Internal audit and risk advisory service have become an integral part of every organization’s core advisory requirements. It is imperative for organizations to have productive internal audit and risk advisory function, that consistently contributes to business performance.

Why internal audit?

Every entity, whether a conventional for-profit organization, a government entity or NGO, have two things in common. They aim to achieve some specific organizational objective and they are all governed at the very top by owners, shareholders or board.

The people at the top have two critical roles; one is to provide oversight and direction to the organization and then to identify and manage risk.

Why HLB HAMT?

Internal audit and risk advisory are continuously undergoing change and we at HLB HAMT are drivers of this change.

To our clients, we are trusted advisors, analysists, explorers, reporters and problem solvers. This is what differentiates us from others. Our audits are objective, fact based and there is no room for any sort of bias. We focus only on the issues and the risks that arise out of these issues.

Our auditors focus on process improvement rather than compliance, because we believe that compliance to a process is not an end in itself.

We deploy more auditors in our field and offer a wide bandwidth to our clients. Our access to HLB International resource pool gives us an access to global best practices across several industries.

Within the internal audit spectrum, we provide numerous services such as IA outsourcing, IA co-sourcing, forensic audit, policy drafting and compliance audit.

We have an excellent bunch of auditors in terms of academic excellence and professional experience, who believes in the use of technology for project management and documentation. We offer services across diverse industries that include manufacturing, trading, retail, facilities management, real estate, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and financial services, across Dubai, UAE.

HLB HAMT offers wide cross functional experience and our specialization include right from the top, where we help organizations with the audit of corporate governance and policy formation. We follow a risk based internal audit procedure; there is a risk assessment, risk testing, risk review with auditee and internal risk review with our team. Prior to preparing internal audit reports, we discuss with the auditee and give heed to their inputs. This results in process improvement.

We believe in being an organizational improvement partner and not just a compliance checker.

Embracing technology is no more an option, it’s a must in the ever-changing competitive corporate world. Companies will have to keep pace with the evolving technologies such as blockchain, machine learning, artificial intelligence and robotics, that are reshaping digital businesses.

UAE is a model nation when it comes to adoption of technology. Its most happening city, Dubai, is at the forefront of adopting innovative technologies. A pioneer in the development of artificial intelligence strategy, Dubai has been ranked first globally in attracting FDI for AI. The city had been successful in attracting more than $21 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) for artificial intelligence and robotics project from 2015 to 2018. The European Union was the major contributor, with $5.7 billion, followed by the United States with $3.9 billion.

The country aims to become the foremost artificial intelligence hub globally, by understanding and promoting the use of the technology.  According to sources, the UAE government is “very much working towards accelerating the pace of AI adoption through strategic partnerships with both the public and private sectors”.

In 2017, the UAE Government launched ‘UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (AI)’ with the objective to make the country first in the field of AI investments in various sectors such as transport, health, space, education, traffic and many more.

In addition to this, the government has come up with an initiative named, Think AI, that includes a series of roundtables, workshops, and panel discussions comprising of governmental officials, private sector, and local and international organisations with expertise in AI. Apart from enhancing the adoption of AI, the programmes aim to educate and attract AI experts and also provide the infrastructure required for the development and application of the technology.

The roundtables are an initiate to improve the trustability and acceptance of AI along with regulating and designing policies to develop the technology.

Most governments, services firms and accounting bodies around the world have invested their time to explore the opportunities offered by blockchain technology. Blockchain is an accounting technology and is concerned with the transfer of ownership of assets and the maintenance of a ledger of accurate financial information.

For accountants, using blockchain provides clarity over the ownership of assets and the existence of obligations, and can dramatically improve efficiency and reduce costs. Alongside other automation trends such as machine learning, blockchain will lead to more transactional-level accounting – but not by accountants. Instead, successful accountants will be those who assess the real economic interpretation of blockchain records, marrying the record to economic reality and valuation.

Blockchain is a replacement for bookkeeping and reconciliation work, and this could threaten the work of accountants in those areas while adding strength to those focused on providing value elsewhere. For example, in due diligence processes in mergers and acquisitions, distributed consensus over key figures allows more time to be spent on judgmental areas and advice and promises an overall faster process.

The spectrum of skills represented in accounting will change because of the move to a financial system with significant blockchain elements. This will offer many opportunities for the accountancy profession. Accountants are seen as experts in record keeping, application of complex rules, business logic and standards setting. Accountants can also work as advisers to companies considering joining blockchains themselves, providing advice on weighing the costs and advantages of the new system.

Blockchain also has applications in external audit. Performing confirmations of a company’s financial status will be less necessary if some or all of the transactions that underlie that status are visible on blockchains. Blockchain will result in a profound change in the way audits work.

Accountants need not be engineers with detailed knowledge of how blockchain works. However, they will need to know how to advise on blockchain adoption and consider the impact of blockchain on their businesses and clients.

Meet UAE’s Most Influential Women

The UAE government has made significant progress on the women empowerment front and they have been giving equal constitutional rights to men and women. A glance at the list of popular UAE women who have been conquering heights in diverse fields proves the fact. Here, we have listed some of the most influential UAE women, who have been successful in creating their own niche in UAE as well as across the globe.

