ICAEW has announced the winners of the inaugural Middle East Accountancy and Finance Excellence Awards, which took place last night at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel to celebrate excellence in accountancy, finance and business throughout the region.
For the ten categories, the winners of the prestigious awards included Adel Ali from Air Arabia for Business Leader of the Year; Matein Khalid from Bin Zayed Group for Excellence in Financial Journalism; Ernst & Young for Excellence in Client Service (Audit & Assurance) and Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority (ADAA) for Outstanding Contribution by an Organisation.
The additional winners were PricewaterhouseCoopers for Excellence in Corporate Finance; Dubai Duty Free for Excellence in Innovation; Emirates Group for Excellence in Financial Reporting; and Deloitte for Excellence in Training & Development of Financial Professionals.
The individuals achievement awards were presented to Mitali Botadra from KPMG for Young Accountant of the Year; Pinak Maitra, Kuwait Project Holdings Co for the highly anticipated CFO of the Year; and His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Bin Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research for Outstanding Individual Contribution.
International sporting legend Sir Ian Botham OBE provided an inspirational after-dinner speech to the 350 attendees.
Amanda Line, Regional Director, ICAEW Middle East, said: "We were overwhelmed not only by the high level of interest in the awards, but by the quality and professionalism of the entries. This year's winners truly reflect the excellence in the accountancy and finance profession across the Middle East, and we are delighted to see winners from the whole region.
"Accountancy and finance professionals play a very important role for the success and growth of businesses but are often behind the scenes. Today they received the recognition they deserve for their contributions to the region's prosperity."
The awards were open to finance professionals, business leaders and organisations, the awards programme is based around the themes of excellence, leadership and best practice. Emirates NBD were the Platinum sponsor and the entries were judged by a 14-strong panel of business and finance leaders from across the Middle East.
Surya Subramanian, Group Chief Financial Officer from sponsor Emirates NBD, said: "We congratulate the winners on their ability to set high standards and achieve excellence in their drive to secure growth and prosperity for the region."
For further information, please visit www.accountancyandfinanceawards.ae.
Full list of award winners for 2011:
Business Leader of the Year - Sponsors: BDO Corporate Finance - Adel Ali (Air Arabia)
Excellence in Financial Journalism - Deloitte - Matein Khalid (Bin Zayed Group)
Excellence in Client Service (Audit and Assurance) - Abraaj Capital - E&Y
CFO of the Year - KPMG - Pinak Maitra (Kuwait Project Holdings Co.)
Excellence in Corporate Finance - SHUAA Capital - PwC
Excellence in Innovation - PwC - Dubai Duty Free
Young Accountant of the Year - Michael Page International - Mitali Botadra (KPMG)
Excellence in Financial Reporting - Ernst & Young - Emirates Group
Excellence in Training & Development - Grant Thornton - Deloitte
Outstanding Individual Contribution - His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Bin Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
Outstanding Contribution by an Organisation - Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority (ADAA)
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About ICAEW
ICAEW is a professional membership organisation, supporting over 136,000 chartered accountants around the world. Through our technical knowledge, skills and expertise, we provide insight and leadership to the global accountancy and finance profession.
Our members provide financial knowledge and guidance based on the highest professional, technical and ethical standards. We develop and support individuals, organisations and communities to help them achieve long-term, sustainable economic value.
Because of us, people can do business with confidence.
ICAEW is a founder member of the Global Accounting Alliance, which represents around 775,000 of the world's leading professional accountants in over 165 countries around the globe, to promote quality services, share information and collaborate on important international issues.
About Emirates NBD
Emirates NBD, is a leading banking Group in the region. The Group has a leading retail banking franchise in the UAE, with over 133 branches and over 750 ATMs and SDMs. It is a major player in the UAE corporate banking arena and has strong Islamic banking, investment banking, private banking, asset management and brokerage operations.
The Group has operations in the UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Jersey (Channel Islands), and representative offices in India and Iran.
The Group is an active participant and supporter of the UAE's main development initiatives and of the various educational, environmental, cultural, charity and community welfare establishments.
For more information, please visit: www.emiratesnbd.com
Media enquiries:
Hasan Badwan, email: Hasan.badwan@hillandknowlton.com tel: +971 (04) 405 5618
Kirstina Reitan, email: kirstina.reitan@icaew.com, tel: +44 (0)207 920 8607
© Press Release 2011
