New forum for female finance leaders launched in Qatar

The Qatar Women in Finance and Accounting forum (QWFA), is an initiative of ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) in the Middle East with the intention of providing a platform for female finance leaders to talk about a wide range of topics.

A working committee of members who hold high level finance jobs in leading organisations such as Qatar Petroleum, Ecovert Qatar, Ras Gas, Qatar Gas and global accounting firms Deloitte and Ernst & Young will meet in the next two weeks to discuss the QWFA's objectives and look at potential future activities.

The forum is the brainchild of Deepa Chandrashekar, a senior finance professional at Qatar Petroleum.

Deepa Chandrashekar said: "Given there are a growing number of women working in senior and influential roles in finance and accountancy in Qatar, I thought that a forum would provide a welcome opportunity for their voices to be heard on a range of critical issues. I very much look forward to meeting with a range of outstanding female finance professionals in the coming months to look at a number of key subjects - and I am sure that our discussions will make a real contribution to the future success of the finance profession in our country."

Ms. Ritu Nanda, Head of ACCA for Oman and Qatar, said: "We are delighted to be helping to develop Deepa Chandrashekar's idea and provide a forum where female finance professionals could discuss a range of issues, bringing different perspectives to a number of subjects. It is fitting that we have been able to launch this forum on International Women's Day, which marks the economic, political and social achievements of women. ACCA looks forward to participating in the forum and to supporting its work and activities in future."

To ensure the debate continues across the Middle East, ACCA will also be hosting a networking event for women in finance and accounting in the UAE in June.

This follows on from a roundtable organised by ACCA in Dubai last year which highlighted the need for a more flexible approach to working in order to ensure that the number of women in leadership positions is able to grow, and from a networking event held for female finance professionals in June 2012.