- Yousef Al Balushi: Supporting the conference in line with the advancements in internal auditing domain
- Abdulqader Obaid Ali: Conference slated to be a landmark event for the UAE
- Ibrahim Al Zaabi: Holding conference in Dubai reflects the global confidence in the UAE
Dubai – UAE: His Excellency Yousef Al Balushi, Director General of Ras Al Khaimah Finance Department, announced the support of all government entities of the northern emirate to the UAE hosting of the International Internal Audit (IIA) Conference in Dubai from May 6 to 9, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and asserted that it indicates the UAE’s rapidly expanding global position in the field of internal auditing.
During a special seminar organised by RAK Finance Department on the UAE Internal Auditors Association (UAE IAA) hosting the IIA International Conference, he invited experts and internal auditors in the country in general and Ras Al Khaimah in particular to fully support this international event, and to attend its activities and workshops to gain knowledge of the latest innovations in internal auditing. He also noted that the success of the conference will positively reflect on strengthening UAE’s international reputation in this field, which is gaining increasing importance across all companies and public and private organisations.
Al Balushi said: “Developing internal audit tools and keeping up with the latest findings in this field is a prerequisite for the success and development of government departments and agencies.”
He stressed that keeping pace with the rapid technological development in this field requires a new method of auditing different from the one currently in place, and this is what the IIA International Conference seeks to achieve.
During the seminar, which was attended by experts, financial and internal auditors, he remarked that the IIA International Conference will be fully in line with the UAE government’s aspirations at federal and local levels, and explained that RAK Finance Department’s support demonstrates its provision of financial and moral support to this important conference. He also expressed that RAK Finance Department was keen to have all categories of internal auditors working for the government of Ras Al Khaimah and its affiliated companies attend and participate in the conference to benefit from global expertise at the conference.
From his part, His Excellency Abdulqader Obaid Ali, Chairman, UAE-IAA, shared the history of the Association which was founded in 2008, and explained the importance of the internal auditing sector and its global development. He pointed out that the UAE did not easily win hosting this important international conference, but managed towards making IIA become convinced that Dubai enjoys all essential prerequisites and is well placed to host it.
He pointed out that the Association has managed unprecedented achievements in the internal audit sector, including Arabisation and submission to the World Committee in record time of Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) qualifying examination in cooperation with some Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, Sudan and Lebanon; Arabisation of the Internal Auditing Manual and the internationally known auditing approach, COSO; and hosting the largest-ever Internal Audit Leaders’ Conference in 2014 with the participation of 82 countries. The Association has also succeeded in becoming the venue for the QIAI Global Examination, the latest international certification in internal auditing, until the year 2020.
Abdulqader explained that the UAE hosting the IIA International Conference for the first time in the Middle East is the result of its efforts and leadership in adopting governance and combatting fraud and corruption, and is part of its relentless efforts to make the UAE government the smartest in the world.
He also pointed out that the UAE accounts for 45 per cent of the region’s total of 7,000 internal auditors – 22 per cent of which are Emirati citizens. This indicates the great interest given by concerned authorities in the UAE to internal auditors and their decisive role in the quest for leadership it has undertaken towards strengthening governance and using systems, applications, smart solutions and artificial intelligence in the delivery of the audit profession.
Ibrahim Ahmed Al Zaabi, Director of Expert Management Office, RAK Courts Department, said: “We are proud to host this international conference in Dubai, which reflects the strength of economic growth in the UAE and the amount of international trust it has gained, in addition to demonstrating the global importance of internal auditing and the need to have it cope with global technological advancements and play its role in the best manner possible.”
“Internal audit is now a necessity and not a wish, especially in the UAE, which has the largest bank portfolio in the Middle East, with banks holding liquidity and assets of US$1.5 trillion, the strongest portfolio in the region. We at RAK Courts specifically support this important national event and encourage our employees to attend, follow up and benefit from its seminars, information, educational workshops due to the important role internal auditors play in following up financial cases in the courts and assisting the judiciary settle them,” he added.
More than 3,000 business leaders, policymakers, politicians and experts from 110 countries will be participating in the IIA International Conference which revolves around the theme of “Connecting the World through Innovation” through interactive sessions focusing on disruptive innovation, AI, innovation and other topics closely related to the current dynamic business environment.
The conference will provide participants with 10 educational tracks in English as well as special courses offered in Arabic. These tracks will cover more than 70 topics related to the Internal Audit profession including Digitisation, Business Sustainability, Emerging Concepts-Governance and Risks, Fraud and Corruption, Dynamic Internal Auditing, Information Security, People and Relationship, CIA Exam Review, and workshop on Public-Sector Auditing, among other important topics.
Dubai’s international reputation as a leading tourist destination and preferred destination for international conferences and meetings- it has ranked among the top 10 destinations in the world for international meetings in 2016- is a pull factor that immensely contributes to attracting such high profile international meetings.
