Balancing Finance and Fairways by Following His Father’s Legacy
Raqibul Faiaze Mohammad Ikramah, FCCA CPA, the Head of Financial Accounting and Reporting at Grameenphone, Vice Chair, Members Advisory Committee (MAC) of ACCA Bangladesh, has followed his father’s footsteps to the golf course. Despite a very demanding corporate job, the finance Professional makes time to play the game of golf, with his father and for his father, a retired Brigadier General of Bangladesh Army. In this interview with TheGolfHouse, the successful high-official of
Grameenphone talks about his father’s passion for golf, his own attachment with the game and the connect between success on the golf course and corporate field.
Share with our readers about yourself and your professional life.
From starting as a Specialist in financial reporting at Grameen phone to now leading the Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR) department as Deputy Director, it’s been a learning and enjoyable ride since mid-2016. Before joining GP, I gained valuable experience at KPMG in Bangladesh.
Professionally, I am a proud Fellow of ACCA and a CPA Australia member too and trying my best to contribute to the betterment of the finance & accounting profession. Also on a voluntary perspective, currently I am serving as Vice Chair of the Member Advisory Committee (MAC) of ACCA Bangladesh and co-leading few community-based committees under MAC. I am also a proud alumnus of North South University (NSU).
How did you first get into golf, and what inspired you to pursue it alongside your corporate career?
Getting into golf is an emotional story for me actually. Golf is to me a mode of giving time to my father and respecting his passion and love towards this amazing game. When I was a small kid, I used to go to the golf field with my father in the early morning; this journey started from Jessore Golf Club around 28+ years ago. From there on, my father, my coach, always inspired me to become regular in golf. Alhamdulillah, I still get the opportunity to play with him and I feel my father becomes very happy when I play golf; my father is very passionate regarding golf. After attaining a certain age-limit as per the rules of Kurmitola Golf Club and Army Golf Club, I converted my dependent membership to independent membership.
Since you mentioned your father brought you to the golf course, tell us about the role he played in shaping your passion for golf ?
Frankly speaking, I was inspired by his passion towards golf and it was a very effective way for me to give time to my father too. On the tournament nights, I used to attend prize-giving ceremonies with my parents and after marriage, my wife also used to join us; hence, for me to able to give quality time to my parents also played a significant role.
Obviously, he apprised me about the benefits of playing golf at various stages of my life.
Could you share any memorable moments on the golf course with your father that impacted your golfing life ?
Moments are many but can be clubbed into one category; every moment that I passed on the field with my father is a memorable moment for me actually. Special moments are when I used to observe my father getting trophies in the tournaments; I won some but nothing like compared to him.
Balancing a demanding corporate role with golf can be challenging. How do you manage your time effectively to excel in both areas?
Fully agree and it’s a challenging one. Currently, I am more regular in the winter season and on weekends. Eagerly waiting for my two toddlers to grow up more; so that I can find more time to remain in the field.
Is there a piece of wisdom or advice from your father that you apply in your professional golf or corporate career?
There are many things that I apply by learning from him; if I say from my top of my mind, the following things will be in priority:
-Don’t run after money; instead run after earning respect
-Don’t panic when you will not have any solution at first glance
-Power of trusting your loved ones/ empowering others
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To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
Winning my first trophy in junior category and last trophy in men’s category. I don’t play that well but earlier won some awards in amateur tournaments.
What parallels, if any, do you see between the skills required for success in golf and those needed in the professional world?
Maybe other than the technical / functional skills, many required soft skills / attributes are very common in both areas to become successful. Sharing such top 4/5 skills from my point of view:
-Patience
-Consistency
-Practice / preparation
-Team player: Though it is an individual game, it is played in a team.
-Discipline / respecting rules rigorously
What is the best thing about golf?
Tricky question indeed. Let me share few things to describe why I like golf apart from my attachment with father;
-It gives me some alone time to think about life
-Opportunity to learn new things and perspectives from fellow respected golfers
-Green fields
-Associated health benefits
How do you believe your passion for golf enhances your performance and leadership abilities within the community and professional life?
My passion for golf always teaches me that I cannot become successful most of the time on a consistent basis. Such failures give me a constant reminder of the value of remaining humble and the sense that life is not always about winning everything but enjoying every moment. Maybe such philosophy is helping me a lot in contributing to the profession and community.
The value of consistency and the value of remaining focused
all the time are crucial in both golf and my professional life.”
In your view, does the patience and resilience built on the golf course translate into better problem-solving in the professional life?
Yes, I fully agree. I would also like to add two more things:, the value of consistency and value of remaining focused all the time.
Do you believe playing golf with other individuals makes you a better version of yourself ?
Obviously. I usually don’t play golf with a specific group. Most of the time I get a team of unknown, good-hearted, experienced fellow golfers in the team. Whenever I play with fellow golfers, I get to learn new things and perspectives; obviously such learning and the urge to learn from everyone helps me a lot to contribute in the profession and community.
Question for Faiaze’s Father:
How do you feel when you see your son is following your passion for golf?
Response of Brigadier General Abdul Mannan Miah (Retd.)
Undoubtedly, I feel very happy when I see my son is also following my passion. I really love this game and am passionate about playing regularly, given my health condition permits. I wish Faiaze loads of success in golf and professional life. Lastly I am proud of him.
