Execs group seeks more foreign group tie-ups, info drive

THE Financial Executives Institute of Cebu, Inc., (FINEX Cebu), the Cebu chapter of a national organization of  finance professionals and practitioners, is actively pursuing partnerships with more international organizations and is intensifying information drives for its member financial executives and partners in the academe.

This is to address the shortage of financial executives in Cebu and to improve the skills of these Cebu executives  to be at par with their foreign counterparts.

There is an increasing demand of financial executives because of the fast-paced growth of Cebu, which has gained the attention of many local and international businesses and investors, said current FINEX Cebu president Alice Uy, during the group’s third general membership meeting.

Uy also said the chapter is in constant communication with its academe partners to update the students on global movements for the financial executive world and inspire them to become financial executives.

Included in its roster of partner schools are the University of San Carlos, University of San Jose Recoletos, University of Visayas and the University of Cebu – Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue Campus.

“Some students do not know or understand the possibilities of a career path as a financial executive,” she said, citing that information drives and motivational talks for students could possibly address the demand for more executives in the city.

Uy, who also teaches finance subjects in a university, believes that the education for financial graduates is “well-standardized.”

She added that these standards are globally competitive and are patterned after the current international standards for financial executives.

“When we produce graduates of finance, they are really global standard, and not only that, we encourage them to take certifications,” she said. “These certifications will also help them work abroad.”

In effect, Filipino financial executives will be able to compete with their international executives come ASEAN integration, she said. “I can see the direction of Filipinos expanding outside for the services of finance and accountancy, instead of executives coming in.”

Meanwhile, FINEX Cebu is also launching its first FINEX Week in September to help encourage students and executives to “upgrade themselves” and become at par with the current changes in the finance world.

Activities in the FINEX week include the hosting of the Philippine Junior Finance and Investment Summit.
Another activity is a talk on business matching between FINEX members and the Turkish Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (TCCP).

Uy said that the partnership between FINEX Cebu and TCCP is an initiative of the Cebu chapter. At present, FINEX Cebu is the only chapter exploring possible business agreements with the Turkish Chamber.

At present, FINEX Cebu has over 80 member financial executives. Included in their fold are accountants, business owners, insurance companies, bank executives and their partners in the academe.