Author demystifies making of lucrative ‘Financial Services deMystified’
The author related in an exclusive interview with Virgin Islands News Online that Financial Services makes too much of a significant contribution to the VI industry and not enough Virgin Islanders (VIslanders) are aware of it or what is done in it and how it impacts the economy.
The author noted that the book intends to make clear what is done in the financial services industry, while explaining that the VI annual budget is around $279M and the Financial Services accounts for approximately $165M, which is more than half of the national budget.
Ms Hull further explained that for years there had been talk of a book that needed to be commissioned so that VIslanders could be familiarised with Financial Services but nothing was done.
Once she had gained the necessary experience and realised that the book had still had not been written, Ms Hull decided to take on the challenge of writing it.
“The book deals with all aspects of financial services that might be relevant to an introductory level student,” the author related.
Among other things, it encompasses the incorporation of companies, dynamics and mechanics of shares and how they are issued, dividends (how shareholders OF companies get their money back) the role of the registered office and registered agent, regulatory matters such as investment business, mutual funds, banks and fiduciary services, money services business and then the book concludes with a discussion on the continuation and dissolution of companies.
The author revealed that she tried to paint a story from incorporation to dissolution and everything in between in order for the students to get an idea of what happens when the company begins up until the time it is ready to come to an end.
Ms Hull said she was inspired by her faith throughout and was particularly encouraged by the Holy Spirit to proceed with the writing of the book. “ I've lived the Christian life for some time now so I depend a lot on spiritual advice that comes to me,” she related.
Work on the book started sometime in July 2011 and continued for the remainder of the year into early February when it reached the stage of a rough edit.
Ms Hull revealed that she met with the Minister for Education sometime after he had learnt that she was in the process of doing a book on Financial Services and it was explained to her that the government was interested in having a book done to be introduced during the upcoming school year.
A government issued contract in the sum of $85,000 was later awarded for the commissioning of $1000 copies of the book. Now that copies of the book have been printed and shipped, a launch has been scheduled for 4:30 P.M. on Thursday, October 11, 2012 at the Breezeway of the Central Administration Complex Building.
An extract from the government issued release on the book launch quoted the author as saying “A person picking up Financial Services demystified has a better understanding of the BVI Business Companies Act because it is laid out in chapters as opposed to going through the entire act (BVI Business Companies Act) to find different points.”
She continued, “Specific legislation like the Securities and Investment Business Act, the Banks and Trust Companies Act, The Regulatory Code, the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, anything that impacts the BVI Business Companies Act was pulled in so that the students can understand that it really is a plethora of legislation that runs the financial services industry.”
She said that the book can be used as a stepping stone to introduce students to career opportunities in the financial services and expose young people to Corporate BVI.
The final product, the author explained, was very user friendly and looked very colourful and exciting and she felt that her goals would be accomplished with regard to having students being interested at the very sight of it.
She related that she was encouraged about the level of excitement that the teachers, who are teaching the programme, had for the book because they themselves were very interested in the content.
“If we are able to at least get 10 VIslanders in the next 2-3 years to have a piqued interest in financial services, I think that the book would have satisfied our objective.”
Ms Hull stated that the book took a lot of sacrifice and a lot of her time but she was able to complete much of the work through her weekends and holidays and it was not something she was looking forward to doing any time in the near future.
She expressed much gratitude to her family and children in particular who supported her throughout the process, Oyster global marketing who was responsible for project management and coordinating with the printer in the US as well as the graphic team for the book, and work colleagues at Maples and Calder who were instrumental in their assistance in addition to the many others who supported her along the way.
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28 Responses to “Author demystifies making of lucrative ‘Financial Services deMystified’ ”
The quality of life and standard of living of Virgin Islanders will take a major hit. And the VI will lose its stautus of having one of the highest per capita income in the region at approx. $41K. We must look at this scenario as a real possibility and take proactive and aggressive action to strengthen and sustain the financial services industry. Furthermore, we need to move with alacrity to diversify the VI's economy. We risk experiencing economic hardship with the decline of either financial services or tourism. Moreover, given the lack of natural resources on which to build stronger economies, what can we do to start diversifying our economy? The first step is investing heavily in human capital( people); we need to invest heavily in education and training. Other successful resource- poor countries around the world do,ie, Japan, Switzerland, Hong Kong....etc.
Moreover, it should be concerning to all Virgin Islanders that financial services contributes 60% or $165M of $279M of government revenue yet Virgin Islanders are only minor players in the industry. We need to change the level of our participating rate in the industry. And that change must start with educational preparation. Consequently, integrating financial services into the high school curriculum is an important first start. But more urgent action is needed.
Ayana, congratulations on the release of Financial Services deMystified! Looking forward to reading it.
His argument is the VIP wasted 90 g on a book that i got in a shoe box but i only wasted 85 g so what is the objection about??? poor boy, he just not ready for prime time!
Next time you see him at a social event run for your life and peace of mind girl….But keep your head up Ayana…you will know now keep far from that dude, so called ‘Minister’..but this too shall pass god is good!