Fostering Talent For Leadership

Since its inception, Chartered Accountancy has been one of the most prestigious, venerated and highly rewarding profession not only in Pakistan but all over the world. Pakistani Chartered Accountants are renowned for their competence, integrity and proactive mind set. The governing body of Chartered Accounts in Pakistan, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) completed 50 years of its establishment in July 2011. In view of that, the Council of the Institute set up a Golden Jubilee Celebrations Committee under the patronage of Hafiz Mohammed Yousaf, Chairman Golden Jubilee Celebrations Committee. The committee organised several programmes during the year like CFO Conference in Karachi and Lahore, Professional Excellence Award of ICAP, ICAP Birth Day Bash, Accountants and Social Responsibility, CA Students Conference, Inter RAET Debate Competition, Inter Firm Presentation Skills, Gold Medal and Certificate Distribution Ceremonies, CASA (N) Ashfaq Ahmad Inter Firm Cricket Tournament, Golf Tournaments, ICAP Golden Jubilee Cricket Tournament and much more. The institute feels proud hoisting the flag of Pakistan wide across the globe.

Acknowledging the struggles of the members in the past 50 years and providing the outline to the problems faced by us today and finding their solutions, the concluding conference, “Testing Times: Reflection on Present and Future” was held in the heart of Pakistan, Lahore, on January 20th and 21st, 2012 at Pearl Continental Hotel.

The inaugural session started with the recitation of the Holy Quran and national anthem, followed by the welcome address by  Hafiz Muhammad Yousaf and President ICAP, Rashid Rehman. Mir. Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Chief Justice Lahore High Court, was the Chief Guest. Clive Parritt – FCA, President, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and Shaukat Tarin S.I., former Minister for Finance were among the keynote speakers.

Day one ended with a dinner, after which a cultural entertainment programme was held featuring Anwar Maqsood! The side-splitting skit by Amanat Chan and the company, followed by a decent singing performance were worth appreciating. Later, the speakers were honoured with shields.

Day two of the event was even more exciting. Speaking session on “Human Capital: The Nucleus of Corporate Governance” was quite informative as speakers tried to explore significance and qualities of human capital in it. Speakers of the session included chairmen and CEOs from renoened colleges and companies from all over the world.   Kamran Rizvi, a renowned speaker and motivator, talked  about “The ingredients of successful married life”, and grabbed the attention of everyone in the hall.

Session two shed light on the growing menace of energy crisis in our country. Suleman Najib Khan, Honorary Consul General Switzerland; Dr. Nadeem ul Haque, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission and Mujahid Eshai, Former President ICAP shared their precious viewpoints about “Energy: Engine for Economic Growth”.

The third session of the grand conference consisted of a panel discussion on the theme of the conference “Testing Times: Reflection on Present and Future”. Atif Bajwa, President and CEO of Bank Alfalah, Muhammad Abdullah Yousuf, former Secretary General and Chairman FBR, Dr. Muhammad Zubair Khan, former Federal Minister for Commerce, Syed Shabbar Ziadi, former president ICAP and Aftab Chaudhry, Managing Director/CEO Lahore Stock Exchange were the panelists whereas Dr. Moeed Pirzada, Director World Affairs, PTV served as moderator.

In the final session, Prof. Adil Najam, Vice Chancellor LUMS, Shahid Hafeez Kardar, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, former Minister for Finance spoke on “Economic Turmoil: Paradigm Shift in Global Economic Order”.

Also, a lucky draw was held and 40 members won microwave ovens! Members were also awarded with a souvenir that contained a commemorative postage stamp, issued on July 1, 2011. Finally, the conference was concluded with the hope of developing a better Pakistan and fostering talent for leadership.

(The article was originally published in The News International. Dated: 3 Feb, 2012)

 

INDEPENDENCE DAY: Yes We Can!

Sonu was a naive, polite, quiet boy but he was extremely observant. His routine was quite different from other youngsters of his age. He used to return from his school in the afternoon and after lunch he would simply head towards the rooftop of his house. This was not to fly kites like many other lads of his neighbourhood, but to gaze at the sky.

He loved sky gazing. He loved to look at the bright yet serene sky of summer evenings. Chirping birds, soaring high above the clouds always brought a broad smile on his face, almost as if he could comprehend their sweet tweets. And now it was his favourite time of the year, Independence Day. So he remained on the roof of his house till late in the evening and besides sky watching, he corded little flags in a string to decorate the house with.

One day when he and his best friend, Meena, were busy in cording little flags in strings, Meena asked, “Sonu, why do you keep gazing at this quiet and lifeless sky?”

Sonu looked at her in sheer surprise and responded, “Lifeless sky?”

