We talk to Mohammed Karolia, IAB Accountant of the Year 2022 and IAB Ambassador about effective client relationships, his journey to self-employment, success and hopes for the future.
Look to the Future
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Simon is a UK academic with a varied and interesting career in higher education. Simon’s experience spans several academic disciplines from Geography and Earth Science to Contemporary Music. Simon has been a Dean of Business and Law in several UK Universities, and has worked in the Alternative Provider sector, always in demand for his experience in governance, Quality and Standards through government regulation, and management of complex institutional needs. Currently, Simon is the Executive Dean at Scholars School System, an Alternative Provided HE College with campuses across the UK, and international interests.
Simon is a Chartered Geographer and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Fellow of AdvanceHE (promoting professional standards in UK Higher Education) and Chartered Management Institute. Simon is also a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Educators, City of London Corporation.
Simon has a significant understanding of the position of UK Higher Education in the international field, being a Quality Assurance Agency International Reviewer, with extensive experience promoting and reviewing academic partnerships throughout Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa ad a university ambassador and Quality Regulator. Recently, Simon lived in Cairo where working as Dean of Business for the University of Hertfordshire (Egypt) he has developed a passion for Egypt’s history and recent current affairs.
Simon’s specialism is to lead complex multi-faceted institutions, and deliver positive change to meet institutional strategy needs. Such work requires enthusiasm and energy, balanced with an awareness of where knowledge runs out and teamwork begins!
Perhaps it comes with age, and Simon’s interests extend to Scuba Diving, classic cars and WWII history – always happy to share a conversation on one (or all) of the aforementioned!
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Leng Kuan Certified Public Accountants (Macau) – Managing Partner
XinCheng-LengKuan-LauKwok Joint Venture Tax Agency (ShenZhen) Co. Ltd. – Partner
Leng Kuan Accounting Learning Centre – Director
ACA, FCCA, CPA(US), CPA(Canada), FCPA(Australia), CGMA, CPA(HK), CPA(Macau)
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Prof. Khalid Al Khalifa is the founder of UCB and has been an academic for over 30 years holding Doctor of Philosophy in Management from University of Northumbria at Newcastle,UK since 2002.
From an early age, Prof. Al Khalifa had a passion for teaching. Even while he was a student at the Islamic University in Madina, Saudi Arabia, he started teaching in the summer centers for Islamic culture. When he conceptualized University College of Bahrain, and brought it in existence, in 2002, Prof. Al Khalifa’s vision was to provide a world class university for the people of Bahrain, providing qualitative cutting edge knowledge & expertise. It is his passion towards continuous learning and imparting knowledge, that UCB has been growing continuously. Prof. Al-Khalifa has undergone specialized training courses in Financial Management both Islamic & Corporate at London Business School. He has also attended training course in Educational Management at Harvard Graduate School of Education amongst many others. What makes him a true leader is his love and passion for the field of education and his generosity, whether it is in his offering scholarships to needy students or standing with the staff at the university.
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Dr Eric Li is a DBA graduate of Europort Business School in the Netherlands. Credit Manager (National Vocational Qualification Level 2), The Chairman of Beijing Zhongcaihe International Education Technology Group Co., Ltd., The Vice Chairman of the Accountant Branch of the China Association of Chief Financial Officer, The Director of the China Association of Professional Managers (CAPM),
The Director of the International Accountant Joint Certification Office of the Enterprise Financial Management Association of China, China Politics and Law Distinguished Researcher of Center for Research in Forensic Accounting of China University of Political Science and Law. China Chief Representative and Honorary Member of Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers (IAB, UK) and International Association of Professional Accountants (IAAP, UK).
Tel: +86 139 1177 2255
Email: chinacaishui@163.com
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Mr. Gary Yau is currently the Principal of Hong Kong School of Commerce, who joined the school in 2022 in the capacity of Executive Director. Prior to his role in education management, Mr. Yau has become a Certified Public Accountant under The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) and received his Practising Certificate while working in the taxation and auditing sectors of Big 4 and local accounting firms. Following years of experience in the accounting field, Mr. Yau found his passion and interest in the education sector which prompted his change of career path. Mr. Yau is also now an advisor in an international school in Hong Kong in creating a sustainability program, which won multiple awards for promoting and advocating sustainable development in the Kindergarten to Grade 12 sector. As being the lead of an accounting school with 65 years of history in Hong Kong, Mr. Yau is committed to provide and share his experience and insights for IAB on international and strategic matters as part of the International Advisory Board.
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Dr. Iyad Nasr is the CEO and founder of the London House of Consultants. A British company focusing on connecting the British resources in the field of academia and professional human development and the MENA region organizations private sector and the international organizations.
Dr. Nasr is an experienced diplomat who devoted the last 30 years to diplomatic, humanitarian and development work throughout his carrier.
He headed the Department of International Humanitarian Law and media relations for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Palestine for 10 years and headed the Human rights education program for the UNRWA. In 2013, he headed the UNOCHA for the Middle East and North Africa. Before returning to the UK to establish his private business, he represented the United Nations Population Fund Program the Arab Republic of Syria.
