ICATT conference looks beyond oil and gas for survival

The role of entrepreneurs in the non-oil and creative sectors of the ecomony will be in the spotlight at the two-day Annual Finance and Accounting Conference to be hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago (ICATT) at the Hyatt Regency on November 9 and 10.

The agenda for Day One of the conference features former Miss Universe Wendy Fitzwilliam, an attorney-at-law and Co-Executive Producer, Caribbean Next Top Model, as the moderatorof a panel discussion on the topic Beyond Survival. Panellists will be Prof. Andrew Ramroop, OBE, CMTT, Master Tailor and Director of Maurice Sedwell, of Savile Row, London who was last week voted the UK’s Black Entrepreneur of the Year; award-winning businessman Dominic Hadeed, founder of Blue Waters, Chaud Café’s Owner and Director, Alison Mair Pascal and More Vino’s Christian Stone.

The topic - Beyond Survival - underscores the galvanising theme of the conference: Driving theUpturn – The Transformation to Longer-term Prosperity – and reinforces the critical role to be played by established and emerging business sectors, other than energy,in thediversification of the economy which can lead to economic prosperity.

On the heels of the 2017 budget statement, the first day of the ICATT conference will also feature a panel discussion on the theme Tax Incentives: Effectiveness in Driving Longer-term Prosperity, Sen. Allyson West, Minister in the Ministry of Finance has joined the panel along with economist Dr. Ronald Ramkissoon, and Nicole Joseph, Director, Tax Services, KPMG. Jason Julien, Deputy CEO, Business Generation, First Citizens Bank, will serve as moderator.

Day One agenda ends with a presentation by author and motivational speaker, Akosua Dardaine-Edwards, on the topic Our Future is Influenced by Our Past.As a gender and entrepreneurship specialist, Dardaine-Edwards is the founder of the Enabling Enterprise Project and has won awards for Social Entrepreneur of the Year in Trinidad and Tobago and Caribbean Female Social Entrepreneur of the Year from Global Innovation Partners.

An impressive line-up of practitioners in the fields of finance and accounting from Trinidad and Tobago, the wider Caribbean region, USA and UK, have been co-opted to address the conference on topics relevant to the theme and moderate and be members of various panel discussions.

Several corporate partners have come on board, headed by gold sponsors ACCA, Deliotte, eog resources, EY, Grant Thornton, KPMG, NIB, PKF, PwC and Trinidad & Tobago IFC.