“HIGH standards of accountability and financial management are essential to rebuilding trust in Jamaica’s public sector,” according to them minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance & the Public Service, Fayval Williams – now minister of science energy and technology.

Her remarks were part of her wide-ranging keynote address at the official launch, on February 7, 2019, of the 37th Annual Caribbean Conference of Accountants to take place in Kingston, Jamaica from June 20-22, 2019.

Williams recognised the integral role played by professional accountants in ensuring greater accountability and financial management that will result in “better allocation of resources, greater efficiencies and a better quality of life for all”.

She also used the occasion to express her view that the four forces shaping the world today were the changing global distribution of trade, urbanisation, technological revolution and an ageing world population.

She noted that those forces made the conference’s theme, “Navigating Global Disruption…Creating Opportunities”, most timely and relevant.

Also speaking at the launch of the annual conference of professional accountants in the English-speaking Caribbean was Anthony Pierre, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC), who pointed out that the conference will address the pressing issues of rebuilding trust, climate change, wellness, artificial intelligence/emerging technologies and engaging millennials and generation Z.

Lauding the selection of speakers, who are experts in their field, Pierre said New York Times best-selling author Stephen M R Covey of The Speed of Trust, billed to deliver the keynote at the June 20-22 event, will explore three key areas with conference participants: “How economic and business performances are directly related to trust; that trust is the number one competency for effective leadership and that trust is a learnable skill”.

Covey, during a video presentation at the launch, said that he was looking forward to his discussions with accounting professionals of the Caribbean as their profession is key to building trust in leadership.

The conference, which is being hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ), will showcase a combination of technical presentations and cultural/entertainment experiences that are in store for the expected 600 participants and will make the event both historic and memorable.

ICAJ president, Raymond Campbell, and the conference chair, Gail Moore, both told the audience that the topics and speakers were carefully selected based on the shifting paradigms of the current period.

Among the world-class presenters will be Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, global accounting strategy director for the financial and professional services industries for Oracle America, a leader in cloud solutions and enterprise technology.

“She will provide insight to help drive innovation in this important domain, particularly as the computing paradigm shifts to Cloud and SaaS, and is therefore the perfect presenter for the topic ‘AI and Emerging Technologies are Transforming our Profession’,” stated Moore.