RECORDER REPORT
KARACHI: Meezan Bank becomes the First Islamic Bank in the country awarded with “Training Organization Outside Practice” (TOoP) status by Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP).
Having been awarded this status, Meezan Bank is now amongst the few organizations that can provide training to ICAP students who have completed Certificate of Accounting and Finance (CAF) level and are now eligible for 3.5 years of article ship.
Syed Najmul Hussain Senior National Council Member ICAP and Partner KPMG presented the authorization certificate to Irfan Siddiqui President & CEO, Meezan Bank in a ceremony held at Meezan Bank head office.
On the occasion, Ariful Islam Deputy CEO, Shabbir Hamza Khandwala CFO & Group Head Finance, Khalid Zaman Khan Group Head HR, L&D, Omair Jamal Senior Director Education and Training ICAP and Salman Abbasi Deputy Director Training and Student Affairs ICAP along with senior management from both organizations.
With this certification Meezan Bank has become the first Islamic bank and one of only three banks in the country to be authorized as a TOoP in association with ICAP.
The TOoP Scheme has been launched by ICAP to enable businesses to build sustainable human capital; and has emerged as an international trend opening opportunities for students as well as existing employees for professional development and career advancement.
Through this combined initiative, the two organizations will contribute to the industry’s growth by training the next cadre of leaders. The article ship will create further opportunities for students who are pursuing their career in accounting & finance and Islamic banking in particular and will accelerate the synergy required to produce professionals with high competency standards.
Commenting on this development, Irfan Siddiqui President Meezan Bank has said that Meezan Bank and ICAP share a common goal for cultivating talent for Islamic finance as well as creating valuable knowledge resources aimed towards enhancing the business and finance sectors.
He said that as part of Meezan Bank’s ongoing efforts to further develop industry-academia partnership, the Bank recently launched the ‘Meezan Pro League’ which is a talent development program for young and competent individuals who wish to grow in the field of finance and accounting.