“Na, full of scenes from your favourite movies,” Meena retorted sarcastically.

Sonu smiled, turned his face towards sky and resumed, “See Meena, there is unfathomable depth, peace and serenity in this sky. Unlike beings of this earth, birds that dwell in the sky are free from troubles. The sky has no borders or a security force but still its residents, the birds, are peaceful. They are not frightened of terrorism. There is no concept of violence, injustice or any other chaos. I wish I could fly there and live freely…,” Sonu kept on, while Meena listened to him with interest.

She always listened with patience to her friend’s thoughts. “But Sonu, birds are not like us. They can’t be compared with us na.

We, the human beings, possess heart and mind and can perceive life and its tone rationally”, Meena spoke smilingly in a soft tone.

“Yap, you are right. But I like birds and their world. Even though they are not blessed with an intellect like ours, they feel better than us. They are peaceful and selflessly supportive,” Sonu responded and continued.

“Sometimes I feel they are quite lucky that they have not been blessed with a selfish mentality like ours, otherwise they would also have been egoistic. They would be proud and greedy.”

“Well, you are right, quite right indeed,” moving towards the balcony Meena responded politely. Sonu also followed her and sat on a settee in the balcony. Meena offered him a cup of hot tea and sat in front of him.

Both of them were silent now. Sonu looked a bit sad. It seemed as if there was something on his mind. Meena broke the ice and spoke, “See Sonu, the world is very smart or maybe cruel, as you may tend to see it. Innocent people like you have to
commonly face failure. In today’s world you have to be clever in order to compete.”

“Meena, there is a vital difference between being ‘clever’ and being a ‘deceiver’. We should be clever but not a deceiver. People try to be over-smart. In order to pave their own way they make things difficult for others and discourage them. Compensation is out of question, they don’t even bother to apologise for their malpractices.”

“Yes, that’s the real world. We can’t change it,” Meena replied despondently.

“We can change Meena, we can!” Sonu responded in high tone this time. “See, that is the fault within us, especially with us the youngsters. We get depressed and become hopeless immediately and feel that all alone we can do nothing. We keep denouncing our nation and say that the people of our country are at fault for the way things are as they go against the law and behave selfishly. But if we observe, it is me and you who collectively make a ‘nation’. We need to mend ourselves individually.

Instead of blaming others, we ought to change our own attitude. We have to develop patience.

“If we really want to change the fate of this country, this is the right time. You know 14th August is tomorrow. This Independence Day we have to challenge ourselves and vow that we ‘will’ bring a change. The stress should be on our ‘will’. We can even change our attitude from this very moment. We collectively will bring the revolution that is needed, but it will be a peaceful revolution! Only then our life will be as peaceful as that of the birds.”

Meena got excited after listening to the motivating words of her best pal. “Your motivating words have stirred hope in me as well. This year we will mark Independence Day with a firm belief that ups and downs are a part of life and every nation must come together to take one’s country in the right direction. We will not lose hope and one day will make Pakistan proud of us.

Happy Independence Day!”

(YW, DAWN, August 2011)

 

Little Acts of Great Importance…

Forsooth, electronic gadgets have facilitated mankind more than his imagination. But the thing that causes detriments is its rule over humanity. It might be strange to some but I feel, somehow, technology (especially electronic gadgets) has ensnared mankind. Keeping in mind human behaviour, the grave loss that it has caused is dearth (or may be death) of elegant exchange of sentiments among human beings. The prime instance, which would prop up this fact, would be observed on Eid Day, when a simple SMS would seem more than enough to greet the big event to dearest ones, a mere phone call (characterised by cheap calling rates) would do the trick for visiting relatives individually.

 

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn

“

Tera her ik zara hum ko apni jan sy payara, Teray dam say shan hamaree, Tujh say Nam Hamara”… “Chand mere zameen phool mera watan”… “Tujh pay Dil qurban, Tujh pay Jan bhe qurban ha”… “Tere wadi wadi ghomoon, tera kona kona chomoon”…“Mera Dil ha Pakistan, Mere Jan ha Pakistan”. Sky is bracing, zephyr is bopping, and heart is crooning. And why not! After all, it is time for celebrations, revels and exhilarations.

 

Weird attitude of People during Ramazan

“Ramazan is a month of blessings, peace, tranquillity, patience and a great source of gaining countless rewards from our Creator. We Muslims, come closer to Allah Almighty during this fabulous and sacrosanct month. Every Muslim tries to offer Namaz and other adorations with more fervour and zeal than in the remaining months of the year. Everyone desires to gain infinite love and blessings of God,” said Faseeh’s mom while discussing the importance and glory of Ramazan with her child.