The Institute of Internal Auditors Signs MoU with New ARABCIIA Regional Body

LAKE MARY, Fla., Feb. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Institute of Internal Auditors - (IIA) - the internal audit profession's leader in standards, certifications, education, research, and technical guidance worldwide – today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the newly-formed Arab Confederation of Institutes of Internal Auditors or "ARABCIIA." The new ARABCIIA functions as a regional body that will help existing IIA affiliates in 10 countries – Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - to better share resources and enhance collaboration. It will also help drive global adoption of The IIA's Standards and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) certification and drive many other collaboration initiatives between the region and the Global IIA Headquarters.

Anthony Pugliese, The IIA's President and CEO, and Benito Ybarra, The IIA's Global Board Chair were both in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to sign the MoU. The ARABCIIA was represented by His Excellency Dr. Hussam Alangari, Chairman of the ARABCIIA and Abdullah S. Alshebeil, Secretary General of ARABCIIA.

"We're excited to welcome the new Arab Confederation to our IIA family," said Pugliese. "This agreement with the newly-created ARABCIIA will better enable our affiliates to collaborate among one another and with IIA Global Headquarters on research, events, and translation, facilitate continuous profession education, and support our shared efforts to grow the internal audit profession. This is a great example of our "OneIIA" approach in action – our profession benefits when we work together."

The new Confederation will strengthen the link between its associate members and it will represent those members before international bodies and organizations. Additionally, the Confederation will promote, develop and improve internal audit practices in member states through the following:

• Increasing the level of awareness of internal auditing standards and the techniques and methods of their application.
• Institutional support for members through workshops, training, translation, and upgrading of knowledge
• Issuing directives and instructions for the implementation of internal audit work
• Increasing the level of professional qualification of internal audit personnel and issuing profession certificates
• Preparing research, studies, and publications related to the internal audit profession

Dr. Alangari stressed that the ARABCIIA is developing cooperation with the entities within the Arab region for strategic alignment that adds professional and practical value to the internal audit profession, enabling it to achieve its functional mission, goals, and delivering its mandate. He stated that signing this MOU with IIA Global at this early stage in the establishment of the Confederation, and having The IIA's Global Board Chair and CEO present in the signing ceremony, clearly reflect the vision to carry this strategic alignment forward. He indicated that the MoU signing is a major opportunity for enhancing cooperation and developing the profession in the Arab region, considering that IIA Global is the leader for all internal auditing profession around the world.

The IIA has existing MoUs with regional bodies in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America, and francophone countries. The new agreement with ARABCIIA covers a vital and rapidly-growing region and ensures that the profession's fastest growing region will adhere to – and be supported by – the best-in-class standards established by The IIA.

"The IIA and the affiliates that comprise the ARABCIIA regional body all recognize the value of maintaining a strong relationship," said Ybarra. "This agreement will allow our affiliates to maintain local organization, while also benefitting from regional collaboration. We're all excited about the potential for future growth that this agreement will enable."

About The Institute of Internal Auditors

The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an international professional association that serves more than 230,000 global members and has awarded more than 185,000 Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) certifications worldwide. Established in 1941, The IIA is recognized throughout the world as the internal audit profession's leader in standards, certifications, education, research, and technical guidance. For more information, visit theiia.org.

SOURCE The Institute of Internal Auditors