ICAN Organizes First CFO Conference 2026 and Honors Winners of National Best Presented Awards 2025
June 30th June, 2026, Kathmandu, Nepal
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN) successfully organized the First CFO Conference 2026 under the theme “Leading Beyond Finance, Shaping the Future”, alongside the National Best Presented Awards (NBPA) 2025 Ceremony, celebrating excellence in financial reporting, corporate governance, and transparency.
The conference brought together Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), finance leaders, regulators, policymakers, Chartered Accountants, and industry experts to discuss the evolving role of finance leadership in Nepal’s economic development, while the BPA ceremony recognized organizations that have demonstrated outstanding financial reporting practices.
In the inaugural session, Chairman of Members in Industry Committee and Council Member of ICAN, CA (Dr.) Sunil Devkota delivered his opening remarks on ICAN’s role in Celebrating the CFO’s Role followed by opening remarks of CA Nil Bahadur Saru Magar, President of ICAN, highlighted ICAN’s commitment to developing future-ready finance leaders capable of driving innovation, ethical governance, and sustainable economic growth. Delivering the keynote address, CA Ratna Raj Bajracharya, Past President of ICAN and former CEO of various commercial banks, emphasized the increasingly strategic role of CFOs in shaping Nepal’s financial future.
The CFO Conference featured technical presentations by CA Abhishek Saraf, Vice President – Finance & Information Technology, Surya Nepal Pvt. Ltd., on “CFO Beyond the Balance Sheet: The CFO as Strategic Navigator,” and CA Manoj Gyawali, CEO of Nabil Bank Ltd., on “The Evolving CFO Mindset: From Operation to Strategist.”
A key attraction of the conference was the panel discussion titled “Everything Needs Finance: CFOs at the Crossroads – Building Nepal’s Financial Future,” where experts discussed the changing responsibilities of CFOs in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital transformation, automation, sustainability reporting, governance, and emerging Virtual CFO (vCFO) services.
The panel featured CA Suraj Lamichhane, Financial Controller, Ncell Axiata Ltd.; Md. Yasir Arafin, CFO, Standard Chartered Bank Ltd.; CA Suraj Rajbahak CFO and Company Secretary, Shikhar Insurance Co. Ltd.; and CA Vipin Vihari Pangeni, General Manager, CG Corp Global which was moderated by CA Aman Uprety, Council member, ICAN. The panelists shared insights on finance transformation across industries, implementation of Nepal Financial Reporting Standards (NFRS), technology-enabled reporting, and the importance of collaboration among regulators, industry, academia, and technology providers.
The National Best Presented Annual Reports Awards (NBPA) 2025 ceremony was a major highlight of the day, recognizing organizations that demonstrated excellence in financial reporting, transparency, and corporate governance across various sectors.
The prestigious Gold Awards were presented to Nabil Bank Ltd. in the Private Sector Banking category, Kamana Sewa Bikas Bank Ltd. in the Financial Services category, Nepal Life Insurance Co. Ltd. in the Life Insurance category, Shikhar Insurance Co. Ltd. in the General Insurance category, and Unilever Nepal Ltd. in the Manufacturing Sector category in recognition of their outstanding achievements in financial reporting, corporate governance, and transparency.
In addition, ICAN conferred 6 Silver Awards, 5 Bronze Awards, and 18 Certificates of Merit, recognizing outstanding reporting practices across banking, insurance, manufacturing, communication and IT, service, corporate governance, and integrated reporting categories. A total of 34 awards were distributed during the ceremony.
The assessment covered 34 organizations representing various 11 sectors with 39 nominations, reaffirming the growing commitment of Nepalese organizations toward transparency, accountability, and high-quality financial reporting.
Concluding the program, CA Anand Raj Sharma Wagle, Vice President of ICAN, summarized the key deliberations of the CFO Conference and congratulated the BPA award recipients. He reaffirmed ICAN’s continued commitment to strengthening the accounting profession, promoting excellence in corporate reporting, and developing finance leaders capable of contributing to Nepal’s sustainable economic growth.
The successful organization of the First CFO Conference 2026 alongside the National Best Presented Awards 2025 reflects ICAN’s ongoing efforts to foster professional excellence, recognize best reporting practices, and strengthen the role of finance leadership in Nepal.
