UTAR Faculty of Business and Finance (FBF), Centre for Accounting, Banking and Finance, Centre for Business and Management and Centre for Economic Studies proudly organised the 10th International Conference on Business, Accounting, Finance and Economics (BAFE) 2022 on 11 October 2022 through Microsoft Teams.

Co-organised by UTAR Centre for Learning and Teaching, Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation (Philippines), University of Batangas (Philippines), Shenzhen University (China), Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics (China), Western Sydney University (Australia) and Universitas Airlangga (Indonesia), the annual conference themed ‘Creating Value via ESG and Sustainability in a Post-COVID-19 Pandemic World’ was attended virtually by over 80 participants comprising academics, researchers, students and working professionals from China, Hong Kong, Italy, Taiwan, the Philippines and more.

Held for the 10th consecutive year since 2013, BAFE 2022 aimed to bring together researchers to present up-to-date researches that contribute to new theoretical, methodological and empirical knowledge. The conference also invited theoretical and empirical papers on all aspects of business management, accounting, finance, and economics.

Officiating the opening ceremony were UTAR President Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat; Keynote Speakers Prof Dr Catherine Prentice from Griffith University, Australia, and Datin Sri Prof Dr Suhaiza Halim binti Dato Mohamad Zailani from Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. They were accompanied by UTAR FBF Dean Assoc Prof Dr Au Yong Hui Nee, Organising Chairperson of BAFE 2022 Assoc Prof Dr Choong Yuen Onn and representatives from co-organisers, namely Vice President for External Relations of Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation Prof Celso A. Jaballa, Dean of College of Business and Accountancy of Manuel S. Enverga University Dr Chattherine L. Guia, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, and College of Business and Accountancy of Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation Dr Flormando P. Baldovino, Associate Dean of College of Management Shenzhen University Prof Zhou Zhimin, conference presenters and participants.

Thanking the organising committee for the invitation and congratulating them for successfully organising the conference in a consistent manner, Prof Ewe mentioned, “The theme for BAFE 2022 is ‘Creating Value via ESG and Sustainability in a Post-Covid-19 Pandemic World’. It provides a platform to gather researchers to discuss and contribute to forming better Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies to help businesses integrate more sustainable practices. On that note, we are indeed thankful to our keynote speakers Prof Dr Catherine Prentice from Griffith University, Australia, and Datin Sri Prof Dr Suhaiza Halim binti Dato Mohamad Zailani from Universiti Malaya, Malaysia, for the opportunity to learn from their research, knowledge, and experience sharing. We also look forward to more fruitful discussions that will also contribute to new theoretical, methodological, and empirical knowledge on all aspects of business management, accounting, finance, and economics. I would also like to applaud the effort and commitment of the Organising Committee in organising this conference to promote research development, linkages and knowledge mobilisation among disciplines and across institutions, sectors, and regions, as well as to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information on critical research issues among scholars and researchers.”

Highlighting the significance of the BAFE 2022 conference in times of post-COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Au Yong mentioned, “The world economy is experiencing more challenging times with market uncertainties with post-COVID-19 pandemic. On the environmental front, the environmental problem faced by humankind is climate change. Technology-wise, the fourth industrial revolution is changing the business landscape and operation. The digital financial services industry is undergoing explosive development. These processes are clearly interrelated; for globalisation would make little sense if it did not involve consideration of global digital interchanges and environmental problems. These illustrate just three of the many significant challenges to society in defining the things which should be studied. Therefore, in today’s conference, I hope the presenters and participants will learn how to manage uncertainties through a sustainable development mindset. I would like to extend my appreciation to Organising Chairman Dr Choong Yuen Onn, Organising Committee members and reviewers for their great dedication in making this year’s conference a reality.”

Emphasising the objective of BAFE 2022, Organising Chairperson Dr Choong enthused, “BAFE is a multidisciplinary international conference on business, accounting, finance, and economics and it provides a forum for scholars from diverse backgrounds to share their latest research findings on the current global issues. This year’s conference includes digitalisation in finance and accounting industries, health and digital economy, society and sustainable pandemic-based educational research, digital marketing and many more. Despite the turbulent times, we have received more than 60 papers, consisting of local papers, and international papers from China, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, India and Pakistan. Their inputs will certainly stimulate profound discussions to bring forward ideas for progress and improvement that will advance research in the various areas of business, accounting, finance, and economics.”

The conference kick-started with two educative keynote addresses by Prof Catherine Prentice and Datin Sri Prof Suhaiza. The keynote addresses were live-streamed after the opening speeches. In her keynote address, titled “Publishing with Impact”, Prof Catherine shared her knowledge about research in simple terms and explained how to communicate with research and increase its impact. Datin Sri Prof Suhaiza delivered a significant keynote address, titled “Post Pandemic Challenges to Malaysia’s Halal Supply Chain Sustainability”. She shared her expertise on the issues of sustainability and halal.

The BAFE 2022 is a key initiative in providing a significant prospect for researchers and scholars to present their research findings. The successful BAFE 2022 saw the submission of more than 60 papers. The participants of the conference came all the way from China, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, India and Pakistan while the rest included local educational institutions, UTAR lecturers, staff, postgraduate and undergraduate students.
A total of 42 presentations on various topics including accounting, auditing and taxation, financial economics, technology in business, finance, global and institutional economics, organisational strategy and behaviour, banking, education management, banking and finance, societal contribution, business management strategy and tourism services, were delivered.

The presentation sessions began after the keynote addresses. It took place concurrently in two parallel sessions.

Adding to the presentations was the announcement of the winners of the BAFE 2022 Best Paper Award and the BAFE 2022 Best Presentation Award.

The list of winners is as follows:

The six supporting journals of BAFE 2022 were the International Journal of Management Studies, the Journal of Marketing Advances and Practices, The International Journal of Banking and Finance, The Journal of Management Theory and Practice, The Global Business Management Review and the Journal of Economics and Sustainability.

The main sponsor of BAFE 2022 was the Malaysian Association of Company Secretaries.