CIMA and leading think tank Tomorrow’s Company have brought business leaders from across India together at an event in Mumbai to create jointly tomorrow’s agenda for sustainable business.
Top executives from multinationals and leading national companies attended ‘Success through corporate sustainability – strategy, leadership and reporting’, a pioneering two day event hosted by Tata. Keynote addresses given by R Gopalakrishnan, Director, Tata Sons Ltd, and Kishore Chaukar, managing director, Tata Industries Ltd, stressed the vital need for organisations to look beyond objectives such as short term profits and revenues, focusing instead on the real future and wider purpose of business.
The event saw the Tomorrow's Value leadership programme, run jointly by CIMA and Tomorrow's Company, coming to India for the first time. It was also used as a platform to launch Tomorrow’s Company in India.
The programme engaged business leaders from across industry, including Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Tata Chemicals, PwC and Ernst & Young, and ICWAI. From the active discussions, and sharing of thoughts and ideas, came the building blocks required for driving long term business success.
A practical toolkit for business is being developed from the conference. CIMA and Tomorrow’s Company also shared the latest thinking on leadership and the new agenda on integrated reporting which takes environmental and other impacts into account.
Two cutting-edge reports were launched: ‘Sustainability performance management: How CFOs can unlock value’ by CIMA and Accenture, and ‘The invisible elephant and the pyramid treasure – tomorrow's leadership: the transpersonal journey’ (PDF 1.87MB) by Tomorrow’s Company, CIMA and LeaderShape.
Charles Tilley, chief executive at CIMA, declared: ‘There is a new urgency for businesses to define and measure long term business success. The way we value corporate entities has changed dramatically in recent times. Today, most of the valuations on market indices are off-balance sheet. In other words, they are not measured.’
‘In the wake of the recession, and the collapse of several large global organisations from the financial sector, we have worked with Tomorrow’s Company to help present a series of lectures exploring the theme ‘Tomorrow’s Value’. The programme brings together an outstanding series of speakers and contributors, and we are delighted to work with Tata to bring it to India.’
Tony Manwaring, chief executive at Tomorrow’s Company, said: ‘Business leaders today need to achieve success in the face of fierce global competitive pressure and uncertainty. The paradox of our times is that focusing narrowly on the bottom line at the exclusion of more sustainable growth has bepocome the least reliable way of achieving business success. The very drivers of value creation are changing as natural resources becomes scarce and human talent becomes abundant.
‘We have embarked on a unique journey to explore the future and purpose of business and the co creation of value. We are truly honoured to have worked closely with leading businesses in India, including Infosys, Dr Reddy’s, Mahindra & Mahindra, and, of course, Tata.’
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Notes to editors
1. About CIMA
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, founded in 1919, is the world’s leading and largest professional body of management accountants, with 183,000 members and students operating in 168 countries, working at the heart of business. CIMA members and students work in industry, commerce, the public sector and not for profit organisations.
CIMA works closely with employers and sponsors leading edge research, constantly updating its qualification, professional experience requirements and continuing professional development to ensure it remains the employers’ choice when recruiting financially trained business leaders.
Professionalism and ethics are at the core of CIMA’s activities with every member and student bound by rigorous standards so that integrity, expertise and vision are brought together.
CIMA is proud to be the first professional accounting body to offer a truly global product in the fast moving area of Islamic finance.
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2. About Tomorrow’s Company
Tomorrow's Company is the agenda setting ‘think and do’ tank which looks at the role of business and how to achieve enduring business success. We focus on strong relationships, clear purpose and values as the foundation of effective leadership and governance. In our programmes we challenge business leaders around the world to work in dialogue with others to tackle the toughest issues.
We promote systemic solutions, working across boundaries between business, investors, government and society. We believe that business can and must be a 'force for good’. This in turn requires a strengthening of stewardship by shareholders in partnership with boards of companies.
We argue that the age of sustainability has begun, and that in the future success and value creation will come from recognising the ‘triple context’ – the links between the economic, social and environmental sub-systems on which we all depend, and the opportunities this brings.
For more information about Tomorrow’s Company, please visit our website.
Follow CEO Tony Manwaring on Twitter.