Provoking thoughts on how to reshape your businesses

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) recently held its annual technical symposium at the Cinnamon Lakeside with a slate of timely, thought-provoking sessions that merged groundbreaking theory with real-world business insight.

The full day programme featured leading lights from both the intellectual and corporate spheres sharing their knowledge on the new paradigms shaping the business world.

Beginning with a keynote address from Ms. Gillian Lees, Thought Leadership Specialist at CIMA, the technical symposium explored a range of issues that currently impact businesses as well as factors that will alter the commercial landscape of the future. Her topical speech focused on enterprise governance, with special attention paid to the need for creating better boardrooms.

She highlighted the board's contribution to many of the world's recent financial failures and emphasized the importance of creating a challenge culture in the boardroom, where better decisions are reached through a process of debate and critical thinking. Her remarks were especially relevant considering the audience at the symposium was made up of current and future board members.

Ravi Fernando, CEO of the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology, brought his cutting edge insights to the forum and challenged the business leaders in attendance to make a commitment to strategic corporate sustainability, both for the benefit of their organizations as well as for the world-at-large. He noted that the world's best companies, such as HP and Sony, are also the ones creating sustainable value for their stakeholders. He pointed out that strategic corporate sustainability rests on three fundamental responsibilities: product safety; environmental protection; and the fair treatment of employees.

Fernando referred to Ms. Lees' remarks in detailing the critical role that company boards play in determining the success of their organizations. Continuing the focus on growing shareholder value, Malinga Arsakularatne, CFO of Hemas Holdings, delineated the difference between shareholder and stakeholder theory. He expounded on the importance of corporate finance, business strategy, and management processes in creating sustainable value for shareholders and stakeholders alike.

Arsakularatne shared his personal experiences in the private sector and pointed out the importance of sustainable value creation in light of the financial crises that afflicted the world.

Ravi Raman, the global Chief Risk Officer of Butterfield Fulcrum, one of the world's largest independent fund administration firms, also provided personal insight into the global economic turbulence. While in New York City on business, he had a front-row seat to the financial market meltdown and pointed to the failure of most organizations to properly use its information resources to manage risk.