UAE Internal Auditors Association (IAA) to increase number of UAE nationals working in private and government sectors by tenfold by 2021

UAE-IAA leads the region in quality internal auditing training

DUBAI, May 28, 2017: The UAE Internal Auditors Association (UAE-IAA) is actively working towards increasing the participation of UAE nationals in the workforce through its recently launched internal auditing training programme, HASAAD. 

HASAAD programme, running in collaboration with Higher Colleges of Technology, Protiviti and PRC, is aligned with ABSHER, an initiative by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which focusses on creating job opportunities for UAE nationals, vocational guidance and counselling, training and development, besides encouraging Emiratis to work in the private sector.

The UAE-IAA conducted the graduation ceremony for the fourth batch of HASAAD graduates for the Ministry of Interior, Abu Dhabi, last week. The apex body for internal auditors in the region introduced the programme in Arabic for the first time during the fourth batch. 

The graduation ceremony was held at Sofitel Al Cornish Abu Dhabi and attended by Abdulqader Obaid Ali, Chairman, UAE-IAA, Naima Al Menhali, Director of Audit & Compliance at the Petroleum Institute besides being a Board member with UAE- IAA and Ahmed Al Khouri Chief Business Development Officer, the Higher Colleges of Technology.

Abdulqader Obaid Ali, Chairman of UAE Internal Auditors Association, said: “Organisations across government and private sector are focusing on enhancing the role of internal auditing, which can play a key role in enhancing productivity and leading to success of any organisation. The UAE organisations are on the forefront when it comes to adopting the best international practices in every field. 

By providing world-class training to Emiratis, HASAAD is contributing to developing local talent to match international requirements. It is also contributing to increasing the participation of Emirati youth in workforce. We are expecting more than 30 people to undergo HASAAD training by the end of this year.”

The UAE IAA aims to increase the current number of UAE nationals working as internal auditors in the private and public sectors by tenfold by the year 2021. As per the Vision 2021 document, the UAE strives to shift towards a knowledge-based economy pioneered by UAE nationals with a skill set revolving around knowledge and creativity. 

The programme focuses on providing technical training in internal auditing, alongwith developing soft skills in the areas of negotiation, presentation & report writing. In addition, it prepares the attendees to deal with on the job situations by sharing of life challenges and experiences of Chief Audit Executives. HASAAD also provides training to the candidates to enable them to pass Parts 1 and 2 of the Certified Internal Auditor ‘CIA’ qualification. 

Sharing his experience of undergoing HASAAD training, Waleed M. Al Hadhrami, Internal Auditor with ADGAS, said: “Coming from an engineering background the programme assisted me a lot in getting clear picture about what auditing is and why it is important. The programme was very inspirational, energizing, bringing lots of ideas, with both substantial and in-depth knowledge together with case studies, learning from experience and being theory and practice oriented. The programme was well-balanced composition of participants, which contributed to interesting and focused discussions and exchanges.”

Another Hasaad graduate, Fatima Al Hammadi, Internal Auditor, Mubadala, said: “I passed parts 1 and 2 of CIA, thanks to HASAAD.”