SAFA International CFO Conference begins in Kathmandu

Published On: February 1, 2018 08:27 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Feb 1: The South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) International Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Conference concluded in Kathmandu on Wednesday with experts on accountancy pointing out the risks and challenges posed by the new information and technology in public finance and accountancy.

Stakeholders said that the growing use of new information and technology has made the role of chief financial officers more challenging.

“The role of technology is always useful, but turns riskier when it becomes the boss in any enterprise. The growing use of technology in the world has posed new challenges to the CFOs,” said Adrian Perera, a council member of The Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka, (CMA Sri Lanka), speaking at a session entitled

'Role of CFOs in Technological Transformation' held as part of the conference.
According to Perera, the use of more than 900 crypto currencies, rising cyber crimes and use of robots are all posing the challenge to the financial management.
Other experts and stakeholders speaking in other technical sessions also echoed Perera. They also worry about the technology threatening the job of CFOs.

Fifteen renowned international professionals and leaders of accountancy sectors addressed three different technical sessions held throughout the day. Coinciding with the ICAN's 21st anniversary, the autonomous regulatory body of the accountancy profession in Nepal is organizing various events for four days until Friday including the SAFA International CFO Conference.

Over 100 foreign and more than 300 Nepali delegates are participating in the conference, according to the ICAN.

'SAFA BEST PRESENTED ANNUAL REPORT' DISTRIBUTED

Meanwhile, SAFA has awarded various companies with the 'SAFA Best Presented Annual Report' award. Nepal's Auditor General Tankamani Sharma and Finance Secretary Shankar Prasad Adhikari felicitated companies of 12 different sectors for their best presented annual reports in 2016.

Earlier on Tuesday, ICAN organized various events, including elocution and quiz contest, in Kathmandu on the eve of the formal inaugural session of the conference.