In
the USA, the Securities & Exchange Commission, following through
on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the need to strengthen the independence
rules for auditors, has issued new rules that affect public companies
and the services their auditors provide. In the UK, there has been
a new development in the continuing debate over the liability of
auditors and to whom they owe a duty of care. As a result of a recent
court ruling and under the guidance of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants in England & Wales , firms are now adding an additional
paragraph in their audit reports. This states that they neither
accept, nor assume, responsibility to anyone other than the company
and the company's members, as a body, for the audit work or for
the audit opinion. No doubt this may cause a stir in the UK business
community and it will be interesting to see to what extent this
permeates into international practice.
Mr.Tanvir Kanji is a pillar of the local Advertising Industry.
He shares his thoughts on the role of advertising as an investment
or expenditure.
Dr. Shihab Al Ghanem, the Managing Director of Mohammed Bin Rashid
Technology Park (MRTP) represents the face of the present UAE -
young, literate, dynamic and creative. His vision of the MRTP and
the role it will play in upgrading technology is discussed in the
interview inside. Dr. Shihab is also a promising poet and one of
his poems is featured after the interview.
Outsourcing is big business globally. We feature an article on the
issue and its relevance in the UAE. We also have updates on developments
in Oman and in the offshore and free zone arena. Building a successful
organization requires an overall strategy. Knowing where you wish
to be and then designing to get there is the subject of an article
on "Systems Thinking"
A quarter of the new year will be over by the time this reaches
you. The year so far has been tension-filled. One hopes and prays
that peace will prevail soon and that it will be business as usual.
