Conference on Digital Transformation of Financial Markets 2022

About the Conference

The financial sector has a unique opportunity to drive positive change, leveraging upon technological advancements to address the challenges of our time. By optimising how businesses track and report their ESG performance, digital transformation can create opportunities for sustainable investing and drive long-term value creation. 

Join us at the Conference on Digital Transformation of Financial Markets: Strategies and Data for Sustainability and Environment, taking place on Friday 7 October 2022, 2:00 to 4:00 PM at SMU School of Accountancy, Level 2, Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium [Map].

Organised by SMU School of Accountancy Research Centre (SOAR), the Conference on Digital Transformation of Financial Markets: Strategies and Data for Sustainability and Environment, provides insights into how we can enhance our positive impact on the environment, society and economy. 

Explore the financial trajectories that are shaping sustainability initiatives, through the lens of digitisation, alongside our curated panel of industry and academic experts:

• How public-private partnership is needed to move the needle on ESG in Singapore;
• Insights into the controversies around the data acquisitions, and how these may be resolved using digital means; Challenges faced by the CSOs on ESG reporting and disclosure mandates, and their real effects.

About the speaker

Prior to becoming Provost of SMU, Dr Timothy Clark was Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Social Sciences and Health) at Durham University, United Kingdom, where he was also Executive Lead for Computer and Information Services (CIS) and Estates and Buildings.

Dr Clark joined Durham University as Professor of Organisational Behaviour (2002-19), becoming Chair of the Board of Studies (Head of Department) at Durham University Business School (2007-10). He was appointed Dean of Graduate School and Internationalisation at Durham University (2010-12), and Dean and Deputy to Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education) (2012-15). He also served as Executive Lead for Computer and Information Services (CIS) and Estates and Buildings from 2018.

Before joining Durham University, he served as a Research Fellow in International Management at the Open University and a Reader in Management at King’s College London.

Sunny Verghese is the Co-founder and Group CEO of Olam, and post the re-organisation of the Group, he holds charge as CEO of Olam Global Agri and Olam International. Olam is listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and ranks amongst the top 30 companies in Singapore in terms of market capitalization.

Sunny is a thought leader in sustainability, particularly in the food and agriculture sector. Under his leadership, Olam has been a pioneer and at the forefront of Climate and Sustainability initiatives.

In April 2022, Sunny was appointed as Chairman of GenZero, Temasek’s Carbon Solutions Platform. He is also currently Chairman of the Board of the Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI), Singapore, Chairman of JOil (S) Pte Ltd and also serves on the Board of Trustees of Singapore Management University. 

From 2018 to 2021, Sunny was Chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the global, CEO-led organisation dedicated to accelerating the transition to a sustainable world. He was also a Commissioner of the Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC) in 2016. He served on the Board of International Enterprise Singapore from 2002 to 2013 and was its Chair from 2008 to 2013

He has won several awards including ‘Outstanding Chief Executive’ at the Singapore Business Awards in 2007, ‘Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ for Singapore in 2008 and ‘Best CEO of the Year 2011’ at the Singapore Corporate Awards. Sunny was conferred The Public Service Medal by the Government of Singapore in August 2010.

Sunny holds a post graduate management degree from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) and has also completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) from the Harvard Business School. Sunny was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni by IIMA in its Golden Jubilee Celebrations in 2011.

Irene is the Regional Strategy and Consulting Lead for Accenture's Finance, Risk and Compliance practice in APAC. She has worked on banking industry wide initiatives alongside with the Monetary Authority of Singapore to develop RegTech solutions that solve regulatory reporting issues and ESG risk assessment, analytics and reporting solutions. She also sits on the global Enterprise Data Management Council's Women Data Professionals APAC Board and is part of its global ESG Working Committee, focusing on the impact of ESG data requirements. She sits on the Singapore Management University's Data and Analytics Board and is also an adjunct faculty with the University.

Chun Huan is the CFO of KTC group, a diverse civil engineering and construction group. He oversees the overall financial management of the group covering financial reporting, treasury, cash management and financial performance measurement. Prior to joining KTC, Mr. Liaw was the Chief Financial Officer of Fu Yu Corporation Limited, a main board listed company in Singapore. Mr. Liaw has a Master of Business Administration (Mandarin) from The National University of Singapore and a Bachelor of Accountancy from Nanyang Technological University. He is a fellow of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants.

Mr Eric Lim is the Chief Sustainability Officer at UOB. He leads a dedicated corporate sustainability office that is focused on achieving the Bank's sustainability objectives of helping businesses to advance responsibly, steering consumer wealth to sustainable investments and fostering social inclusiveness and environmental well-being. 

