AGN's 13th World Congress took place in the ‘Fair Wind’ city of Buenos Aires. 102 Delegates and companions from 32 different countries attended the event. A combination of interesting sessions and city outings made it another unforgettable experience for all.

The Congress started on Thursday 25th September with a Welcome Cocktail held in the elegant foyer of the Caesar’s Park Hotel in Buenos Aires. The pre-congress tour group and the newly arrived delegates and companions enjoyed an exquisite buffet from the famous chef Micaela Conesa.

 

Next day was ‘The AGN Day’:

The Chair, Esther Tan, welcomed all to the Congress, which was followed by a welcome from the local member firms Estudio Eduardo Schmilovich and  Elizalde, Casares & Asociados.

Dr. Horst Schaffer then presented the draft revised Strategic Plan which was the topic of discussion for the open table session. Attendees actively discussed in groups what else could be contributed to this plan.

‘AGN Day’ was then concluded with the Chair’s report on 2007 and the Annual General Meeting.

In the mean time, the companions ventured out to squeeze in a necessary shopping session in Buenos Aires.

After an interesting morning of seminars (and shopping) the delegates and companions gathered for a lunch at the Costanera restaurant on the banks of the River Plate followed by a city tour of Buenos Aires. The group was taken through the strikingly different parts of the cities from the Plaza de Mayo, where Evita Peron once held her famous speech, to the oldest cobbled stone barrio of Buenos Aires called La Boca. The cultural tour didn’t end there. The same evening, everyone was split up into two groups to enjoy a wine tasting evening in Palermo or San Telmo before venturing out for a dine around in some of the finest restaurants of the city.

On Saturday, the 27th of September, the second part of the Congress took place as ‘Latin America Day’.

The first presentation was done by Edgardo Lanzilotta about the Accounting Profession in Argentina.

This was followed by Ricardo Delgado and Rodrigo Alvarez from Latin Eco SA presenting ‘A macroeconomic overview of Argentina’.

After a short coffee break, the delegates listened to the presentation ‘Understanding Latin America’ by Pablo Mlikota, the Senior Vice President of an international telecoms company on the opportunities and challenges for our members’ clients, on doing business in the Latin America region.

Finally, following a presentation from the local member firms, the work shop ‘Managing Stress’ was held by Lic. Maria Alejandra Garcia Fernandez who taught everyone how to deal with stress and demonstrated some stress relief techniques.

The Chair, Esther Tan, then closed the Congress and the AGN flag was ceremonially handed over to the hosts of next year’s AGN World Congress: Chicago.

In the meantime, the companions enjoyed a tour to the town of Tigre and the delta of the River Plate, which is considered a popular weekend break resort for the Porteños, the name for residents of Buenos Aires.

The 2008 AGN World Congress was concluded with a Gala dinner at the Tango restaurant El Querandi. Whilst having dinner in this intimately and elegantly decorated restaurant, the group enjoyed a performance of Tango dancing and were even taught a few steps at the end before the party swung into gear.

For those who had not yet had enough, on Sunday the 28th of September, a group of 20 visited an Estancia (ranch) located in the pampas some 120 km from the city, where they enjoyed a typical Argentinean barbeque and riding horses,  before they left to return home.

It would be fair to say that the Fair Winds of Buenos Aires blew us all away.

AGN members enjoyed the event at the time they met old and new colleagues and had the chance to actively participate on the strategic plan of the Organization, as AGN wants the active involvement of every member firm. To increase the internal communications is one of the objectives of our Chair Esther Tan, and this will be achieved by organising more local and regional events where members will be invited to participate.