ACCA Pakistan hosted the Pakistan Leadership Conversation (PLC) 2018 in Islamabad on March 21, 2018. This will be followed by events in Karachi and Lahore on March 22 and 27 respectively. Pakistan Leadership Conversation is a critical forum for thought leaders to discuss important policy issues and in turn develop an actionable agenda to drive economic growth.

This year the conversations in Islamabad were held around the theme, ‘Collective vision for an Emerging Pakistan’ and these conversations are aimed to shape the future of the society and economy in Pakistan.

Two panel discussions were conducted inIslamabad. The conference topics included; i) Embracing digital age, financial inclusion and ethics: How to respond ii) Capital markets eco system: Redefining value creation models? The chief guest for the conference was Dr. Miftah Ismail – Federal Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs and he spoke on Ethics, Technology, Disruption, Connectivity – An Emerging Pakistan.

Our panelists/conversation leaders were representatives from leading organisations in Pakistan with keen interest in the development agenda of the country. The keynote speakers addressing the topic Embracing digital age, financial inclusion and ethics: How to respond? included: NaeemZamindar, Minister of State & Chairman, Board of Investment who was also the Guest of Honour. This keynote speech was followed by a panel discussion moderated by ShehryarHydri, Secretary General, P@SH@ and the panelists included ParvezAbbasi, Project Director, National Incubation Centre & Chief Thinking Officer, Teamup, Adnan Shahid, CCO, Pakistan Telecommunications Limited,Tariq Rashid, COO, Multilynx& Director, United Bank Limited andAqueelaMumtaz, Head of Corporate Accounting, Risk and Tax, Jazz.

This was followed by a compelling discussion on Capital markets eco system: Redefining value creation models? The keynote speaker Yusuf Hussain, CEO, Ignite laid the groundwork and highlighted that new business models are not just about technology. Around the world new markets are emerging and old ones are evolving. Unquestionable economic certainties are being challenged and what people value is changing.  This was followed by a panel discussion and the panelists included: Aniqa Sandhu, VP Digital & Financial Services, Jazz, Nadeem A. Malik, CEO, Naxis ,Usman Hayat, CEO, Audit Oversight Board, Ayla Majid, CEO, CAMCO (Pvt.) Limited & ACCA Global Council Member.

ACCA and its members have committed to drive 7% GDP growth, bring ranking of Pakistan  in top 50 for ease of doing business and global competitveness index in next 5 years by collaborating with government and private sector.

ACCA Council Member Ayla Majid highlighted, ‘There is deep wisdom present in this room today and it was a pleasure discussing the key policy choices necessary for an ‘Emerging Pakistan’ which would boost economic growth. We need an understanding of the new business models and how they are creating value, which economies and societies can use to tackle the challenges they face and flourish.”

Sajjeed Aslam, Head of ACCA Pakistan said, “ACCA is known to be a strong champion of public value – acting in the public interest, promoting ethical businesses and growing economies. Sessions like these reflect ACCA’s commitment to knowledge sharing and capacity building.”