ICMAI Angul seminar highlights the evolving role of finance executives in driving leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship and Odisha’s vision of a self-reliant, prosperous economy
OdishaPlus Bureau
The changing role of finance executives as strategic leaders capable of driving enterprise growth, innovation and social transformation came into focus at a two-day seminar on “Corporate Leadership for Finance Executives” organised by the Angul Chapter of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI).
Inaugurating the seminar, former Chairman-cum-Managing Director of NALCO, Tapan Chand, called upon finance professionals to extend their leadership beyond conventional corporate functions and contribute towards building a “Swabalambi Yuva Samrudha Odisha” by mentoring youth, promoting entrepreneurship and supporting inclusive economic development.
Addressing finance professionals, industry leaders, entrepreneurs and members of ICMAI, Chand said the profession is witnessing a paradigm shift from “variance to vision, entity to enterprise and control to collaboration.” He stressed that finance executives must increasingly become facilitators of business growth by promoting ease of doing business, faster decision-making and value creation.
Chand said Odisha has set an aspirational target of achieving a $500 billion state GDP, which will further grow to $1500 billion by 2047. Referring to Odisha’s development aspirations, he said the ambitious economic growth targets can be achieved through innovation, productivity, investment and strong institutional leadership. He noted that finance professionals, with their ability to interpret and leverage data, have a critical role in enabling sustainable growth across sectors.
Chand observed that organizations perform better when finance teams adopt an enterprise-wide perspective instead of focusing solely on regulatory compliance. He encouraged young professionals to broaden their understanding of business operations and sectoral dynamics to prepare themselves for future leadership roles as CFOs and CEOs.
Highlighting the social dimension of corporate leadership, he said finance executives can contribute significantly by guiding aspiring entrepreneurs, strengthening financial awareness, communicating government development initiatives and recommending reforms that improve both ease of doing business and ease of living.
He also outlined the ‘PRAGATI’ framework—Productivity, Reforms, Addition of Value, Growth through Diversification, Automation, Technology, Innovation, Investment and Infrastructure—as the key drivers of sustainable economic growth and urged industries and institutions to align their strategies with these priorities.
Organised by the ICMAI Angul Chapter under the leadership of Chairman CMA Alok Tripathy two-day seminar featured technical sessions on the evolving role of finance leadership in the contemporary business environment. The deliberations focused on governance, strategic decision-making, business transformation and leadership. The programme also included interactive sessions and networking opportunities for finance professionals, tax consultants, entrepreneurs and industry representatives.