Panel discussion

Following the presentation by Sachin Seth, a panel discussion was conducted by IBM Sri Lanka Head of Business Consulting, Global Business Services Riza Wadood. Taking part in the discussion were CA Sri Lanka President Sujeewa Rajapaksa, CA Sri Lanka Vice President Arjuna Herath, Managing Director Lanka Walltiles PLC, Lanka Floortiles PLC, Swisstek (Ceylon) PLC, and Swisstek Aluminium Mahendra Jayasekera, and Hatton National Bank CEO and Managing Director Rajendra Theagarajah.

Following are excerpts from the discussion:

Q: What is the value of value integrators and what is the role of finance professionals in the current business context?

Theagarajah: From the organisation I represent we have certainly seen the value of integrators. Critical element for us is cost management, the goal sponsorship and the quality and sustainability of the leadership within the finance structure. The degree of empowerment given to support the industry overshadows everything else.

Rajapakse: I feel that the tone at the top is very important. CFOs should be the driving force in the organisation, perhaps in par with the CEO. Especially in a volatile environment, CFO has to play a major role. Value integrators must be increased in the market. Their role can not be compromised.

Jayasekera: CFO giving leadership to the finance team is a very important aspect in a business. We must understand that leadership is completely different from management. It is psychological thing where as the latter is more of planning, organising, directing, etc. When people move up the chain we need more leaders giving leadership to the department/team/organisation. I see value integrators in an organisation as ‘real guys in the organisation.’ People who exercise and influence power disproportionate to their position, they are the value integrators.

Herath: Value integrator in our jargon plays a business partner, strategist kind of a role, because the finance function has evolved to a great extent leading to that. Based on CFO knowledge and insights of the organisation/macro environment/industry insights is valuable for the organisation. In an organisation you will now always see CFO in any board level or management level discussion. He has more insights even more so than the CEO. Ultimately how you generate value depends on your insights.

Q: There are a lot of finance professionals in Sri Lanka. Do you find good CFOs in the market to recruit or if not what suggestions would you give to so that more CFOs can be created in the market?

Rajapaksa: As CA Sri Lanka we change the curriculum every four years and we always make sure we get the feedback from different stakeholders before doing that. This is to ensure that we prepare professionals who are geared to handle the trends and challenges of the period. We even speak to HR professional, CEO, CFOs, practitioners, and other stakeholders. Our next syllabus change will be in 2015.

From our side we ensure that they are equipped with technical and practical skills needed for the future. From my experience, some accountants lack interpersonal skills; but that does not mean there are no competent accountants in the market. Brain drain is happening. However we feel that with the growth momentum of the country they will come back.

Q: How can CFOs build a team that challenges the business? What can we do to improve the soft skills?

Theagarajah: I don’t think there is a ‘tailor made magical CFO,’ but what we look at it is two things – somebody with the right attitude and with the energy to apply it. As long as the organisation has the commitment to invest in the development of this purpose they must find someone who is really worth it. However this is not something that happens overnight. This is the right time to spot the energy levels or the right attitude.

Herath: It is an evolving process. The whole thing at a micro level or a corporate level is all about communicating the message. And that comes from insights. Having the technical knowledge and the ability to interpret this in to a business context and presenting it in a management context comes from insights. It is based on strategy.

Q: What are the challenges CFOs face in the current context?

Rajapakse: One of the key challenges CFOs are faced with is to control the cost which arises due to various factors which are completely beyond our control such as foreign exchange fluctuations, etc. Sometime you have Government policies taking a U-turn in certain things and CFOs prepare their budgets before this happens. Also at the end of the day you have to please certain sectors such as your board, your people, stakeholders, and shareholders. State sector has different challenges because they have to work in a limited environment. There is also a challenge in getting the right people.