In continuing its efforts to further development the Finance and Accounting industry throughout Southeast Asia, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has stepped up its “International Thought Leadership Road show – SEA 2015” events. The latest series centred on “Upgrading corporate finance function performance” with two gatherings in Hanoi and HCMC on August 17 and 18, and were facilitated by Mr Rick Payne, a specialist from ICAEW’s Global Financial Management Program.
The series has engaged numerous professional associations, organizations and key ICAEW’s partners in Vietnam, including the Vietnam Accounting and Auditing Association (VAA), HCMC Accountants’ Association (HAA), British Business Group Vietnam (BBGV), RMIT International University, British University in Vietnam (BUV), Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), heads of finance functions, chief accountants, and local finance-accounting trainers.
Mr Nguyen Viet Thinh, Financial Consultancy Manager for PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) joined Rick Payne on this topic in Hanoi as did Mr Vikesh Mirani, Corporate Chief Financial Officer for Techcombank. Nguyen Viet Thinh presented on “Finance function and risk management” while Vikesh Mirani talked about “Building an efficient finance function.”
Mr Rick Payne, ICAEW specialist
On the role of the finance function and finance-accounting professionals in corporate development, Payne used a descriptive comparison, saying that, “If finance is the fuel and the company is a multi-motor engine, the finance team and finance professionals are the ones managing the throttle, so they know exactly when and which valves to open to let the fuel go to the right motor and optimise the performance of the corporate engine. That’s why providing high quality, up to date industry knowledge and skills to these ‘throttle handlers’ is vital - so that they can do the best job.”
More than just advisors on finance, management information and business strategies, the finance team also counsels on corporate risk management.
To build a strong finance team requires multiple ingredients, including vision, values, organization and systems but perhaps most importantly the best people.
Mirani believes that a finance function has seven core responsibilities. These are control, planning and finance analysis, accounting and auditing, tax, finance and treasury, governance and compliance, and investor relations. The responsibilities are attached to five extended duties: administrative monitoring, corporate infrastructure system management and information technology development, infrastructure operation management, merger and acquisition coordination and implementation and being in charge of corporate strategy.
ICAEW used the event to announce that it will also hold a technical briefing to provide fresh views on the roles and application of Big Data and Analytics in a sector-wide context and introduce visions for local finance and accounting professionals so that they too can apply Big Data in an efficient way.
In practice, Big Data may be generated from a wide range of sources including the internet, social media, mobile phones and sensors in machinery.
Ms Dang Thi Mai Trang, ICAEW Chief Representative in Vietnam
Payne addressed the roundtable, saying, “There are so many new things about Big Data and its application in improving the performance of the finance industry in particular. We plan to have a variety of roundtables and personal interviews to provide further practical advice and solutions to businesses, finance and accounting professionals and policymakers. We are also very interested in case studies where Big Data has been analysed well and put into use in Vietnamand how real business puzzles are solved using these tools. So we encourage and welcome interested Vietnamese firms to enter more in-depth discussions on this topic”.
Payne and ICAEW also had a technical workshop with Vietnamese students from various colleges in Hanoi, as well as in-depth discussions with students and instructors from the British University Vietnam and RMIT International University.
With these activities, ICAEW again takes the lead role in sharing knowledge and advice on the latest international practices and how they relate to the local context here in Vietnam. This is a part of ICAEW’s continuing efforts in its mission to contribute to the development of the economy and business sector in Vietnam, improving professionalism for the local finance, banking and accounting-auditing industries and professional associations in Vietnam, while also preparing Vietnamese students and young professionals for the finance, accounting and business management sectors.
Rick Payne is the ICAEW specialist in developing efficient financial operations, and the head of the ICAEW’s Finance Direction Programme. He became an ICAEW Chartered Accountant while working at KPMG. He worked for three years in Hong Kong as a Financial Executive in financial services and offers his rich experience to lead ICAEW’s Financial Management program, which aims to help financial professionals contribute further to the success of their organizations.
ICAEW is a world leading professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports over 144,000 chartered accountants worldwide. ICAEW provides qualifications and professional development, share our knowledge, insight and technical expertise, and protect the quality and integrity of the accountancy and finance profession.
Nam Pham
.jpg)
.jpg)
Vietnamese
