance dashboard,” he said.
The need for change is being driven by management and the board who are demanding a proactive CFO to help guide and direct their organisations. The skills and tools are different as the demands on business are now different. The requirements and demands of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) alone have created a whole new set of reporting requirements and the CFO is ideally placed to take on this new corporate accountability.
“These new reporting techniques which measure much broader metrics such as employee conditions, social consciousness, ethics and community support will help. All companies, private and public will need to account to all stakeholders, which include employees, customers, suppliers and so on,” added Petty.
Transparency in reporting has already been well documented throughout the region and as the chief risk officer the CFO must assist management to measure and manage risk, which includes all types of risk associated with reputation.
“Here transparency is vital. The CFO has to fulfill a more strategic role providing the decision-making support to make the business perform to its optimum, using international best practice,” concluded Petty.
World Accounting Summit is an international, strategic, high-level update on recent developments from the global standards setters, principal advisers and key users of international accounting standards. Insightful contributions will be made from global standard setters such as, Warren McGregor, Board Member, IASB, UK; Abbas Ali Mirza, Chairman of the Auditors’ Group of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI), Mohamad Hamaid Al Marri, Assistant General Secretary, Arab Organisation of Public Accountants; Dr Hani Sarie-El Din, Chairman, Egyptian Capital Market Authority; Dr Ahmed Bin Abdulla Al-Moghames, Secretary General, Saudi Organisation for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA); Roger Adams, Executive Director – Technical, The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), UK.
