FINEX and IAFEI
Business networking has emerged as one of the soft skills necessary for finance professionals to succeed in the competitive marketplace of today.
Given the unprecedented ‘equalization’ of global skills and competencies, and the competitiveness of the finance job in the marketplace, one aspect where finance professionals contribute uniquely is their distinctive professional network, the ‘informal chain of contacts usable for mutual assistance and support.’ In today’s world, it is not just what you know, and where you learnt it, but also who you know that counts increasingly in one’s professional progress.
Why do finance professionals need to network?
Venda-Raye Johnson, author of the book ‘Effective Networking’ says it best, “We live the age of knowledge and change. The right information, the best resources, and the strongest support are needed to keep focused in the midst of change. Effective networking helps us keep our balance and perspective in a world of change”.
Finance professionals benefit from networking in myriad ways, and some key advantages are: access to information; ideas and contacts; opportunities (job, career, business, personal); and friendships and professional relationships.
FINEX and IAFEI
Joining organizations and actively participating in them are the best ways to come in contact with a multitude of people in the finance profession. In the Philippines, the national level association for finance professionals is the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX). It provides finance professionals a platform to stay informed, build relationships and participate in advocacy, not available in any other forum.
At the international level, an organization that can bring unprecedented global networking and information opportunities at the door of finance professionals is the International Association of Financial Executives Institutes (IAFEI).
IAFEI is a private, non-profit, nonpolitical international association, which (as its name suggests) is an international association of finance associations — an association of organizations. Founded in 1969, IAFEI now has 23 member institutes, with a total membership of about 14,000 financial executives worldwide. IAFEI, as a powerful force in the financial community, is recognized and respected in accounting, financial and governmental circles around the world. Its purpose is to promote networking opportunities for member institutes to:
● build and improve mutual understanding internationally among financial executives through the exchange of financial information, experiences and ideas;
● provide a basis for international cooperation among financial executives towards making financial systems and regulations more uniform, compatible and harmonious worldwide; and
“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you are, whoever you are, you need one!” - Jane Howard