OVER 200 members of IMA's (Institute of Management Accountants) local chapter in the Western Province of Saudi Arabia and members of the Managerial & Financial Training Centre (MFTC) attended a forum on Value Added Tax (VAT) in Jeddah. The country's economy has been hit by dramatic drop in the oil prices, which slowed down the global market and diminished business confidence in KSA as well as the entire GCC. "Finance and business professionals don't need to panic. Instead, we need to focus our attention on understanding the current economic scenario and the rationale behind increasing non-oil revenue which will include taxes in GCC in the coming period," stated Vijay Soni, chapter president while referring to the ACCA/IMA Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) for Q4 2016, which highlighted the need for a tighter fiscal policy to put the country's finance on a more sustainable footing. The country's budget estimates pegged an increase in non-oil revenue by 20 percent or SR199 billion compared to the previous year. With the ongoing budgetary realignment, this share is expected to increase further through energy subsidiary reforms, expatriate levy, business and household support program and taxes such as excise and VAT. "In the GCC, the VAT has been discussed and is expected to be implemented from early 2018. Such a fiscal reform would have an impact in business transactions, hence the need to gear up for the changes in the processes and cash flow management in organizations," Soni added. Alaa Swaleim, the resource speaker from TGS – Global, presented the fundamentals of VAT to the audience. Swaleim explained that VAT might be applied at various points of transaction from invoicing to signing an accord. Since this is the first time it would be implemented in GCC, experience from various countries such as UK, India, etc. could help the region. Rishi Malhotra, academic & community relations manager at IMA Middle East, reiterated IMA's commitment to support finance and accounting professionals by helping them find ways to boost organizational efficiency. The chapter's past president, Waleed Bamarouf suggested that professionals take courses on management and finance to prepare for the coming of taxes and levies in the region. In closing, Soni honored the speakers and noted the high interests among audiences who were actively writing down notes during the open forum. MFTC also awarded free education course vouchers to audiences. The event was supported by IMA Board Shoaib Malik, Ahmad Sammak, Essam Salem along with Mahmoud (MFTC) and volunteers from both IMA and MFTC. IMA, the association of accountants and financial professionals in business, is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA (Certified Management Accountant) program, continuing education, networking and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. IMA has a global network of more than 80,000 members in 140 countries and 300 professional and student chapters. Headquartered in Montvale, N.J., USA, IMA provides localized services through its four global regions: The Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Middle East/Africa.
