In Papua New Guinea, banks play an important role in creating new capital, helping to grow the economy and in response transforms the nation.
‘‘Managing the disruption, Financial Impact and Economic Downturn’’ was the theme of the conference that saw 600 participants join the conference virtually with approximately 200 participants attending in person, ending today, on Friday 19th November, 2021.
During a two-day Certified Practicing Accounts (CPA) PNG & CPA Australia 25th Annual Conference based in PNG on 18 November, BSP Group Chief Operating Officer, Frank van der Poll said that while banks are part of the country’s transformation process, the sector is undergoing transformation as well.
“The FinTech ecosystem has become a real competitive force in the banking industry, forcing banks to transform. To address those challenges BSP Financial Group Limited formed the Digital Strategic Business Unit, to drive Digital transformation not just within BSP, but to transform the way people bank in the nations in which we operate.”
Mr Van der Poll explained that digital transformation within BSP Financial Group firstly means to rethink the customer experience based on a customer-oriented strategy.
BSP has over 100 Certified Practicing Accountants within the organisation and is pleased to be part of an event that enhances continuous professional development through such programs.
Over 12,000 participants have attended the conference in the last five years and CPA PNG membership continues to grow attracting graduates and raising the quality of CPA PNG reputation – 112 of which are BSP employees.
“The collaboration of banks and FinTech has the advantage of taking best practices and knowledge with the aim to improve people’s financial lives and ensuring that the unbanked become financially included.
“It is only natural to collaborate if we consider that each one is missing what the other one can offer. Banks learn more about technologies and technology companies need to know more about banking itself,” Mr Van der Poll said.
President of CPA Australia (PNG Branch) and BSP’s Group Chief Financial Officer, Ronesh Dayal, mentioned the impact of COVID-19 and how the conference could not be held last year, therefore, 2021’s conference presents a unique opportunity for accountants to reconnect as a profession for collaboration and learning.
He said that the conference highlights the vital role they play in accounting and finance in order to support businesses in their recovery path, showing that COVID-19 is not the only cause of disruption in their profession.
Since 1992, BSP has supported this event and with over a million kina in sponsorship, it is the major sponsor to date.
BSP proudly supports the CPA PNG Annual Conference again with K50, 000 to CPA for three conferences held in June, August and November in Kokopo, Lae and Port Moresby respectively.
