CIMA launches global qualification in Islamic finance

PETALING JAYA: The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) becomes the first chartered accountancy body to launch a global qualification for Islamic finance.

According to CIMA’s director of education Robert Jelly, the qualification is co-developed with the International Institute of Islamic Finance (IIIF) in order to address the needs of employers in the fast-growing Islamic finance industry.

“CIMA has identified that there is considerable demand from the global business community to develop the knowledge and skills required to service this increasingly important market,” said Jelly.

No doubt the Islamic finance industry is growing surpassing the growth of the available pool of talents in this field.

“Islamic finance is now a global phenomenon. It goes without saying that the education and training to support knowledge development in Islamic finance must be equally global,” said Dr Mohd Daud Bakar, president and CEO of IIIF.

“The challenge now is to identify a cost-efficient as well as a time-effective way to develop the essential human capital assets that will support and escalate Islamic finance to greater heights,” he added.

Launching the self-study qualification was Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, who said that human capital development is crucial in ensuring the development of the industry.

“Financial centres across the globe who possess any aspiration of becoming the lead Islamic Financial Centre would have already inscribed human capital as integral to their strategic development plans,” he said, adding that the number of Islamic financial institutions worldwide has grown to over 300 today in more than 75 countries.

CIMA’s new qualification comprises four modules: Islamic commercial law; Islamic banking and takaful; Islamic capital markets and instruments; and accounting for Islamic financial institutions.