KARACHI: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and Unilever Pakistan jointly organized the Pakistan’s first ever finance competition -National Finance Olympiad (NFO) 2015.
The Grand Finale of this was held in Karachi, says an announcement on Monday.
The event, organized by the ICAP’s Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee, was attended by the top management of the renowned national and multinational organizations.
The top six qualifying teams; Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited, Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited Engro Fertilizers Limited, Haleeb Foods Limited, Kot Addu Power Company Limited and Pakistan State Oil Company Limited, competed in the Grand Finale.
In his opening remarks Khalilullah Shaikh, the Chairman PAIB Committee and Council Member ICAP, welcomed the participants and informed about the concept and objectives for the Pakistan’s first ever Finance competition.
He said that the main purpose of the event was to engage finance professionals in their professional development in unique way, pit them against each other in a healthy competition and encourage them to discover their potential, exhibit their talent and celebrate their competence in a befitting manner.
The competition kicked off with a quick introduction of the teams followed by the Presentation Round which was judged by a panel of three distinguished judges; Mujahid Eshai, FCA, Syed Masoud Ali Naqvi, FCA, and Fakir Syed Aijazuddin, FCA.
The second round was the Question and Answer session that was a test of their presence of mind and technical knowledge.
The third and most thrilling Buzzer Round in which all the teams made efforts to outscore others. This was the most exciting round that kept the audience captivated. The audience supported all the teams wholeheartedly.
Once the judges evaluated the presentations, the results were announced;
Engro Fertilizers Limited claimed victory while Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited and Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited became the 1st and 2nd Runner Ups respectively.
The winning team was awarded Champions Trophy, Mac Book Air and shields for each of the three team members. The 1st Runner Up received iPad Air and shields for all team members and the 2nd Runner Up received Samsung Galaxy A5 and shields for all team members.
Certificates were also given to all finalist teams. Unilever Pakistan presented a gift for Best Individual Performance to Taha Asif from Haleeb Foods.
Shields were also distributed to the PAIB Organizing Committee, technical partners A.F. Ferguson & Co. and Deloitte Yousuf Adil and Master of Ceremonies.
The closing remarks President ICAP, Yacoob Suttar. He emphasized on the importance of the Finance professionals working in the industry and how ICAP introduces initiatives to cater them.
The President congratulated the winners and thanked the organizing committee, technical partners, media partners, jury members, ICAP examinations department and Unilever Pakistan and everyone who made this event a success. He also said that ICAP would make the National Finance Olympiad an annual event.
The National Finance Olympiad 2015 started off with registrations of 28 teams from renowned organizations across Pakistan.
After a 3-hour intense MCQs based examination that was held simultaneously in Karachi and Lahore on July 28, 2015, six teams qualified for the Grand Finale.
Each team was given a different topic for presentations which they were to submit a day before the finale.
The entire testing material was developed by the technical partners; A.F. Ferguson & Co. and Deloitte Yousuf Adil.
