CIMA (the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) is the first professional chartered accountancy body to offer a global qualification in Islamic Finance, which the CIMA Centre of Excellence launched last week.

The Islamic finance industry is thought to be worth between £150bn and £250bn, and is growing at an estimated rate of 15 to 20%. In an exciting new development in meeting the needs of its employer and student stakeholders, CIMA today launches a global qualification in Islamic Finance.

“We believe that this is a first for a professional accountancy body. To date, few courses are available in this area of finance and normally comprise of short one to three day events. CIMA’s self-study qualification has been developed alongside the International Institute of Islamic Finance, with detailed input from its CEO Dr Mohd Daud Bakar, a renowned Shari’ah Scholar,” CIMA said.

“CIMA has identified that there is considerable demand from the global business community to develop the knowledge and skills required to service this increasingly important market. The CIMA Islamic Finance qualification is the first to be created in conjunction with an Advisory Group made up of academics, practitioners and scholars of Shari’ah, and will assist employers in the City of London and other major financial centres throughout the world in equipping their employees to develop financial products,” CIMA Director Education Robert Jelly said.

CIMA’s new qualification is available at Certificate level and comprises four modules: Islamic commercial law; Islamic banking and takaful (insurance); Islamic capital markets and instruments; and accounting for Islamic financial institutions. It is estimated that a student can complete these modules in between 2 – 6 months depending upon prior experience.

The qualification is available across the globe as a series of study guides, revision kits and a microsite and provides students with a thorough knowledge of the theoretical and religious aspects that underpin Islamic finance. On completing the Certificate, students will be comfortable with the array of Arabic terminology used throughout as well as the regulations which govern Islamic finance in practice.

Dr Mohd Daud Bakar is a renowned Shari’ah Scholar whose expertise is in demand around the world. CEO of the International Institute for Islamic Finance, he is currently a member of both the Advisory Council of the Central Bank of Malaysia and the Securities Commission of Malaysia. He acts as Shari’ah advisor for the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, International Islamic Financial Market, BNP Paribas, Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, the HSBC Amanah Global Shari’ah Committee, Oasis Asset Management and Unicorn Investment Bank amongst others. Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar also consults on structuring Islamic capital market products such as sukuks.

CIMA (the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) is the only international accountancy body with a sole focus on business. It is a world leading professional institute that offers an internationally recognised qualification in management accountancy, focusing on accounting in business, in both the private and public sectors. It is the voice of over 158,000 students and members in 161 countries. CIMA is responsible for the education and training of management accountants who work in industry, commerce and not-for-profit and has more members in the public sector than any other UK based body.

CIMA prides itself on the commercial relevance of its syllabus, which is in tune with the activities of high performance organisations, and evolves continually to reflect the latest developments in global business. CIMA has been nominated as a UK superbrand for a second year in a row this year and for the first time in Sri Lanka. According to independent research conducted by the University of Bath School of Management, CIMA’s syllabus and examination structure are the most relevant to the needs of business of all the accountancy bodies assessed.