Middle East and North Africa members gather in Kuwait City for their regional meeting
Seventeen delegates representing eleven member firms, including a member firm from Turkey, attended the 2022 MENA Region meeting on the 8th of December in Kuwait City. Attendees were delighted to be getting together and to catch up on news after a 3-year absence of meetings.
A memorable start to the meeting
To get the event started in style, a stretched limousine collected delegates to take them to the pre-meeting dinner at the famous - and very photogenic - Kuwait towers which stand on a promontory extending into the Persian Gulf. A great evening of reconnecting was had by all!
Introductions
Beginning the main day, newly elected IC leader Mohamed Boumesmar, Partner at Audicis, based in Casablanca, Morocco, welcomed and thanked all for making the time to attend the meeting. He specially thanked Faiyaaz Rajkotwala, Partner at MGI Salim Rajkotwala & Associates, based in Dubai, UAE, who has led the region for the past 8 years, for his unstinting commitment and hard work to grow the region, and representation at the International Committee.
Hesham Elsakka, Managing Partner of the host firm, Boubyan Consulting Company, based in Kuwait City, did a quick welcome after which the mic was around the room for members to introduce themselves and their firm. Alok Saksena, Partner at Alok K Saksena Accounting & Auditing had extra time to introduce his firm as a new member based in Qatar.
Regional updates and thought-provoking talks
Before the morning break Regional Director, Audrey Danasamy gave a regional and global update. That followed with Mohamed presenting the results of the MENA membership survey that was conducted prior to the meeting. Members broke up into 3 groups to discuss the key item: “How well do you think your goals are met through your membership?” - the ideas generated will form part of the action plan for the region.
Three members Hesham Elsakka, Rakesh Jobanputra, Partner at MGI Vision Chartered Accountants, based in Oman, and Chiheb Ghanmi, Partner at GAC - La Generale d'Audit et Conseil, in Tunisia, spoke about the Digital and Data World: Opportunities and Threats for Auditing, Accounting and Advisory firms.
Regional business
After this eye-opening session, the meeting wound down to discuss the region’s administration matters including the venue of the next meeting. Nadia Yaich, Managing Director at MGI Business & Financial Consulting (BFC), made a strong pitch for the meeting to be held in Tunis and majority agreed.
The meeting ended with the usual thank you’s to all those who helped organise the event and especially to Regional Director, Audrey Danasamy.
As the meeting timing coincided with the ongoing 2022 World Cup held in Qatar, Mohamed celebrated Morocco’s success as being the first Arab country to ever reach the tournament's quarter finals by giving out Morocco caps to 3 lucky draw winners at the end of the meeting.
To see all the event pictures please visit the MENA meeting Flickr album. For any further information contact [email protected]
MENA Region wishes you a very happy festive season!
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