IMA Announces Speaker Line-Up, Sponsors for Middle East Regional Conference

Press release

Published September 3rd, 2018 - 08:39 GMT

Ammar Khayyat, JAMA President

IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountant) announces the speaker line-up for the Middle East Regional Conference taking place in Amman on September 15-16, 2018 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The two-day event brings together decision makers and influencers in the accounting and finance profession across all key industry sectors in the Middle East, Africa and India to discuss the skills professionals need to acquire as companies implement AI and automation which include machine learning, cognitive computing, and robotics process automation (RPA).

“Due to AI’s ability to successfully learn and master repetitive tasks with recognizable patterns, accounting is among the first professions to be impacted by mass automation. Although these developments can potentially threaten jobs, management accountants should see AI as an opportunity to outsource their routine tasks to machines to focus on value creation,” says Hanadi Khalife, director at IMA Middle East, Africa and India.

The conference will include several global and regional speakers and thought leaders including Jeffrey Thomson, the president and CEO of Institute of Management Accountants (IMA),Dr. Florence Eid-Oakden, CEO and Chief Economist, Arabia Monitor; Dr. Fadi Aloul, Professor and Department Head, Computer Science & Engineering, American University of Sharjah; Dr. Ma'en Al Qatamin, Founder, President and Chairman, Knowledge Horizon Ltd.; Jamal Abdul Jalil, Founder and Managing Partner, Aroma City Group; Ibrahim Manna, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, Careem; Mansoor Sarwar, Director Technical Services, Sage Middle East; Mohammed Ibrahim Alarifi, Group Chief Financial Officer, AWJ Holding; Loutfi K. Echhade, Financial Advisor and Consultant; and Yahia Kafi, Chief Financial Officer, Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives.

“The Jordanian Association of Management Accountants (JAMA) is excited to host this event to bring awareness to a variety of topics and the urgent call to action for accountants and financial professionals in business to rebalance their skill sets for the digital age of accounting,” states JAMA president Ammar Khayyat.

To date, several international and local organizations who share similar values to serve the profession and drive business performance have supported the event. This include Arab Bank, Ernst & Young, Morgan International and Sage (Platinum Sponsors), Wiley (Gold Sponsor) and Hock International and Al Sarh Group (Silver Sponsor). To see the conference program and register for the IMA Middle East Regional Conference, please visit http://www.imamiddleeastconference.org/speakers.php

Background Information

IMA (Institute of Management Accountants)

Empowering accountants and financial professionals to drive business performance, 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 90,000 members and 350 professional and student chapters and provides localized services through its offices in Montvale, N.J., USA; Zurich, Switzerland; Dubai, UAE; Shanghai and Beijing, China.