Transparency Key to Attracting Foreign Investment
07 Jun 2005At the Summit, sanctioned by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, delegates debated issues including the importance of implementing international financial reporting standards in the Middle East. Increasing competition and expanded opportunity is driving the change within the Middle East's financial sector and businesses need greater financial transparency and consistent enforcement to attract foreign direct investment and international banks and finance houses into the Arab World.
'Having a multiplicity of accounting, auditing and other standards around the world is against the public interest,' said Graham Ward, President of the US-based International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), and a keynote speaker at the Summit. 'It 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.'
Top speakers and accountants at the World Accounting Summit included 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. Graham Ward, President of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), is also presenting at the summit.
More than 300 delegates, from the GCC and satellite countries Iran, Levant, Pakistan and India, attended the summit, representing the banking, finance and accounting sectors, and blue chip and regional companies in a variety of industries.
'The response to the summit has been excellent,' said Shabnam Rawal, Group Director for Conferences and Training at IIR Middle East, organizers of the inaugural World Accounting Summit in the Middle East. 'However, the growth in business is presenting regional companies with new challenges and decision makers need to expedite economic reforms to make this an attractive destination for foreign investors. Hopefully, some of the ideas discussed at the summit will contribute to this process.'
'Having a multiplicity of accounting, auditing and other standards around the world is against the public interest,' said Graham Ward, President of the US-based International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), and a keynote speaker at the Summit. 'It 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.'
Top speakers and accountants at the World Accounting Summit included 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. Graham Ward, President of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), is also presenting at the summit.
More than 300 delegates, from the GCC and satellite countries Iran, Levant, Pakistan and India, attended the summit, representing the banking, finance and accounting sectors, and blue chip and regional companies in a variety of industries.
'The response to the summit has been excellent,' said Shabnam Rawal, Group Director for Conferences and Training at IIR Middle East, organizers of the inaugural World Accounting Summit in the Middle East. 'However, the growth in business is presenting regional companies with new challenges and decision makers need to expedite economic reforms to make this an attractive destination for foreign investors. Hopefully, some of the ideas discussed at the summit will contribute to this process.'
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