Abu Dhabi Charter – ICAI will host Annual International Seminar

The Annual International Seminar of ICAI will begin on 29th & 30th Nov 2007 under the theme “Winning Business Strategies in Challenging Times”.The seminar will be inaugurated by the Chief Guest H.E. Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Economy, UAE on Thursday 29th Nov. 2007. Indian Ambassador H.E. Talmiz Ahmed will be one of the Guests of Honour.

The seminar is expected to be attended by approx. 500 delegates from UAE, Middle East and India. This will provide a good platform and mileage to your organisation.
Chief Guests who have graced our Seminar in the past include H.E. Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan – U.A.E. Minister of Higher Education & Scientific Research, H.E. Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suweidi – Governor – Central Bank of U.A.E, H.E. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak – CEO Mubadala Development Company, H.E. Mohamed Omer Abdulla – Director General Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Dr. Tayeb Kamali – Vice Chancellor, HCT Mr. Mohammed Al Qubaisi – Chairman, Finance House among others.
In the past many prominent personalities such as Mr. N. A. Palkhiwala – Management Consultant; Mr. Abid Hussain – Former Member Planning Commission and Former Ambassador of India to USA; Mr. Ravi Narain – MD, NSE, India; Mr. Anand Rathi – President, BSE, India; Mr. D. R. Mehta – Chairman, SEBI, India; Dr. F. C. Kohli – Former Director, TCS; Mr. H. P. Ranina – Expert Tax Consultant; Dr. Madhav Mehra – President, World Council for Corporate Governance, World Quality Council; Mr. T. V. Mohandas Pai – Director Finance & Administration and CFO, Infosys Technologies Ltd., India; Mr. Deepak Ghaisas, CEO (India Operations) and CFO Iflex Solutions etc. (to name a few) have also addressed our seminars.
Brief profile of speakers at the current event is given below:

Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Chairman, Rare Enterprises, India
Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, is a partner in his asset management firm, Rare Enterprises. He is a Chartered Accountant by profession and is one of the better known equity investors in India. He has been a keen and active participant in Indian Capital Markets since 1985. He has been profiled as one of India’s best five investors by Business India magazine in 1998. His views are constantly sought after by the media and he regularly interacts and shares his opinions with the investing community.
He is one of India’s biggest stock brokers and investors. Listening to him is an experience in itself and apart from making us all more knowledgeable we all will be highly motivated with his attitude and approach.

Mr. Vincent Bass, CEO, Vincent Bass F.Z.E., Dubai
Mr. Vincent Bass is a well renowned consultant. He is an expert speaker and has good knowledge and hold on the management and quality subjects. He has addressed many international forums and seminars.
Mr. Manish Tripathi, Hon. Director, Mumbai Dabbawala
He is a politician and social worker from Mumbai with a long and distinguished record of carrying out charitable initiatives for increasing social welfare among the ordinary people of Mumbai.
Presently he is working as honorary director of IT with the Mumbai dabbawalas and is in the process of setting up the first website of their organisation, which has been established for 116 years. He also delivers lectures on the dabbawalas at IITs, management colleges and various other organisations.

Dr. Nasser Saidi¹, Executive Director, Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance, Dubai
Dr Nasser Saidi is also Chief Economist of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Dr Saidi is a former minister of economy and trade and minister of industry of Lebanon (1998-2000) and was the first vice-governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon for two successive mandates. He is co-chair with the OECD of the MENA Corporate Governance Working Group and established the Lebanon Corporate Governance Task Force. He was a Member of the UN Committee for Development Policy (UNCDP) for two mandates. He is the author of “Corporate Governance in the MENA countries: Improving Transparency & Disclosure”, and a number of books and publications addressing macroeconomic, capital market development and international economic issues in the MENA region.

Mr. Sanjay Nayar¹, CCOIndia, Area Head, Bangaldesh, Nepal & Sri Lanka, Citi Markets & Banking, Citigroup
Mr. Sanjay Nayar is the Citi Country Officer (CCO) and Citi Markets & Banking Head for India, and Area Head for Citi’s operations in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Mr. Nayar also headed Salomon Smith Barney’s Emerging Markets Sales business in New York. From 1994, he was in London as Citibank’s Global Head for Emerging Markets Equities. Between 1985 and 1994, he held various positions across the Corporate Bank and the Transaction Bank in Citibank India, including the head of Corporate Finance and Capital Market. Before joining Citibank in 1985, he had worked in the U.K. as a design engineer.

