Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) will host the AAOIFI – World Bank Annual Conference on Islamic Banking and Finance on December 6 and 7 in Manama, Bahrain.

The conference is organised in partnership with the World Bank, and will be held under the auspices of the Central Bank of Bahrain.

Discussions at the conference will be on issues relating to continuing development of international Islamic capital markets as avenues for greater financial inclusion, and further progress on standardisation and harmonisation of international Islamic finance practices.

Specific topics that will be deliberated include standardisation and harmonisation of Sukuk markets, continuing development of sovereign and retail Sukuk, development of Islamic private equity, venture capital and “crowdfunding”, and rating on Shari’a compliance and potential rating mechanisms.

The conference is also part of AAOIFI’s on-going consultative process with the international Islamic finance industry on the development and review of its standards on Shari’a, accounting, auditing, ethics and governance.

Leading the discussions will be eminent Shari’a scholars as well as leading Islamic finance practitioners and academicians.  Participants at the conference comprise Shari’a scholars and senior representatives from central banks, regulatory authorities, financial institutions, accounting and auditing firms, legal firms, universities and higher learning institutions, and other Islamic finance industry stakeholders from the across the world.

A Gala Dinner for the conference will be held in the evening of December 6.  The new AAOIFI standards publications and digital versions of AAOIFI standards will be launched at the Gala Dinner.

On this special occasion, AAOIFI will offer registered participants in the conference and the gala dinner the opportunity to purchase a full set of the publications one month before introduction into all various markets

Following the conference, AAOIFI will hold training sessions for its Certified Shari’a Adviser and Auditor (CSAA) and Certified Islamic Professional Accountant (CIPA) qualification programmes from December 8 to 11.  CSAA and CIPA are designed for Islamic finance professionals to gain technical understanding and assist application of AAOIFI standards in Islamic finance operations. – TradeArabia News Service