Summary

As organisations across the Asia-Pacific move from experimenting with Generative AI to implementing more advanced systems, the role of the finance professional is undergoing a material shift. While Generative AI has dominated recent headlines, global practice is already shifting towards Agentic AI – systems capable of autonomous decision-making and execution within defined governance frameworks.

Speakers

Mr. Mohammad J Sear, Global Thought Leader on Digital Nation – Society, Economy & Governance - Author of Becoming Digital Nations, and Vice Chairperson of the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA).

Mr. Manik Bhandari, Senior Partner, AI and Data Leader, EY.

Mr. Chari TvT, Advisor to ACCA Malaysia's Digital & Technology Committee.

Mr. Sardar Abubakr FCCA, Chairman ACCA Pakistan Digital Transformation Subcommittee.

Mr. Alistair Brisbourne, Head of Technology Research, ACCA Global.

Summary

(This webinar was held on 22 July 2025)

The global economic landscape is currently marked by significant uncertainty and continues to shift at an unprecedented pace. Amid complex geopolitical dynamics, evolving trade policies, ground-breaking technological advancements, and the urgency of sustainability, businesses and nations are at a critical juncture.

This event will help equip you with the knowledge needed to understand and navigate the highly uncertain global economic backdrop.

Speakers

Jonathan Ashworth, Chief Economist, ACCA

Dr Hu Jie, Professor of Practice, Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF), Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Zeeshan Pervez, President, ACEN Shared Services, Ayala Energy

Adrian Chong, Policy Manager, ACCA

Summary

(This webinar was held on 26 October 2023)

The world is abuzz with ChatGPT. But really it is about the substance – Generative AI and not a particular brand of it. Generative AI has been around for a while, and it has only gotten better.

This webinar highlights on how Generative AI may impact the finance and accounting profession.

Speakers

Asim Siddiqui, Country Managing Partner, EY Ford Rhodes 

Bala Iyer, FCCA, Co-Founder and CEO, The Walnut AI

Seema Gopal, GM Commercial & Data Science

Lalit Kumar, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, The Walnut AI

Summary

(This webinar was held on 26 October 2023)

The world is abuzz with ChatGPT. But really it is about the substance – Generative AI and not a particular brand of it. Generative AI has been around for a while, and it has only gotten better.

This webinar highlights on how Generative AI may impact the finance and accounting profession.

Speakers

Asim Siddiqui, Country Managing Partner, EY Ford Rhodes 

Bala Iyer, FCCA, Co-Founder and CEO, The Walnut AI

Seema Gopal, GM Commercial & Data Science

Lalit Kumar, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, The Walnut AI

Summary

(This webinar was held on 25 May 2023)

This may be an extreme statement – however of all the components of the ESG agenda the 'S' is less well defined but increasingly more important to organisations.

The forum will highlight the key findings from ACCA’s Accounting for Society’s Values report, followed by a panel session which will explore the social dimension of the ‘just transition’ 

Speakers

Maggie McGhee, Executive Director - Strategy and Governance, ACCA

Sharath Martin, Regional Consultant Policy, ASEAN and ANZ, ACCA

Leong Cheung, Founding co-chair, Hong Kong Chapter of United Nations’ Sustainability Development Solutions Network

Farrukh Khan, Chief Executive Officer, Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited (PSX)

Summary

(This webinar was held on 1 March 2023)

In this webinar, you will gain insights from our expert speakers on the unique characteristics of talent opportunities and challenges in the Asia Pacific region.

We will also share with you some key insights from ACCA’s research report titled Global Talent Trends in Finance, tracking sentiments of accounting and finance professionals across the world, to help us create a working environment where today’s professionals thrive and where tomorrow’s talent wants to be.

Summary

(This webinar was held on 12 October 2022)

Geopolitical conflicts has recently escalated to levels the world has not seen for decades leading to food and fuel shortages and price increases.

How will inflation in developed markets affect Asia in terms of exports, manufacturing activity, employment prospects as well as inflation? What’s the risk of further geopolitical conflicts, particularly in Asia and how will this impact businesses?

