DUBAI - The global launch of the CIMA Certificate in Islamic Finance in Arabic was held on October 12, 2009 by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), and Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org) at the Emirates Towers in Dubai, according to ag-IP-news Agency.
The launch of the Certificate, which counts HSBC Amanah as its supporting partner, marks a major step forward for the Islamic Finance industry – it is the first global qualification of its kind to be offered by a professional chartered accountancy body.
International Shari’ah expert Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar, delivered a keynote speech at the event, calling for increased industry focus on nurturing talent and developing cross-border expertise in Islamic Finance.
Dr. Bakar – who led the team of authors responsible for the development of the certificate - said the industry must work to build a pool of expertise if it is to continue to drive previously impressive growth rates and flourish alongside its conventional counterpart.
He noted that global qualifications such as CIMA’s Certificate in Islamic Finance were essential tools in this process.
He also said there is an urgent need for more Shari’ah scholars - who are well versed in both Shari’ah law and modern finance.
The scholar went on to praise Dubai for the crucial role it has played in helping to shape the development of the Islamic Finance industry, paying tribute to the Gulf region’s ability to support the growth of this dynamic sector.
Other speakers at the event included Dr. Robert Jelly, director of Education at CIMA, who outlined the new certificate and how it could address the shortfall of skilled Islamic professionals.
He said that the certificate, which is international in scope, stood out from local qualifications, by offering Islamic Finance professionals a globally recognized qualification.
Salah Abu-Osbeh, executive director at Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Academies, outlined the need for an Arabic translation of the CIMA Certificate in Islamic Finance and further stressed the requirement for Arab professionals to be internationally qualified in Islamic Finance.
He talked about how Arab professionals needed to understand that Islamic Finance is the fastest growing financial services sector in the market.
Ammar Shamsuddin, HSBC’s UAE head of Human Resources spoke about HSBC Amanah’s global partnership with CIMA to promote the Certificate in Islamic Finance.
Ammar said many HSBC Amanah staff have already benefited from undertaking the global certificate as HSBC’s Islamic Finance qualification of choice.
He thanked CIMA and TAG-Org for their roles in the development of the new Arabic certificate, and said HSBC hopes to continue to work with CIMA to grow the expertise and professionalism of the industry.