National Finance Olympiad Finale Showcase Pakistan’s Finest Finance Talent

ISLAMABAD ( BMZ REPORT )

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) organized 2ndNational Finance Olympiad 2016 in collaboration with Unilever Pakistan.The Grand Finale of which was held on November 28, 2016 at a Marriott Karachi.

The event, organized by the ICAP’s Professional Accountants In Business (PAIB) Committee, was attended by the senior leaders of renowned national and multinational organizations. The top six qualifying teams who competed against each other include Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited,Gadoon Textile Mills Limited, Grant Thornton Anjum Rahman Chartered Accountants, Haleeb Foods Limited, KotAddu Power Company Limited and KPMG TaseerHadi& Company.

The day commenced with recitation of the Holy Quran followed by opening remarks byMr.Khalilullah Shaikh, VP South and of the Chairman PAIB Committee ICAP. He welcomed the participants and revealed the concept and objectives for the Pakistan’s first ever Finance competition. He said that the main purpose of the event was to engage finance professionals in their professional development in unique way, pit them against each other in a healthy competition and encourage them to discover their potential, exhibit their talent and celebrate their competence in a befitting manner.

The CFO and Vice President Finance of Unilever Pakistan Ali Tariq, also addressed the gathering. He expressed pride in seeing the Olympiad being executed for a 2nd year in a row and that his dream of co-creating this first ever platform in Pakistan, to recognize and celebrate top talent, had been realized. He reinforced the strength of the Pakistani finance talent vs what he had seen and observed on his travels with Unilever. He explained how ICAP qualified accountants who joined Unilever Pakistan had secured top roles at their London office and delighted the leadership teams. Ali Tariq thanked ICAP and its PAIB Committee for agreeing to partner with Unilever in launching this platform and indeed for brilliantly executing the event.

The competition kicked off with a quick introduction of the teams followed by the Presentation Round which was judged by a panel of three distinguished judges; Mr. Abdul Aleem,Secretary General, Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Mr. Fakir Syed Aijazuddin, FCA and Parvez Ghias, Chief Executive, Indus Motor Company Limited. The second round was Direct Question and Answer session which was all about the agility of teams andtheir technical knowledge. The third and most thrilling Buzzer Round started just after lunch break in which all the teams made efforts to outscore others. This was the most exciting round that kept the audience captivated. The audience supported all the teams wholeheartedly.

Once the judges evaluated the presentations, the results were announced; Gadoon Textile Mills Limited claimed victory while KPMG TaseerHadi& Companyand Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limitedbecame the 1stand 2nd Runner Ups respectively.The winning team was awarded a majestic Champions Trophy, Mac Book and shield for each of the three team members. The 1st Runner Up team received iPad Air and shields for all team members and the 2nd Runner Up team received iPhoneand shields for all team members. Certificates were also given to all finalist teams.Unilever Pakistan presented a gift for Best Individual Performance to Adil Farooq Qureshi fromKotAddu Power Company.

Shields were also distributed to the PAIB Organizing Committee, technical partners A.F. Ferguson & Co. and Ersnt&Yound Ford Rhodesand the Master of Ceremony; Mr.MansoorSoomro.

The closing remarkswere presented by President ICAP, Mr Nadeem YousufAdil. He highlighted the vital role that ICAP members are playing for the economy. The President congratulated the winners and showed gratitude to the organizing committee, technical partners, media partners, jury members, ICAP examinations department, Unilever Pakistan and everyone who made this event a success.

The National Finance Olympiad 2016 started off with registrations of 36 teams from renowned organizations across Pakistan. After a 3-hour intense MCQs based examination that was held simultaneously in Karachi and Lahore on November 22, 2016, six teams qualified for the Grand Finale. The top six teams were given a case study for presentation which they were to submit a day before the finale.

The entire testing material was developed by the technical partners; A.F. Ferguson & Co. and Ersnt&Yound Ford Rhodes.