This event is intentionally designed to allow finance and business professionals the opportunity to glean critical insights and perspectives on these critical issues and shape their contributions towards robust discussions on business strategies and plans for 2023 and beyond.

Speakers

Mamun Rashid, Country Clients and Markets Lead, PwC Bangladesh

Kelly Chan Yuen Sau, FCCA, Independent Non-Executive Director of Listed Companies in China/USA, Peony Consulting Services

Yohannes Nugraha, FCCA, Chief Financial Officer Indonesia/PNG, The Kraft Heinz Company

Ben Ibrahim, professional TV host

Summary

(This webinar was held on 27 July 2022)

Fintech, the coming together of financial services and digital technology, has transformed how financial services are delivered and consumed. In a joint report with CA ANZ on Fintech: State of Play – Opportunities for Finance Professionals, it highlighted 10 different job roles for professional accountants within fintech. This cuts across from chief financial officers (CFOs) and auditors to digital transformation experts and entrepreneurs.

In this webinar, you will be able to hear first-hand from panellists who have made the switch – pertinently at different stages of their lives to a career in Fintech.

Speakers

Narayanan Vaidyanathan, Head of Policy Development, ACCA

Jennifer Tan, FCCA, Chief Executive, Alipay Financial Services (HK Ltd), Executive Vice President – Strategy Development and Government Affairs, GBA of Ant Group, ACCA Hong Kong Committee Chairman 2021-22

Jehan Perinpanayagam, FCCA, CEO Infomate Pvt Limited and Vice President John Keells Holdings PLC and Chairman, ACCA’s Member Network Panel Sri Lanka

Wanyi Wong, FinTech Leader and Partner, PwC Singapore and CA ANZ Singapore Council Member

Summary

(This webinar was held on 25 May 2022)

Responding to the increasing demand for a global baseline of sustainability disclosures for the capital market, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) was established at COP26.

On 31 March 2022, the ISSB released 2 proposed standards for public consultation: a General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and Climate-related Disclosures.

Speakers

Sharath Martin, Senior Consultant, ACCA ASEAN ANZ

Ravi Abeywardana, Technical Director, IFRS Foundation

Yen-Pei Chen, Professional Insight Manager, Corporate Reporting & Tax, ACCA Global

Thinh Nguyen, out-going President of ACCA Vietnam Member Advisory Committee, Chief Judge of Vietnam Sustainability Reporting Awards

Renaka Ramachandran, FCCA, Group CFO of Sime Darby Plantations

Summary

(This webinar was held on 19 January 2022)

How do we establish viable and resilient future business projections? How do we challenge our business leaders without sounding overly negative and downbeat? Should business plans be premised on economic growth outlooks (which can change quickly and dramatically); and if so, whom do we believe?

This forum focused on 3 major sectors in Asia Pacific – e-commerce, real estate and construction, and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG).

Speakers

Edward Lee, Chief Economist, ASEAN and South Asia Standard Chartered

Sharath Martin, Senior Policy Consultant, ASEAN and ANZ Region ACCA

Alice Wong FCCA, Group Chief Financial Officer, Company Secretary and Executive Director, Hong Kong Technology Venture Company Limited

Jeffrey Chew FCCA, Group Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director, Paramount Corporation Berhad

Summary

(This webinar was held on 24 August 2021)

In the wake of an extraordinary 2020, ACCA, in partnership with IFAC, conducted a global survey targeting the Generation Z (focusing on those between 18 and 25 years old) about the issues that give them most concern right now. What do they want from their careers? What are they worrying about? What attracts them to organisations? What do they think about business? The survey attracted more than 9000 responses from around the world.

This Asia Pacific Thought Leadership webinar will explore the implications for employers, managers and anyone who works with Gen Z, using insights drawn from the survey and further roundtables conducted around the world. It will also share considerations for younger people themselves shedding light on how they can best navigate their careers as the workplace transforms.

