LAHORE

Provincial Minister for Finance Dr. Ayesha Ghaus Pasha said the Punjab government was expanding sales tax and property tax net for increasing its own resources. She said that Punjab Revenue Authority has introduced a transparent system of receipt of revenues which has substantially increased the receipts.
while addressing a seminar on “CFO Summit 2016” held under the aegis of Institute of Cost & Management Accounts Pakistan at Avari Hotel, yesterday, the minister said that the role of Chief Financial Officer has not been limited to the supervision of financial matters and controlling irregularities in the institutions but the credit of positive changes in trade system and reorganization of the institutions also goes to them. She said that ICMA is rendering best services in this regard and a large number of financial experts are proving their metal in public and private sectors. The Minister said that non-availability of jobs to the youth according to their educational qualifications is the big hurdle in the development. She said that the main reason is lack of such skills as are demanded in the market. She said that harmonizing our youth according to the demands of present era is vital for increasing the growth rate and reducing the poverty ratio as we cannot afford to destroy the future of our more than half population.
The Minister said that besides vocational training, special attention will also be paid to the education, agriculture and health sectors. She said that Punjab is an agrarian province and its development depends upon agriculture, therefore, the government is brining best package for farmers which will not only redress their problems but will also increase resources so that they could produce best production and play their role in enhancing growth rate of Punjab.
She added that Urban clusters can serve as engines of economic growth and provide employment to labour force if their potential is fully developed. It is also important because now urban centres house more than 40% of the total population of the province. In order to develop potential of urban clusters, the Government needs to improve mobility and provide low cost housing, clean drinking water and sanitation. Therefore, priority is also being given to funding projects in these areas. Prominent among these are mass transit facilities, low cost housing schemes, drinking water supply schemes and sanitation facilities in urban cluster. Such projects would help develop dense, multi-function urban areas that attract investments and create jobs due to economies of scales and a more skilled labour force in the urban clusters.
Pakistan has long been experiencing recessionary trends. Our cash strapped position caused by massive national debt has kept our economy at very low ebb. By increasing revenues and exports we could have salvaged the position, but things have never gone the way we have been planning. The ground reality is that we usually find it difficult to generate enough revenue and increase exports whereas the expenditure position has all along been getting inflated due to inflationary trends.
Mr. Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, MNA Chairman Standing Committee National Assembly for Finance, said that debt servicing eat up a whopping share of our current revenues. In spite of the fact that a lot of funds are arranged through deficit financing, still a very little is left for development and revenue expenditures. The Government is alive to the deteriorating state of affairs and is in the process of taking a number of measures to put our financial and fiscal house in order. The need for evolving a national roadmap for countering Pakistan’s Challenge and problems is more than ever now. All segments of the society should play heir role for elimination of the terrorism and extremism and solution of other problems. War against corruption and terrorism will have to be won for the survival.
Mr. Shahid H. Kardar, Vice Chancellor Beaconhouse National University presented the paper. The Department of the Auditor General remained traditionally responsible for both Accounting and Auditing in public sector till 2001, when the Accounting and Audit functions were separated through creation of a separate organization for maintenance of accounts of the Federal. Provincial and District Governments, known as Controller General of Accounts (CGA).The Auditor General now performs audit function besides prescribing principles and methods of maintaining accounts as per his constitutional mandate. The segregation not only removed conflict of interest situation but also facilitated transparency and independence of both functions. Today, I would talk about efforts of both organizations, in promoting good governance issue. I would also touch on the role of the civil society institutions as they also exert notable influence on governance in any country.
Mr. Anis-ur-Rehman, FCMA appreciated that CPD & Seminars committee of ICMAP always strive hard to equip our members with the latest developments in the profession. On the same lines we have organized our today’s conference, in which number of learned speakers will deliberated on CFO Summit. This was designed in a manner where the experts talked about CFO Summit and all relevant issues in the upcoming technical sessions elaborating the contexts, changing role and increasing challenges for the PSEs and its impact on the overall performance of the organization and country.
Mr. Kashif Mateen Ansari President ICMA Pakistan On behalf of Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan said, I would like to welcome you all in this very important CFO Summit 2016. Over the years ICMAP has been organizing seminars and conferences on crucial national and international issues. I am delighted that this year our CPD, Seminars and Conferences Committee has chosen the topic of “CFO Summit 2016”. Let me begin with a brief introduction of our Institute. The Late Muhammad Shoaib established the Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of Pakistan in 1951. Over a period of 66 years, the ICMAP has been meeting a national human resource needs through a steady flow of professional Management Accountants. The permanence conduct of seminars, conferences and workshops has shown Institution’s commitment towards achieving excellence. The Institute is well aware of challenges faced by the competitive and demanding business world and equipping and training professionals to meet these challenges with full accuracy and efficiency. ICMAP has over 5000 members, who hold senior positions in trade, commerce, industry and government in Pakistan and abroad.  The number of active registered students is around 15,000 which make ICMAP one of the largest professional Institutions in Pakistan.
Mr. Muhammad Rafi, FCMA Former President South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), Former MD OGDCL and Mr. Muhammad Ashraf Bawany, FCMA Former President ICMA Pakistan presented the paper on new report from leading consulting and outsourcing company have found that internal complexity is the most significant challenges CFOs of large companies are currently encountering. The top four issues pertaining to internal complexity that finance executives cited were dealing with legacy systems and environments (55 percent), managing the complex need of all stakeholders (48 percent), new and complex business risks (46 percent), and supporting increasingly complex operating models (28 percent).
Muhammad Iqbal Ghori, FCMA Vice President ICMA Pakistan & Mr. Khawaja Ehrar ul Hassan, FCMA Honorary Secretary ICMA Pakistan said Pakistan’s tax setup was more pro-rich than pro-poor. Resultantly, the rich paid less tax than they should and poor were compelled to pay taxes in spite of the fact that they had a very low capacity to pay.

Ms. Tanzeela Khan, Motivational Speaker, Mr. Mohammed Hanif Ajari, Former Vice President, ICMA Pakistan, Mr. Azizudddin S. Boolani, CEO Serena Hotels (South & Central Asia), Dr. Abid Ali, Executive Director, Rafhan Maize Products Co. Ltd., Mr. Michael Patrick Foley, CEO Telenor, Pakistan and Mr. Khalid Mehmod, CFO NBP Fullerton Asset Management Ltd presented the paper on this occasion.