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Hawkamah and the Institute of Internal Auditors UAE Chapter sign corporate governance partnership

  • United Arab Emirates: Tuesday, June 19 - 2007 at 14:58
  • PRESS RELEASE

Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance (Hawkamah), a subsidiary of the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, announced today that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) UAE Chapter to actively promote and improve corporate governance practices in the MENA region.

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The MoU creates a partnership in which the IIA's experience in advancing corporate governance in businesses can be shared as best practice throughout the region by Hawkamah.

The Institute of Internal Auditors Inc. (IIA) is a global professional body with over 130,000 members. The IIA is represented worldwide through 96 affiliates and has 153 chapters that service IIA members in more than 160 countries. Throughout the world, the IIA is recognized as the internal audit profession's leader in certification, education, research, and technological guidance. It is a medium for the exchange of ideas and information about Internal Auditors all over the world. The Institute is the recognized authority, principal educator, and acknowledged leader in certification, research and technological guidance for the profession world-wide.

The common goal of Hawkamah and the IIA is primarily to improve the levels of corporate governance in the MENA region.

This goal is supported by three broad objectives, namely to:
• Improve the corporate governance practices of private and public sector entities, including listed companies, banks and financial institutions, family-owned enterprises (SOEs), small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and state-owned enterprises (SOEs);
• Help develop national legal and regulatory frameworks with respect to corporate governance, in cooperation with both the public and private sectors, in support of open and transparent markets; and
• Co-operate on corporate governance institution-building, to develop a communication strategy and increase the training capacity of institutions, helping them to train investors, directors, managers and other stakeholders on good corporate governance.

Dr. Nasser Saidi, Executive Director of Hawkamah, said:

"Our strategic partnership with the IIA is crucial to getting to the heart of businesses within the region and addressing governance issues in specific corporate functions. The internal auditors are key stakeholders and beneficiaries as well as being a promoter of better corporate governance in organizations. The IIA's intentions of educating the business community about the importance of a robust corporate governance framework complement Hawkamah's objectives to promote core values of transparency, accountability, fairness, disclosure and responsibility, enabling the region to develop sound financial markets and encourage strong economic growth."


Abdulrahman Al Hareb, President of the IIA UAE Chapter commented:

"The partnerships that Hawkamah is forming with key organisations are crucial to implementing a sound corporate governance framework. Teaming up with the IIA is a very important alliance. It is an established trade body with recognised authority with experience. The IIA's motto is 'Progress through Sharing' and today's announcement could not be a better example of this. There are a number of benefits for MENA businesses that embrace corporate governance, but perhaps the most important is that it will improve their access to affordable credit and capital, increase their decision-making capacity and operational efficiency and enhance their reputation."

Hawkamah is an autonomous, regional entity whose mission is to assist countries and companies of the wider MENA region in developing sound and globally well-integrated corporate governance frameworks and practices.
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About the DIFC:

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is an onshore hub for global finance. It bridges the time gap between the financial centers of Hong Kong and London and services a region with the largest untapped emerging market for financial services.

In just under two years, over 400 firms have registered at the DIFC. They operate in an open environment complemented with world-class regulations and standards. The DIFC offers its member institutions incentives such as 100 per cent foreign ownership, zero tax on income and profits and no restrictions on foreign exchange. In addition their business benefits from modern infrastructure, operational support and business continuity facilities of uncompromisingly high standards.

The DIFC is made up of the following core bodies:

1. The DIFC Authority (DIFCA) - Responsible for the Companies and Security Registries and attracting financial as well as non-financial institutions to set up in the DIFC. The DIFC Authority is also responsible for developing the financial services industry. (www.difc.ae)

2. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) - An independent, unitary regulatory authority, responsible for the regulation of all DIFC operations. Its principle-based primary legislation is modeled on that used in London and New York and its regulatory regime operates to standards that meet or exceed those in major financial centers. (www.dfsa.ae)

3. The DIFC Courts - An independent court system set up to uphold the provisions of DIFC laws and regulations, the courts provide comprehensive legal redress in civil and commercial matters within the DIFC. The DIFC Courts system is especially designed to deal with all of sophisticated transactions that will be conducted within DIFC. The DIFC Court laws, based on the common law, not only sets out the jurisdiction of the court but also provides for a dispute resolution services, including arbitration and mediation, thus allowing for the independent administration of justice in the DIFC. ( www.difccourts.ae)

DIFC Investments- The creation of DIFC Investments will result in the allocation to it of all non public administration activities previously carried out by DIFC Authority. This will include amongst other things all commercial and other activities such as the operation and management of any current and future subsidiaries, the development of the centre's investment strategy and relevant policies and any other strategic investments or alliances which will further the goals and objectives of the Dubai International Financial Centre and contribute to the fulfillment of the Centre's vision. Some of the companies and organizations that DIFC Investments owns include:

1. The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) The DIFX is the region's first international financial exchange for equities, bonds, Islamic products, funds, index products and (subject to regulatory approval) derivatives. The target areas of the DIFX for seeking issuers include the Middle East and North Africa, as well as South Africa, Turkey and the Indian sub-continent. The regulator of the DIFX is the Dubai Financial Services Authority. The DIFX is located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and its owner is the DIFC Authority. (www.difx.ae)

2. Hawkamah- the first Institute for Corporate Governance in the region, has been established in partnership with a group of international institutions, including the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), UAE Ministry of Finance and Industry, Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Union of Arab Banks (UAB), Dubai School of Government (DSG), Young Arab Leaders (YAL), and the Institute of Management Development (IMD). (www.hawkamah.org).

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