Concurrently, Eric is also the Head of Group Finance, where he is responsible for the Bank’s core finance functions spanning financial strategy, capital management, regulatory and financial reporting, tax management, business finance and performance management. 

Eric holds positions in other key UOB management committees, including Chairperson of the Group Sustainability Committee. He is also a member of the Asset and Liability Committee and the Management Committee, and holds directorships in UOB affiliated companies. 

Prior to joining UOB, Eric was Managing Director and Head of Wholesale Banking Finance, Singapore and Southeast Asia for Standard Chartered Bank, responsible for driving the strategic partnership between the wholesale business and finance teams. During this time, Eric was responsible for the finance functions covering commercial banking, financial markets and investment banking. 

Eric began his career with GE Capital where he took on various executive positions in the areas of financial planning and analysis, mergers and acquisitions, audit and controllership. He lived and worked in more than 20 countries, with particular focus in the USA and Japan during that time.

Eric holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from the Nanyang Technological University and an Executive Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Mr R. Raghunathan (Raghu) is the Chief Executive Officer of the World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore (WWF-Singapore) since April 2020. WWF-Singapore is a regional hub for one of the world’s largest conservation organisations. 

As CEO, Raghu is focused on shaping conservation strategies with global impact and local relevance, bringing communities, businesses and governments together to enable change. He believes in making a positive impact for the world by empowering people to take climate action and restore our natural biodiversity. 

Raghu brings more than 25 years of extensive and diversified experience in management and finance consulting, having spearheaded successful business transformation strategies for organisations in Singapore and the region. Prior to joining WWF-Singapore, Raghu provided consulting services related to the implementation of digital technologies, working with industry associations, government agencies and local small and medium enterprises in Singapore. He is also a former partner and leader in the Consulting practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Singapore. 

Raghu graduated from the University of New Delhi with an Honours Degree in Commerce. He is also an executive committee member at SINDA (Singapore Indian Development Association), a self-help group that uplifts the socio-economic status of the Indian community in Singapore.

Dr Simon J.D. Schillebeeckx is Assistant Professor of Strategic Management at the Singapore Management University. Prior to joining SMU, Simon obtained a PhD in Management from Imperial College London, worked in sustainable innovation consulting, and read Corporate Social Responsibility (MA, Nottingham University) and Commercial Engineering (BSc & MSc, Catholic University of Leuven). Simon’s research focuses on the intersection of digitization and sustainability. Outside academia, Simon co-founded the Global Mangrove Trust (GMT), a non-profit that uses blockchain and remote sensing to support mangrove reforestation and Handprint, a fast-scaling venture on a mission to integrate positive impact in every business transaction.

Dr Wang Jiwei has over 15 years’ industry and academia experience in corporate reporting, data & analytics and equity valuation. He is one of the key faculty at SMU who developed the new data & analytics curriculum in the accounting and finance domain. He is also the founding program director of the MSc in Accounting (Data & Analytics) program. Dr Wang has been doing applied research on international accounting standards, corporate governance, and securities regulation. He published research papers in prestigious international journals such as Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Journal of Banking and Finance and Journal of Business Ethics. He served on the editorial boards to the International Journal of Business, International Journal of Accounting, and Singapore Accountant. His research has been profiled in the Financial Times and the Straits Times.

Ms Beh Siew Kim is appointed the Chief Financial & Sustainability Officer, Lodging, CapitaLand Investment with a concurrent role as Managing Director, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Japan and Korea, The Ascott Limited on 1 Aug 2022. She is also a non-independent , non-executive director of Ascott Residence Trust (ART).

Ms Beh was the Chief Executive Officer of the Managers of ART, listed on SGX, the largest hospitality trust in Asia Pacific, from 1 May 2017 till 1 July 2022. Ms Beh spearheads the overall strategic planning and implementation of investment and operational strategies for ART. In addition, she oversees the strategic management of ESG in ART's key processes so as to deliver sustainable stakeholder value over the long term whilst growing responsibly. During her tenure, Ms Beh has successfully grown ART’s assets under management from S$4.7 billion to S$7.7 billion. She has led numerous transactions, including the landmark merger between ART and Ascendas Hospitality Trust in 2019. Under her leadership, ART has also been recognised for its excellence in sustainability and corporate governance. In 2021, ART was named the ‘Global Sector Leader – Hotel’ in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB). ART was ranked 1st in the Singapore Governance and Transparency Index for REITs and Business Trusts in 2021 and 2022. ART was also recently the first hospitality trust globally to issue a sustainability linked bond in April 2022.

Ms Beh has over 25 years of experience in investment, financial and corporate planning, development, compliance and audit.

