The Doha Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) conducted its 4^th International Conference with the theme “Engage Innovate Transform” on November 23^rd & 24^th, 2017 at The Westin Doha Hotel & Spa. The conference was attended by more than 300 finance professionals – the members of ICAI Doha Chapter, overseas delegates and finance professionals representing various key organizations in Qatar, India & GCC countries.

The conference was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Mr. Raed Al-Emadi, Chief Commercial Officer, Qatar Financial Center Authority (QFC).  In his inaugural address, he mentioned the key role ICAI Doha Chapter has played in bringing professional bodies closer to QFC, ICAI Doha Chapter being the first QFC registered entity of its kind in Qatar. He also gave a glimpse of how companies in Qatar are engaging, innovating and transforming themselves and teaming up with QFC during the last 6 months, ever more than before.

The guest of honors for the event were Dr. R Seetharaman, Group CEO, Doha Bank and CA Sushil Kumar Goyal, Central Council Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India while CA Amarjit Chopra, Past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India was a special guest. Dr. Seetharam spoke about the aptness of the theme and how it needs to be practically applied for sustainable growth and CA Sushil Kumar told about the role 30 Indian chartered accountant chapters abroad in 5 continents is playing a role in enhancing brand ICAI and also mentioned the pivot role, Doha Chapter of ICAI has played, being the first oversees chapter established in 1981.

Chapter chairman CA Gaurav Kakkar in his address welcomed the delegates & provided the insight into the theme of the conference. He emphasized that in today’s world, professionals need to engage and network seamlessly, innovate together building new ideas and transform in every realm of like to make a paradigm shift.

As part of inauguration, the Doha Chapter launched the souvenir for the conference. Also, as one of the key attractions of the Conference was the 4^th CA Dilip Thakkar Professional Achiever Award aimed at inspiring chartered accountants to achieve all round excellence under the framework of contribution to Profession, Organization and Society which was awarded to CA Rajeswar Sundaresan, Group Head of Internal Audit at Teyseer Group for his significant contribution to the CA fraternity and in taking the flag of CA profession to new heights in Qatar. CA Rajeswar was appreciated for his dedication and perseverance in taking up various key roles in professional forums, universities and other public forums. CA Rajeswar in his acceptance speech highlighted hard work, passion and sticking to one’s own style as the stepping stones to his success and emphasized on the importance of networking in professional growth.

In an insightful first technical session on “Future of the Profession”, CA P R Ramesh, Chairman, Deloitte India highlighted the latest changes in technologies and how that is affecting the way our profession will be working in the future. It was followed by a power packed panel discussion with a Qatari Panel of Ms. Noora Al-Mannai, A well-known Qatari Entrepreneur, Dr. Khalid Al-Abdulqader, the Dean of college of Business and Economics at Qatar University, Mr. Abdulla Hasan Al-Mehshadi, CEO, Msheireb Properties moderated by Senior Partner in KPMG Qatar and past chairman of ICAI Doha Chapter, CA Gopal Balasubramaniam. Various key topics were covered in the discussion including the real estate outlook in Qatar, the leaderships thrust on education, SME sector’s growth in Qatar amongst other topics such as women empowerment, self-sustenance etc. In the last session of the first evening, the renowned author – Mr. Shiv Khera enlightened the audience on the topic “Inspiring Excellence”.

The second day started with key developments in International Financial Reporting Standards, by Mr. Midhat Salha, Senior Partner, Deloitte & Touche, Qatar followed by a power packed session on creating the change by Mr. Chetan Bhagat, the blockbuster best seller writer. This was followed by a session on robotics in automating processes by Mr. Khurram Siddiqui, followed by a session on contemporary issues in corporate governance by CA Amarjit Chopra. To round off the event, we have the blockbuster Bollywood Icon, Mrs. Shilpa Shetty Kundra & renowned health coach Mr. Luke Coutinho speaking on the topic, How to stay healthy & fit for professionals which included a live demonstration of some key simple practices which can help relieve stress.

The conference addressed by the experts in the fields of finance, management & academics was attended by more than 300 delegates. It showcased an excellent platform where international speakers with extensive experience spoke on a variety of topics under the theme “Engage Innovate Transform”. The event was sponsored by 36 companies from Qatar with platinum sponsors being Deloitte Qatar. It was also well supported by the venue partners The Westin Doha Hotel & Spa providing ample opportunities for networking.  The conference enabled exchange of views, sharing of knowledge, which was truly an enriching & memorable experience for all.  The conference was rated highly by delegates who were particularly impressed by the array of excellent speakers, the high quality of the presentations and deliberations, the diversity & relevance of the topics, the flawless & professional conduct of the conference, the passion and commitment of the managing committee & volunteers, the marvelous arrangements and last but not the least the world-class venue.

The sponsors were honoured for their generous support and included – Platinum sponsor – Deloitte, Gold sponsors – Ernst & Young, Doha Bank, Protiviti and Qatar UAE Exchange, Silver sponsors – Aster, Focus group, KPMG, Mashreq Bank, Quantum Global Solutions, SEIB Insurance, QIC, QGIRC, Zurich, Vodafone, Morison Menon, Msheireb Properties, Nexus, Sasco and PWC.

The Executive Committee of the ICAI Doha Chapter is steered by CA Gaurav Kakkar- Chairman, S.K. Rupalakshmi-Vice-Chairman, CA Rukkaiya Pachisa-Secretary, CA Sandeep Chowdhary-Treasurer, CA Nirlep Bhatt- Member, CA Jithu Koshy – Member, CA Abdul Nassar – Member, CA Ankit Agarwal – Member.

The Doha Chapter of ICAI was established in the year 1981 and is the oldest among the 30 overseas Chapters of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. The Chapter conducts seminars and professional events for enhancing and updating the professional knowledge of its members, locals and non-members. The Chapter is also the first professional body in Qatar to get officially registered with the Qatar Financial Center. The current membership of the Chapter is approximately 400, the members hold key positions in private and public sector establishments in Qatar and are actively involved in support and development of the accounting profession in Qatar. The Chapter is actively involved in enhancing and updating the professional knowledge of its members, locals and non-members.

Members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India residing in Qatar and desirous of seeking membership of the Chapter may please contact CA Gaurav Kakkar – 66094714 or CA Rupalakshmi Setty – 70131446.