This forum has an important role to play because it is inevitable that businesses of all shapes and sizes, in sectors of all different kinds, and in countries all over the world will at some point experience times of financial difficulty.
Whether it is problems of accessing finance or dealing with cash flow, addressing risk, compliance, assurance, or even changes of strategy, more often than not, businesses turn to their accountant for advice and support. The support and guidance that they are uniquely placed to give has become increasingly important.
Yet the business environment in which they work is being fundamentally transformed by technological developments. The future of work is online and finance professionals are increasingly keeping up with regulation, filing reports and accessing data.
Employers are seeking newly-qualified accountants who can put the complex technological knowledge they have quickly and effectively into practice, while students are looking for the connection between what they learn in their actual or virtual classrooms and what clients and employers demand of them. Technology presents professional bodies with the opportunity to test students knowledge and skills in a way which prepares them for the true reality of the working world - and working in partnership with employers and learning providers ACCA is determined to lead the way in this exciting field. Global trends are also changing the rules of work - a more competitive working environment, with more complexity, is creating a need from businesses for greater insight from finance professionals in strategy and decision making.
Finance professionals are today expected to play a full and complete part in all the strategic and commercial decisions of a business; they are not just there to provide monthly accounts for the organisation. They need to go beyond this important role to be communicators too, in numbers and in words - so their role is central to a business's success. I hope that you gain a great deal from this important event and I know there will be considerable interest in its outcomes.