Sheikha Lubna

Sheikha Lubna is the first woman to hold a ministerial post in the United Arab Emirates. One of the most iconic figures of the country, Lubna served as the Minister of State for Tolerance, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and Minister of Economic and Planning of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Impressed by her hard work and determination, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum awarded her the “Distinguished Government Employee Award” in 1999 and appointed her as Chief Executive of Tejari. It was under Lubna’s leadership that Tejari won awards for the World Summit for Information Society’s “Best e-Content Provider in e-business” (Geneva) and the UAE Super Brands Council “Super Brand of 2003”.

Fatima Al Jaber

Fatima Obaid Al Jaber holds the distinction of being the first Emirati woman to be elected to the board of directors at the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce in 2009. She currently serves as the chief operating officer of the United Arab Emirates-based Al Jaber Group.
The country she resides in might be conservative, but not her thoughts. She is of the notion that success is dependent on skills, preparation, and ambition, and not gender. An influential businesswoman, Al Jaber has been instrumental in overseeing the construction of some of the most iconic projects in the UAE.

Mariam Al-Mansouri

“A woman’s passion about something will lead her to achieving what she aspires, and that’s why she should pursue her interests.”
These are the words by Mariam Al-Mansouri, the first female fighter pilot in UAE. Mariam, who has led UAE mission airstrikes against ISIS over Syria, is a true inspiration for women across the globe.
Mariam Al-Mansouri is quite popular across the country, which is evident from her large social media following. Her courage and determination have helped her earn the titles “Lady Liberty” and “ISIS’s nightmare.” She was honoured with the Mohammed bin Rashid Pride of the Emirates medal for excellence in her field.

Reem Al-Hashimi

Expo 2020 is one of the most anticipated events in UAE and winning the bid to host the expo was not an easy task. It is the result of hard work and determination of many and one person who played a significant role in winning the bid was Al Hashimi. She is the Director general of the Expo, who also happens to be the UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation.
Reem Al-Hashimi is the chairperson of Dubai Cares, a children’s education charity established by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.

Nayla Al-Khaja

Nayla Al-Khaja is the first female film director/producer in the UAE. She made history at Cannes by being the first Emirati filmmaker, whose project got accepted by the festival’s Producers’ Network.
Filmmaking being one of the hardest areas to work in as a creative, Nayla Al-Khaja’s journey had never been easy. It was not all roses in the garden for Nyla; she had her shares of ups and downs but was eventually successful in building her own empire.
Nayla Al-Khaja was awarded the Best Emirati Filmmaker award at DIFF in 2006 and in 2017 she won the jury’s special prize for short fiction at the Italian Movie Awards.

Huda Kattan

Kattan is the person behind the billion-dollar beauty empire, Huda Beauty. A makeup artist, beauty blogger, and entrepreneur, Kattan is one among the “ten most powerful influencers in the world of beauty”.
Kattan rose to fame by doing makeup tutorials online and soon emerged as one of the biggest online beauty sensations. Kattan who is ranked #1 on the “2017 Influencer Instagram Rich List”, earns $18,000 per post of sponsored content.

Amal Al Qubaisi

Amal Al Qubaisi, the President of the Federal National Council, is the first female leader of a national assembly in the United Arab Emirates and the Arab world. Prior to her current role, Amal Al Qubaisi served as the chairwoman of the Abu Dhabi Education Council.
Amal Al Qubaisi is the senior most female politician in the Arab world who has been inspiring young women to cross barriers and conquer the world.

Amina Al Rustamani

Amina Al Rustamani is the former group CEO of TECOM Group, who started her career as an electrical engineer at the company. An influential and charismatic business leader, Al Rustamani was ranked number 9 in the CEO Middle East’s fifth annual list of the world’s most powerful Arab women, published in 2015. In the same year, she grabbed the title of Advertising Person of the Year by Dubai Lynx .
Al Rustamani took active participation in the development of Dubai Design District and Dubai Wholesale City.

Noura Al Kaabi

Al Kaabi is the minister of Culture and knowledge development for the UAE. She served as the minister of state for Federal National Council Affairs before she was assigned the current responsibility. She has also been the chairperson of twofour54 and Abu Dhabi Media Company.
Al Kaabi made it to the list of ‘Top 100 Global Thinkers’ by Foreign Policy Magazine, the first Emirati to have achieved the distinction.
She was honored with “Business Woman of the Year” title at the Gulf Business Awards and she also received the “Young Achiever Award” at the AmCham, Abu Dhabi’s Annual Excellence Awards.

Nahla Al Rostamani

Nahla is not your conventional type of woman who used to play with dolls when she was small. She was rather attracted towards racing cars and was successful in breaking through the glass ceilings and fulfilling her passion of becoming a racing driver. Al Rostamani is the first female Emirati F3 driver.
According to Nahla, “I had to stand tall and prove to society and to my culture that I am not doing anything wrong, I am just pursuing my dream and passion. As a result, I have gained respect, love and more loyal friends.”
She is a role model for other women to follow their dreams and to become their own boss.