Mr. Nayar is the Chairman, Banking Committee, for the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); Co-Chairman, Banking Committee, for the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), and Chairman AMCHAM. He is also a member of the Indo-American Society, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, and United Way of Mumbai; the SMILE Taskforce (whose committee is convened by the Securities & Exchange Board of India); and the National Payments Council (convened by the Reserve Bank of India). He is also the co-chairman of the Habitat for Humanity India BUILDS campaign.

Dr. Sam Pitroda¹, Vice Chairman & CEO, World-Tel Limited
Dr. Pitroda is considered to be "The father of India's communication revolution". He is presently the chairman of India's National Knowledge Commission, besides being the Chairman and CEO of World-Tel Limited and the founder and CEO of C-SAM, Inc. He also worked as an advisor to the United Nations in 1992.
He has many technology patents to his name and was involved in research work on telecommunications and handheld computing. He introduced microprocessors in telephone switches leading to digital switching and invented the Electronic Diary in 1975. He designed his own computer-themed card game called Compucards in 1983. He returned to India in 1984 on the advice of the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi and founded the Center for Development of Telematics (C-DOT). In 1987, he became advisor to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and was responsible for revolutionizing India's foreign and domestic telecommunications policies. He is widely known as the brain behind the introduction of the Public Call Offices (PCO) across the length and breadth of the country.

Prof. Muhammad Yunus¹, Managing Director, Grameen Bank, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Prof. Yunus, dubbed “Banker to the Poor”, began fighting poverty during a 1974 famine in Bangladesh with a loan of $27 out of his pocket to help 42 women buy weaving tools to save them from the clutches of the moneylenders. Prof. Younus is the Nobel Prize winner. He has been awarded Nobel Prize in 2006 for pioneering the use of micro-credit to benefit poor entrepreneurs.

Mr. Chetan Dalal, CIA, CISA, FCA, CFE, Investigation Specialist(awaiting confirmation)
Mr. Chetan Dalal is a practicing chartered accountant, investigation specialist, and information systems auditor in India. He has authored several publications, including Detection of Frauds, Audit Procedures and Reporting in Circumstances of Incomplete Records, Case Studies on Detection of Frauds, and Audit Practice and Procedures with Special Emphasis on Detection of Frauds. Dalal also runs workshops on fraud detection for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in India, is the director of the India Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and is a member of the Bombay Chartered Accountants Society's Research Committee.

Dr. Prannoy Roy¹, Chairman and Wholetime Director, NDTV, India
Dr. Prannoy Roy is one of the leading psephologists and political analysts in India. He is the recipient of the prestigious Leverhulme fellowship for his Doctorate and a scholarship to study at the Haileybury, a leading public school in England. Dr. Roy has a doctorate in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, bachelors in Economics from the Queen Mary College, London University and is a Qualified Chartered Accountant from London.
He has been involved with the television media since 1980 as a commentator on elections and from 1984 as one of the premier anchorpersons in India in terms of credibility, analytical depth and presentational quality. He has been adjudged the television personality of the millennium by the Indian Express poll and has contributed to various national and international publications. He has been felicitated by many organizations. He has been awarded many key awards by prestigious national and international organisations.

About Abu Dhabi Chapter of ICAI
Abu Dhabi Chapter of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India was established 23 years ago in October 1984 under the chairmanship of Mr. Richard D'Souza. It was inaugurated by the then President of the Institute, Mr. A. C. Chakravarthy.
The Chapter was formed with the idea of having a common forum where the members could meet, exchange views and interact professionally with the other members. Also, this provided an ideal opportunity to the members and their families to participate in social functions and reach out to each other.
The Chapter is committed to the furtherance of the technical competency and knowledge of its members. This is achieved by hosting seminars and events that are addressed by eminent speakers and experts.
The activities related to professional development reach their pinnacle, every year, with the organization of the Annual International Seminar. The first seminar was held in October 1988. Since then it has been a regular feature on the program calendar and is supported by the business community and attended by the members. In addition to the annual seminar, evening talks and workshops are organized by the Chapter throughout the year.
The Chapter's activities are organized by an elected body of members. The Governing Committee is responsible for identifying areas of interest to the members and organizing the events.
Also, by organizing several social events throughout the year the Chapter aims to strengthen the community ties among the members.
At present, the Chapter has 500 plus members strong and growing. The keen interest shown by the members in participating in the Chapter’s activities over the years is a tribute to the thirst for knowledge and the desire of the Indian professional to be at the leading edge of managerial advancements and the accounting profession. Source