AAOIFI is a Bahrain-based main international Organisation that formulates and publishes accounting, auditing, ethics, governance, and Shari’a standards for the Islamic finance industry.
“The conference aims to provide a platform for exchanging ideas, discussing of issues of interest and facilitating the process of developing and introduction of new standards as well as reviewing and updating existing standards,” Dr. Mohamed Nidal Alchaar AAOIFI Secretary General said.
“The conference will be a good opportunity for Islamic financial institutions as it will bring together a number of prominent Shari’a scholars and members of Shari’a Supervisory Boards from many financial institutions. The conference will also be attended by senior representatives of central banks, regulatory authorities and senior executives from major Islamic financial institutions. The discussing of many current challenges and opportunities by this large gathering of experts will help the participating financial institutions to strengthen and expand their operations within the Islamic banking industry,” he added.
“Bahrain was the first country to establish a modern Islamic financial industry in the region, as the history of Islamic banking in Bahrain extends back to more than 40 years. Praise be to Allah the Almighty, Bahrain continues to play a pioneering role in the Islamic finance industry in terms of the introduction of concepts and the formulation of rules and standards that govern Shari’a- compliant transactions,” Khalid Hamad, the Executive Director of Banking Supervision at the Central Bank of Bahrain, said.
“The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has always been keen to patronise all the conferences organised by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, because CBB wants to see the best practices of Islamic finance implemented by incorporating the AAOIFI standards into the regulatory structure of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Adopting such standards will have a positive impact on the conduct and the performance of the Islamic financial institutions as it ensures compliance to the highest and best standards of corporate governance in the Kingdom,” he added.
The conference will focus on important topics related to accounting and Shari’a supervision standards including the practicalities of Shari’a auditing and review in financial institutions, investment management on the basis of agency (Wakala) contract, the realities of Ijarah, Sukuks between ficticiousness and genuinity, treatment of delinquent debts, alternatives to the restructuring of debts and the impact of multiple terms and conditions in financial contracts.
During the opening ceremony of the conference, graduation certificates will be awarded to graduates of professional development programs run by AAOIFI, namely the “Certified Islamic Professional Accountant” (CIPA) program and “Certified Shari’a Adviser and Auditor” (CSAA) programme.