Uniform Accounting Standards will Fight Fraud
25 May 2005That's the verdict of Graham Ward, President of the US-based International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), and keynote speaker at the World Accounting Summit, which begins in Dubai on Sunday.
'A multiplicity of accounting creates confusion, encourages error and facilitates fraud. The cure for these ills is to have a single set of international standards, of the highest quality, set in the public interest by an international expert body, which transparently consults with and recognizes the legitimate interests of the international community.'
Global alignment with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) will be a central topic of the first ever World Accounting Summit in the Middle East. The implications of IFRS for improved corporate governance in the region will be debated by the foremost regional and international finance experts.
More than 100 countries have adopted IFRS so far, and all companies listed in the European Union must now apply the framework. Companies in Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait and Qatar follow IFRS by law, but it is mandatory for only UAE banks to abide by it.
Greater financial transparency and consistent enforcement are increasingly seen as key to increasing foreign direct investment into the Arab World from its low level, and attracting more top international banks and finance houses to the region.
High-level speakers and accountants at the World Accounting Summit include Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman and CEO, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization and President, Arab Society of Certified Accountants; H.E. Abdulaziz Rashed Ibrahim Al-Rashed, Chairman of the Board, GCC Accounting and Auditing Organization (GCCAAO); Dr. Habib Al Mulla, Chairman, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA); Piet Hoogendoorn, Global Chairman, Deloitte; and Abdulaziz Al Furaih, Vice Chairman Financial Affairs, Riyad Bank, and Technical Advisor to GCCAAO.
More than 300 delegates, most from the GCC and satellite countries Iran, Levant, Pakistan and India, have registered to attend the summit, representing the banking, finance and accounting sectors and blue chip and regional companies in a wide variety of industries.
'The response to the summit has been excellent, underlining the seriousness of the issues at stake,' said Shabnam Rawal, Group Director for Conferences and Training at IIR Middle East, organizers of the inaugural World Accounting Summit in the Middle East.
'The summit brings together in the Middle East for the first time, senior representatives from the global standards setters, the major accounting associations worldwide, the principal advisers to multinational companies, and key users of financial statements.'
Rawal added: 'The impressive economic performance of GCC countries has captivated business leaders around the world, and the importance of maintaining growth through secure accounting vehicles in a climate of trust and transparency cannot be underestimated.'
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) - regulators of Dubai International Financial Centre, which will open the Dubai International Financial Exchange in September this year - is a regional champion of IFRS. According to the regulator's legal framework, all licensed companies at DIFC must adopt IFRS, rather than bring in their own accounting standards.
DFSA Chairman Dr. Habib Al Mulla will present a paper on the impact of accounting standards convergence on day one of the World Accounting Summit. He said: 'Strong regulations are an incentive for the financial sector. Serious financial institutions look to the places where there are strong regulations, because at the end of the day they're a guarantee for institutions and shareholders. It may be difficult initially to adopt them, but finally everybody will be pleased to have strong regulations in place.'
IFAC President Graham Ward added: 'I want to emphasize that regulatory initiatives are not meant to duplicate those of national bodies, but rather to reinforce and complement them. Countries here in the Middle East are headed on the right path. Much reform has taken place, particularly in the GCC, to strengthen the financial sector. I commend these initiatives.'
The World Accounting Summit takes place at The Jumeirah Beach Hotel Conference Centre in Dubai, from May 29 to June 1.
'A multiplicity of accounting creates confusion, encourages error and facilitates fraud. The cure for these ills is to have a single set of international standards, of the highest quality, set in the public interest by an international expert body, which transparently consults with and recognizes the legitimate interests of the international community.'
Global alignment with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) will be a central topic of the first ever World Accounting Summit in the Middle East. The implications of IFRS for improved corporate governance in the region will be debated by the foremost regional and international finance experts.
More than 100 countries have adopted IFRS so far, and all companies listed in the European Union must now apply the framework. Companies in Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait and Qatar follow IFRS by law, but it is mandatory for only UAE banks to abide by it.
Greater financial transparency and consistent enforcement are increasingly seen as key to increasing foreign direct investment into the Arab World from its low level, and attracting more top international banks and finance houses to the region.
High-level speakers and accountants at the World Accounting Summit include Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman and CEO, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization and President, Arab Society of Certified Accountants; H.E. Abdulaziz Rashed Ibrahim Al-Rashed, Chairman of the Board, GCC Accounting and Auditing Organization (GCCAAO); Dr. Habib Al Mulla, Chairman, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA); Piet Hoogendoorn, Global Chairman, Deloitte; and Abdulaziz Al Furaih, Vice Chairman Financial Affairs, Riyad Bank, and Technical Advisor to GCCAAO.
More than 300 delegates, most from the GCC and satellite countries Iran, Levant, Pakistan and India, have registered to attend the summit, representing the banking, finance and accounting sectors and blue chip and regional companies in a wide variety of industries.
'The response to the summit has been excellent, underlining the seriousness of the issues at stake,' said Shabnam Rawal, Group Director for Conferences and Training at IIR Middle East, organizers of the inaugural World Accounting Summit in the Middle East.
'The summit brings together in the Middle East for the first time, senior representatives from the global standards setters, the major accounting associations worldwide, the principal advisers to multinational companies, and key users of financial statements.'
Rawal added: 'The impressive economic performance of GCC countries has captivated business leaders around the world, and the importance of maintaining growth through secure accounting vehicles in a climate of trust and transparency cannot be underestimated.'
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) - regulators of Dubai International Financial Centre, which will open the Dubai International Financial Exchange in September this year - is a regional champion of IFRS. According to the regulator's legal framework, all licensed companies at DIFC must adopt IFRS, rather than bring in their own accounting standards.
DFSA Chairman Dr. Habib Al Mulla will present a paper on the impact of accounting standards convergence on day one of the World Accounting Summit. He said: 'Strong regulations are an incentive for the financial sector. Serious financial institutions look to the places where there are strong regulations, because at the end of the day they're a guarantee for institutions and shareholders. It may be difficult initially to adopt them, but finally everybody will be pleased to have strong regulations in place.'
IFAC President Graham Ward added: 'I want to emphasize that regulatory initiatives are not meant to duplicate those of national bodies, but rather to reinforce and complement them. Countries here in the Middle East are headed on the right path. Much reform has taken place, particularly in the GCC, to strengthen the financial sector. I commend these initiatives.'
The World Accounting Summit takes place at The Jumeirah Beach Hotel Conference Centre in Dubai, from May 29 to June 1.
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