Dr. Cheng Qiang is Dean and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Accounting at School of Accountancy at the Singapore Management University.  He joined Singapore Management University in 2011 as the Associate Dean (Research) at School of Accountancy.  Dr. Cheng graduated from Tsinghua University, Beijing and received his PhD in the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US in 2002.  He has previously taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Washington.

An award-winning researcher and teacher, Dr. Cheng has published over thirty articles in leading scholarly accounting and finance journals, including The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting and Economics, and Journal of Financial Economics.  He conducts research on various financial reporting and disclosure issues, including how corporate governance and family ownership affect corporate decisions, how investors use accounting information for valuation purposes, how executives affect financial reporting and disclosure decisions for their self-interests, and how security analysts help disseminate information in the capital markets. His current research focuses on the impact of digitalization on corporate decisions and ESG-related disclosure issues.

Dr. Cheng previously served as an editor of The Accounting Review and a Council Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA). He currently serves on the Research Committee of the American Accounting Association (AAA).  He served as the president of the Chinese Accounting Professors' Association of North America from 2009 to 2010.

Isaac Lee is the Asia-Pacific Lead for Bloomberg’s Sustainable Finance Solutions. Based in Singapore, he is responsible for business development, market strategy and client adoption of Bloomberg’s comprehensive suite of ESG solutions. These solutions include ESG data, emissions estimates, climate tools, ESG regulatory & reporting capabilities and the overall integration of sustainable investing tools across the Bloomberg Terminal and Bloomberg’s business verticals. He regularly provides inputs on industry consultation papers and is a member of the MAS GFIT Taxonomy Working Group. The last 16 years at Bloomberg, Isaac has led a number of Sales & Enterprise Product Support groups across Asia in its Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore offices. 

Isaac graduated with Honors (B.Eng - EEE) from Nanyang Technological University and completed various post-graduate programs including GARP’s SCR certification. 

Dr Darian McBain is the Chief Sustainability Officer for the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Dr McBain has more than 20 years of deep experience in sustainability roles spanning across various sectors. Prior to this was most recently Global Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability in Thai Union Group, a leading global seafood supplier conglomerate. Dr McBain holds a PhD in social indicators for global supply chain analysis, MSc in Business Strategy, Politics and Environment, and a Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental). She was named as a United Nations SDG Pioneer for a Sustainable Ocean Economy in 2021, and one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business 2020.

Her previous work includes serving as the Sustainable Procurement Lead for the UK’s National Health Service, advising the United Nations, working with WWF on palm oil and supply risk analysis, and heading her own strategy and sustainability consultancy. She is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer of Integrated Sustainability Analysis at the University of Sydney and is a published author and spokesperson on issues relating to sustainability, sustainable finance, business human rights and supply chains.

Darian’s work has been highly recognized. She is the recipient of the Edie Sustainability Leader of the Year Award 2018, Ethical Corporation 2018 Responsible Business Leader of the Year, SeaWeb Seafood Leader of the Year for Vision 2019, CSR Asia’s Sustainability Superwomen 2019, Anti-Slavery Australia’s Freedom Award 2019, one of Intrafish’s Seafood Power 100 Most Influential Executives 2020, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business for 2020, Harvard Business Council 2020 International Business Excellence Professional Award, Advance award winner for Sustainability 2021, and was named a UNGC Sustainable Development Goal Pioneer for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.

Dr Liandong Zhang is Professor of Accounting at School of Accountancy at the Singapore Management University. He joined Singapore Management University in 2017 as the Associate Dean (Research) at School of Accountancy. Dr Zhang graduated from Tsinghua University, Beijing and received his PhD Degree in Accounting from Nanyang Technological University in 2008. He has previously taught at the Concordia University in Canada and City University of Hong Kong. His current research interests include financial reporting quality, corporate governance, and taxation. He currently teaches Accounting Theory.

Programme

FRIDAY 7 OCTOBER 2022

2:00 TO 4:00 PM

Conference Venue:
SMU School of Accountancy, Level 2, Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium [Map]

Registration

Conference on Digital Transformation of Financial Markets: Strategies and Data for Sustainability and Environment

Registration is free | Closing Date: Monday 3 October 2022, 11:59 PM SGT

Getting Here

Conference Venue:

SMU School of Accountancy
Level 2, Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium
Address: 60 Stamford Road, S178900 [Map]

Nearest Carpark:

SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business, 50 Stamford Road, S178899

Directions:

1. Come from Stamford Road.
2. Turn right into Lee Kong Chian School of Business car park entrance.
3. Drive to Basement 2, towards the School of Accountancy (marked by maroon colored pillars)
4. Take the lift to level 1 and approach the Security Post to enter the school building.