Speakers

Nic Chambers, Regional Director and Country Head (Malaysia), Michael Page

Kitty Ma FCCA, Mergers & Acquisition and Portfolio Management, Finance Division Director, Tencent

Mariam Riza FCCA, Chief Executive Officer, Wattleshire Pty Ltd

Seah Gek Choo, Partner, Audit & Assurance, Deloitte Singapore; Talent Leader, Deloitte Southeast Asia; Leader for Deloitte Southeast Asia and Singapore's Centre for Corporate Governance

Summary

(This webinar was held on 23 June 2021)

It’s been close to eighteen months since the start of the pandemic. Expectations of recovery which surfaced towards the end of 2020 now appear less optimistic. Despite the vaccination rollout across nations, continuous outbreaks and viral mutations are still clouding our economic projections at this moment in time.

Join this webinar to learn valuable insights from experts on:

• Rethinking risks for the 2nd half of 2021 and beyond in this region
• How should risk management approaches evolve in such unprecedented times
• Emerging opportunities and challenges in a prolonged crisis – organisationally and professionally

Speakers

Dr John Lee, Country CEO, Maybank Singapore

Nguyen Viet Thinh, CEO, Vietnam Institute of Directors

Enid Low, Chief Strategy Officer, AsiaWorld-Expo

Sharath Martin, Senior Policy Consultant, ACCA ASEAN ANZ

Summary

(This webinar was held on 16 March 2021)

2020 was an intense year where we saw the world taking an enormous hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The crisis has presented major disruptions to businesses as well as significant social and economic distress, causing many businesses to rethink their operating strategies in order to thrive in the new normal.

Join this webinar to gain valuable insights from experts on implications on trade and investment in the Asia Pacific region with a new US presidency.  Learn also about the possible outcomes arising from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement. Additionally, get tips for thriving on the emerging opportunities and challenges in the new normal

Speakers

Intan Nadia Jalil, Regional Head, Group Economic and Market Analytics, CIMB Bank Berhad

Amos Ng FCCA, CFO, Straco Corporation Limited

Eunice Chu FCCA, Head of Policy, ACCA Hong Kong

Sharath Martin, Regional Consultant, Professional Insights, ACCA ASEAN ANZ

Summary

(This webinar was held on 27 January 2021)

ACCA in collaboration with CAANZ is pleased to invite you to this virtual live discussion among a panel of experts; we will be examining and sharing findings from ACCA-CAANZ’s Professional Insights report “Analytics in Finance and Accountancy” and covering a wide range of questions in relation to data analytics, how to futureproof your organisation and accelerate your data-driven journey. 5 Key areas that will be covered in the session are:

• Governance and data management
• Big data reality
• Hybridisation of talent
• Decision-making enablement
• Predicative and prescriptive analytics

Speakers

Raymond Jack, Executive Director, Finance and Operations, ACCA

Clive Webb, Senior Professional Insights Manager, ACCA

Ashish Batra, VP Platform and Digital Business, NTT Data, Singapore

Sharath Martin, Regional Consultant, Policy ASEAN ANZ, ACCA

Luke Jones, Chief Financial Officer, TheCareVoice, Hong Kong

Siva Raj Jeyarajah, Executive Vice President, Maybank Group, Malaysia

Xie Wenwei, Deputy Financial Officer of the Asia Pacific Division, ZTE Corporation

Summary

(This webinar was held on 17 November 2020)

Professional accountants are highly aware of the persistent social inequality issues, urgent environmental crises and scarring impact of COVID-19. 90% of the respondents to the recent ACCA global survey believed that organisations must increase efforts to become more environmentally sustainable and make more of a positive impact on society after the pandemic, and 75% believed that their organisations needed to do more to address social inequalities.

ACCA is therefore organising a virtual webinar to further debate on the above.

Speakers

Chiew Chun Wee, Head of Policy, ASEAN-ANZ, ACCA

Jimmy Greer, Head of Sustainability, ACCA

Sonia Gupta, Managing Director, Growth and Innovation, Accenture

Stathis Gould, Director, Advocacy, IFAC

Dr Guo Peiyuan, General Manager, SynTao and Chairman, SynTao Green Finance

Summary

(This webinar was held on 14 October 2020)

In the recent world economic outlook report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the growth projections for all countries around the world for 2020 are negative apart from China where a slight growth of 1% was anticipated. Global growth is projected at -4.9% in 2020.

