Detailed Program

According to the Bedford Report and a number of subsequent studies, a growing “gap” exists between what accountants actually do and what accounting educators teach. Accountants who remain narrowly educated will find it more difficult to compete in an ever-expanding profession. The aspiration to move from a “counter of wealth” to a “creator of wealth” will require a whole new set of management accounting and financial management skills.

Dr. Brian McGuire, IMA Chair-elect

Session 2

Mr. Thalib A Al-Shamrani
Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer
Riyad Bank, KSA

Globalisation has had an impact not only on how we do business but also on how we account business. The linkages have become complex and the financial tools varied. Accounting and finance have to incorporate vision into their actions. In this context the role of management accountants in the economic entities of the middle east is set to increase and also expand in nature. In addition to the informational needs, the internal customers will be looking towards the management accountants to provide inputs for corporate strategy and competitive support. The gas constraint, development of the private sector and the regional governments’ local contents initiatives are all contributing towards the establishment of entities for production of downstream petrochemical products. The investment of cash generated and access to technology and other resources are expected to be the distinct drivers of the M&A transactions emanating from this region. Additionally, availability of different and more sophisticated types of financing, both debt and equity, are also assisting the economic growth. These developments are expected to provide ample opportunities to the management accountants to play a more active role in the immediate future.

Mr. Zia ul Rab Siddiqui, Vice President - Structuring Group
P&TF APICORP,Bahrain

Panelists:
Hassan Sharafeddin, CMA, Finance Manager, Al Nowais Investments
Aneel Iqbal, CMA, Ernst & Young Training Services
Hiba Daaboul, CMA, Business Controller,
Nestle Middle East - Nespresso Facilitator: Dennis Whitney, CMA, Senior VP, ICMA

Description:
CFOs complain there is a skills gap among all levels of their finance and accounting teams in the areas of financial planning, analysis, control, and decision support. The CMA exam and curriculum focus squarely on these critical areas. Our panel of experts will share their views about the skills gap as well as the importance and relevance of the CMA exam to their own finance teams and their careers.

The role of CFO in a banking organization
The topic will cover:

• financial reporting (both internal and external)
• regulatory frameworks and requirements
• investments, credit ratings, asset-liability management
• managing subsidiaries, mergers, business analysis of prospective ventures

Mr. Abdul Qadeer Mirza, Group General Manager
Banque Saudi Fransi

• SME ecosystem
• Public private partnerships
• Role of innovation and inculcation of the innovation culture
• Risk appetite and funding
• Enterprise development and support

Mr. Ahsan Ali CFA, FRM, MCSI
Director - Credit, Khalifa Fund

Understanding Entrepreneurial Finance.

“Entrepreneurship” is a popular focus of discussion among businesspeople, financiers, economists, and policymakers. At a macro level, economists and policymakers have increased their attention to entrepreneurial enterprise because of its importance to economic growth, the significance of entrepreneurial businesses in job creation, and the role of business owners in aggregate saving and wealth accumulation. In principle, we can think of a “life cycle” of entrepreneurial financial decisions comprised of stages of identifying opportunity, marshaling resources, executing the business decisions, and “harvesting” success. In practice, entrepreneurial finance is not a linear process though this life cycle, and most of the cases we examine will necessarily involve considering multiple stages of the life cycle. As a further dimension, both economists and private equity practitioners describe the need to think simultaneously about four “success factors”: people, opportunity, context, and the deal. We will discuss what entrepreneurial finance is all about.

Dr. Henri J Chaoul, General Manager
FXCM Middle East & North Africa

We all acknowledge that the global economic environment is changing rapidly, and the need to have accurate, relevant and readily available decision support has been an ongoing challenge for corporations. Consequently, management reporting plays a crucial role in driving business performance as it assists managers in directing, controlling, and measuring their operational activities. The call for management accountants to proactively participate as part of the management team in the planning processes is unprecedented. In his presentation, Mr. Al-Ali will shed light on Saudi Aramco‘s recent journey to transform its management reporting process into a business performance driver. He will walk you through the organization’s experience as it introduced key performance indicators in the planning and budgeting processes, and will highlight efforts to build decision support capabilities within the finance team.

Mr. Mohamed Al Ali
Financial Controller, Aramco

Mubadala’s evolution in developing the FP&A’s function that supports corporate and Business Unit level initiatives. Over a period of 18 month period, FP&A transformed from a 2 person team to 22 strong. Some of the accomplishments over the 18 months Include:

• Integrated Planning & Performance Management Process
• Monthly Forecasting
• Detailed Management Reporting

FP&A has been a crucial addition to Mubadala’s corporate function, providing financial discipline and a focus on performance management.

Mr. Kenneth J. Kulaga
Head of Financial Planning & Analysis, Finance
Mubadala Development Company

Mr. Nick Nadal
Director - Hawkamah, Institute for Corporate Governance

The DNA of the CFO explores the expectations and aspirations of the CFO - and the skills and the relationships that successful CFO's need to master, to meet the challenges and opportunities of the role.

Mr. Loutfi K Echhade
Senior Principal Assurance Advisory and Business Services, Ernst & Young

The 360 view for Predictability & Visibility of your Business
In this session, you will learn how management accountants can use technology & accounting principles to give a 360 view for better predictability & visibility of the business. You will learn how a near scientific approach can help analyze your current & near future predictions to business results. You will see a simple combination of accounting principles & business forecasting working together

Mr. Vikram Suri
Managing Director, SAGE Software

Mr. Oussama Elkebbi, Finance Director, Shuaa Capital
KSA

Financial Intelligence - How to make strategic financial decisions?

This is a training program, which is based on Harvard Business School's best-selling book and helps managers in understanding:

• Why smart managers make bad financial decisions.
• What the financial numbers really mean and how to look at the big picture when making financial decisions.
• What went wrong with Enron, WorldCom and Tyco.
• How to turn financial information into financial knowledge
• Why it is important to relaying on intuition and inner feelings not just the financial facts that are presented in the financial statements

yad Mourtada, CIA, CMA, CFE, CPLP
MENA Marketing Manager, Omni-Cardtrend, UAE

CMA Exam Preparation Workshop
Moderated by:
Mr. Dennis Whitney, Senior Vice President
IMA
Mr. Aneel Iqbal, , ACA,CFA,CMA
Lead Trainer, Ernst & Young Jeddah
Faculty Member, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

IMA Chapter Leadership Meeting
(by invitation Only)