Over 70 members and guests of IMA's (Institute of Management Accountants) local chapter in the Western Province of Saudi Arabia gathered, to talk about current economic conditions and new regulatory affair. According to the results of the ACCA/IMA Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) for Q4 2016, the country's economy is not at risk of a fiscal crisis, but fiscal policy will need to be tightened further in order to put its finances on a more sustainable footing. Jason Mefford, president of Mefford Associates, talked about governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) as a means to protect companies and employees during difficult transition periods. IMA members and guests attended the event held at the Village Restaurant here. [caption id="attachment_117001" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Members of IMA Saudi Arabia Western Province Chapter pose during the chapter's first event for 2017 in Jeddah. [/caption]"Businesses fail due to noncompliance with strategic management. No matter how advanced and enormous the company is, there will always be weaknesses in the controls of set procedures. This is where management should consider adding controls to safeguard company assets," explained Shoaib Malik, CMA, a board member of the IMA Saudi Arabia Western Province chapter. Waleed Bamaraouf, the chapter's past president, discussed the role of GRC regulators such as the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI), Capital Market Authority (CMA) and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) in monitoring compliance standards in the country. In closing, the chapter's new president Vijay Soni, CMA, announced that IMA is set to give scholarships to few outstanding students from universities in Jeddah. Due to the great turnout, the chapter's board members also agreed to hold more current affairs seminars and workshops in the next few months. Waleed and Dr. Amer Tarek supported the GRC and IMA topics. Blaire Seaford, Kris and Noman spoke on other interesting topics. I'd like to express my appreciation to board members, Sammak, Sherif Aryan, Essam, Shoaib, Devendra Singh and active audience from varied corporates who helped in arranging the event in a short notice with a valuable take away," said Soni. Institute of Management Accountants, the association of accountants and financial professionals in business, is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA (Certified Management Accountant) program, continuing education, networking and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. IMA has a global network of more than 80,000 members in 140 countries and 300 professional and student chapters.