Are we optimistic that an improved economic confidence is in prospect in the second half of the year? How do accountancy and finance professionals anticipate the road ahead, and what are the responses and actions needed to put their organisations back on a sustainable track?

Join our virtual forum, together with our expert speakers comprising economists and industry leaders, to unpack the uncertain business landscape.

Speakers

Michael Taylor, Senior Manager - Economic Analysis, ACCA

Kelvin Lau, Senior Economist, Standard Chartered Bank

Soo Hoo Khoon Yean, FCCA, Managing Partner, PwC Malaysia

Cherrie Lu, FCCA, CPA, PCC, Senior Finance Director, Head of Credit and Collection, Philips Global

Summary

(This webinar was held on 13 August 2020)

“Finance Insights – Reimagined” report showed that while most claimed that finance business partnering was a proactive role in their organisations, only 37% reported that it was truly a fundamental part of decision-making and strategy.

Join us in this webinar as we explore the following questions through the collective wisdom and knowledge of our panel of experts

• How do finance professionals demonstrate their value as business partners to their organisations?
• What are the challenges meeting leaders’ expectations?
• How do finance professionals harness the opportunities from insights?
• How do finance professionals rise to the challenge as business partners during a crisis?
• How do finance professionals transform to prepare for this new reality ahead?

Speakers

Clive Webb, Senior Professional Insights Manager, ACCA

Sharath Martin, Regional Consultant, Policy - ASEAN & ANZ, ACCA

Chen Ruiqing, Senior Financial Expert of Cloud Intelligence Business, Alibaba Group

Datuk Bazlan Osman, Directors of Public Companies & Former Executive Director / DGCEO / GCFO, Telekom Malaysia Berhad

Horace Ma Chun Fung, CFO, S Culture Holdings (BVI) Limited, Independent Non-executive Director of Ming Fai International Holdings Ltd

Daryl Wang, CFO, Southeast Asia Consulting, PwC

Summary

(This webinar was held on 7 July 2020)

The pandemic has shown the importance of the digital economy in buffering the adverse effects of the crisis. It is important to maximise business value by harnessing the growing number of digital platforms and tools to recover from the onslaught of the pandemic, explore new business models, and forge ahead by seeking new opportunities to grow and establish your own new normal post Covid-19.

• Does your business or practice have a post-Covid-19 strategy?
• Are your staff and workforce re-skilled to thrive in the new normal?
• Have you transformed your business model to take into account the new reality?

Speakers

Jamie Lyon, Head of Business Management, Professional Insights, ACCA

Yuki Qian, Regional Head of Policy, Greater China, ACCA

Ellis Cheng, CFO, Kerry Logistics

Kevin Fitzgerald, Managing Director Asia, Xero

Sim Siew Shan, CFO, AirAsia Berhad

Nguyen Viet Thinh, Chief Executive Officer, Vietnam Institute of Directors

Moderator

Joseph Alfred, Head of Policy, ACCA Singapore

Summary

(This webinar was held on 27 May 2020)

The Covid-19 pandemic and the wide-spread lockdowns are undoubtedly having a significant impact on businesses and economies, and the demand for financing and loans is immense particularly for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). With so many new challenges of unprecedented scale and urgency, how can enterprises survive these difficult times?

Among a big pool of businesses who are all facing capital pressure, how can they skilfully communicate with banks on applying for loans? Without mortgage of assets, which type of loan should be applied? How can enterprises improve mobility through the various levels of supply chain? Join us in this webinar to learn about the above.

Speakers

John Kam, FCCA, Senior Partner, Shenzhen Zhujin Supply Chain Management Co Ltd

Jeffrey Ng, ACCA, Head of Group Business and Transaction Banking, RHB Bank Group

Wenxue Tan, FCCA, Director, Corporate Advisory, RSM Singapore

Yuki Qian, FCCA , Regional Head of Policy, ACCA Greater China