Business & Money | Tuesday 23 June, 2015 4:08 am |

Four renowned organizations such as The Internal Auditors Association (UAE IAA) The Institute Of Chartered Accountants of Abu Dhabi Chapter (AD Chapter of ICAI), The Information System Audit and Control Association (ISACA), and the Association Of Certified Fraud Examiners UAE Chapter (ACFE UAE Chapter) came together for the first time to organize the first Joint Professional Development conference in Abu Dhabi recently. This conference was organized to draw attention to the Internal Audit awareness month and focus on the importance of Cyber security, fraud investigations and ethics in the businesses.

Abdulqader Obaid Ali, the chairman of UAE Internal Auditors Association talked about the significance of the event as he said, “The menace of fraud has grown manifold and the situation demands robust measures. Hence we are happy to work with AD Chapter of ICAI, ISACA and ACFE to find a way to combat these issues we are faced with today.”
His sentiments were echoed by CA Rajiv Shah, Chairman ICAI. “All the organizations that have come together today have been doing their part when it comes to cyber security, fraud investigations and more. But it’s time for us to join hands and tackle this problem that is affecting businesses,” he said. Ms. Tania Fabiani CFE, President, ACFE UAE Chapter also welcomed the move and vouched for dedicated involvement from her organization.

With GCC fast becoming the economic centre of the world, there is a growing risk of fraud that can become the bane of existence for organizations, big and small. The event aimed to bring likeminded professionals from these organizations together so that they could share information and work towards their common goal of fighting fraud, cyber security, etc. Noted speakers from each of these organizations shared their views and experiences on their areas of expertise.

Mr. Karem Obeid, UAE IAA executive committee member said, “GCC has evolved and cannot be seen as a region in isolation. It is at the junction of new trade routes of the world and is not just an oil producer. In fact it should be seen as a Centre, Capital Provider, Consumer and Connection of the World.”
Globally, businesses are facing the highest-ever levels of cyber-attacks, with global security threat alerts increasing by 14 percent from 2012 to 2013, according to Cisco's 2014 Annual Security Threat Report. Worldwide, the cyber security market is set to reach USD 120.1 billion by 2017, growing at a CAGR of 11.3 percent from 2012-2017, according to research company Markets and Markets. But with growing economy and cash flow there is an increasing threat of fraud. Mr. Deepak Mehra, ICAI AD Chapter talked about “Impact of GCC on Global Economy” and tried to offer solutions as he said, “The key to fight fraud is awareness. The accountants are responsible for putting internal controls across organizations. However when they think about quality control, balances and checks they also need to keep the fraud angle in mind.”

Advanced technology poses its own challenges for those trying to combat fraud, which is why dramatic solutions are required, according to Mr. Sherif Fakhry from ACFE UAE Chapter. He covered the General Areas around Fraud & Conducting Fraud Investigations while offering insight into one of the crucial future strategies, “We plan to have SIM cards with a built in security element so that it will have both hardware and software.”

Mr. Nabil Al Ouf, his contemporary from ACFE UAE Chapter, focused on the important aspect of Fraud Scenario Assessment. “No organization is immune; it’s susceptible to fraud. Fraud Scenario Assessment highlights and flags different fraud situations, which is why it has to be initiated by the management by bringing in professionals from various departments to brainstorm,” he added.

The last speaker of the day was Dr. Alok Taneja of ISACA, who had the audience in rapt attention as he talked about Cybercrime, Internal & Mobile Security. He, like all the participants of the event, seemed pleased with the collaborations of these organizations because, “All the four organizations work on three domains; governance, risk and control. When they come together on a platform, members get a chance to network, understand each other’s perspectives and learn.”

Thus the event with important take homes for all participants turned out to be a huge success. As Mr. Ravi Chandran, President, ISACA UAE Chapter, pointed out, “It was a very good opportunity for all the organizations that have excelled in banking, internal audit, accounting and information systems in the UAE, to benefit the members of these associations, we should come together at least once in a year to educate and share each organization’s experience.”