RIYADH — The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) held a Women's Accounting Leadership Series in Crowne Plaza Hotel on Tuesday for professionals in the accounting and finance industry across the Middle East. The Women's Accounting Leadership Series brings together female professionals working in finance and accounting and discuss the challenges and issues they face in their careers such as reaching decision-making roles within their organizations. Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Hasan Al-Bahes, president IMA Riyadh, said: "IMA Riyadh chapter, as well as IMA, support accountants and financial professionals in business through continuing education sessions, valuable information, and resources. IMA helps professionals to become Certified Management Accountants (CMA). CMA assesses professionals in major business areas including: planning, budgeting, business reporting, decision analysis, and risk management." Noura Al Kahtani, Director of Corporate Business Accounting, Strategic Planning & Development, Financial Affairs – Ministry of National Guard, Health Affairs, said: "In line with Saudi Vision 2030, the KSA government continues to invest in opportunities for women in order to support talent and career development. We believe significant progress has been made in KSA over the last decades but there is still a lot to be achieved in order to ensure gender-balanced leadership within Accounting and Finance through professional growth, development and career progress opportunities." "While the women's labor force participation in the MENA region is still low compared to the global average, it is essential to recognize the context and appreciate this leap forward in recent decades and the milestones achieved in terms of gender pay gap and career opportunities," said Hanadi Khalife, Director, MEA and India Operations at IMA. "The region has witnessed women taking leadership roles across different sectors but there remain challenges across a number of areas." The series features women leaders in business and finance who have broken through the glass ceiling in business and government leadership. In Riyadh, speakers include Farah Foustok, Chief Executive Officer at Lazard Gulf; Noura Alkahtani, CMA, Director of Corporate Business Accounting at the Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs; Areej Abukar, Consulting Senior Manager at PwC and Joy Ajlouny, Co-founder of Fetchr, the first start-up in the Middle East to be funded by a top venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. "With improved access to education, changing social norms, and technological innovation, women have considerably improved their skill sets, pursuing careers at prominent businesses and reaching management levels. They are ambitiously competing for jobs in the private sector but also starting up their own companies and becoming business owners themselves," Khalife added. The public sector still represents the largest share of female employment in the Kingdom. Data published by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development points to a significant increase in the number of women joining the private sector; increasing 130 percent from 215,000 in 2012 to 496,000 in 2016. In line with Saudi Vision 2030, the KSA government aims to increase women's participation in the workforce from 22 percent to 30 percent. The government is investing heavily on talent and career development for women and building a supportive infrastructure to strengthen the role of women and achieve strategic goals set out in the Vision. Supported by The University of Manchester and Sage, this exclusive event for women in accounting and finance is moderated by Lina Shabeeb, the first female client-facing consultant to work on the ground with the Saudi government on women education employment projects. — SG
