(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The development of human capital is among the key factors that could help companies achieve growth and sustainability, an industry expert said.
Chartered Institutes of Management Accountants (Cima) former president Malcolm Furber was in Doha recently for a training workshop that underscores the importance of creating an organisation that is "agile, nimble, and sustainable."
"Areas such as financial services or computer software development rest upon human intellect and brain power; more and more, it is coming down to people skills rather than natural resources," Furber told Gulf Times in an interview.
Cima head of GCC-Middle East Geetu Ahuja stressed that human capital has become a top priority among companies, but she also described it as a major challenge for management executives.
"Human capital is the essence of board meetings"getting that combination right critically is going to be the pillars and the foundation of your business. It is the top priority but also the top challenge," she said.
Ahuja also stressed the importance for businesses to be up-to-date and relevant amid the rapid changes in technology.
"Being relevant does not only mean having professionals that may have experience or certain educational or professional background, but having competencies that are up-to-date."
"The responsibility of Cima is to make sure we have a backbone to support these professions or organisations to be up-to-date with competencies that are required for businesses to be successful and sustainable," she explained.
Furber also underscored the value of "recognising all languages in the organisation" to understand the business as a whole. "Using a competency framework creates a culture in an organisation where a common wavelength becomes useful to everyone," he said.
Ahuja explained that Cima's competency framework revolves around four main principles: accounting and technical skills, as well as business, people, and leadership skills, all of which are underpinned by ethics and professionalism.
"This competency framework is known to craft businesses and finance leaders, and provides individuals a wider perspective of business understanding; this enables them to move towards the organisation goal, which needs to be successful and sustainable," Ahuja said.
Furber also said one of the key successes within the finance function is continuing professional and personal development.
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