Dr. Nasr holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and communications as well as a degree in International Humanitarian Law. He has a rich long experience as an international expert in International Criminal Law, International Humanitarian Law and Diplomatic Law.
Dr. Nasr is a visiting professor at several universities of the UK, MENA region and GCC. He comes with a vast experience in academic work, teaching international law, human rights, psychology, human behavior and communications, and a wealth of 30 years of continuous and rich filed experience.
Dr. Nasr has extensive experience in the field of humanitarian management, development, emergency response and relief, protection and humanitarian financing as well as long years of practice as a humanitarian diplomate through working for the World Bank, OCHA, ICRC, UNRWA, World Vision International, UNDP, UNV and UNFPA. Currently, he is one of the lead humanitarian senior managers with extensive knowledge of the development and humanitarian operations globally and in the MENA region in particular including Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Palestine and the GCC.
Dr. Nasr is recognized for his well-established network in the region and globally as well as his deep understanding of the MENA region and its socio-political complexities. He has been advising a vast number of high level governmental and international entities on humanitarian financing, humanitarian and development policies, strategic donor relations and funding frameworks.
He is the author of the first of a kind Human Rights curriculum which was approved by the UNRWA and taught in its schools. He comes with a vast experience in educational management and HRs curriculum development.
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Ranjit SriVenkatesh has been associated with the IAB as Regional Advisor for South Asia since 2006 & and with IAAP in the same capacity since it’s inception in 2008.
A social entrepreneur & 5th generation businessman who started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 18 while pursuing his higher education in Business Management in the UK. Ranjit SriVenkatesh has close to three decades of business experience & over 23 years experience in transnational education and training. He has owned & managed businesses in UK, India, Srilanka, Nepal & the Middle East in various sectors ranging from Education management services, Vocational training, International Student recruitment, Knowledge Process Outsourcing, Media, Publishing, Textiles, Finance, Manufacturing & Agriculture.
He joined the board of IAAP as a Director and board member in 2022. Previously, he has also worked in the capacity of Regional Advisor with various awarding organisations in the UK such as Association of Business executives (ABE), Confederation of Tourism & Hospitality (CTH), Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) and his company is currently the Chief Representative (South Asia) for Buckinghamshire New University (UK).
As a social entrepreneur he is involved with various organisations, including being the Founder and Chairman of Bhuvkarma foundation a non – profit environmental and sustainable solutions organisation, the Managing Editor and CEO of Future Kerala daily business newspaper & Future Kerala magazine. He is currently the President of AAAOE( Association of Accredited Advisors on Overseas Education ), He has been involved with promoting sports in his home state of Kerala & was the former Senior Vice President of Kerala Baseball association, Vice President of Kerala Hockey & President of Ernakulam Hockey Association. He is also a member of the district Olympic association.
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Mohammad has more than 22 years of experience in Auditing, Finance, Regulatory Risk Management, Anti-money Laundering, compliance, and Corporate Governance. Over the past 22 years, his roles have included serving in the Banking Sector, and General Auditor at different leading auditing firms; he spent 10 years working for a “Big Four” public accounting firm and consulting, and 12 years within the Bank field. He holds the following certifications: Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Information System Auditor, Certified Risk professional, Islamic Financial Qualification, and Master of Business Administration in Finance.
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Max joined the IAB group and the IFA (Institute of Financial Accountants) in 2003 as representative. Prior to this, he was in lecturing and accountancy practice.
Since 2003, Max has been very active in providing international education consultancy and charity in education as part of personal social responsibility. With the approval of the IAB Group and the IFA, Max also served as a freelance consultant or as an external advisor to various UK and Australia professional organisations and universities such as The Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment (CISI, UK), the IFA (Now is part and known as Institute of Public Accountants Group, Australia), University of Bolton, Northampton, Glasgow Caledonian, (GCU) and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and the regulators, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA, Scotland) and the Financial Accreditation Agency (FAA), Malaysia.
Presently, Max is focusing serving the IAB group in Asia Pacific and China market and continue to serve as a charity consultant in education for Duan Hua University, Cambodia being a member of the International Advisor Council. A role in helping and developing a better-quality education for future generation in developing countries.
Max was given an appreciation award by the IPA Group for his commitment of services in June 2018 upon his retirement from IPA Group. In June 2023, Max was awarded by IAB Group for his excellent commitment and achievement in promoting the IAB Group in Asia Pacific and China Region.
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Mike has extensive experience of the UK education system, having followed a career in mainstream teaching, with over twenty years as a headteacher. He is now involved as a consultant for Higher and Further Education organisations in a number of countries, advising on the development of online learning content and quality assurance.
He joined IAB in October 2023 as Chief Examiner and is responsible for the design and regulatory compliance of the qualifications offered, with particular emphasis placed on the development of appropriate assessment material in line with the requirements of Ofqual.
His other active interests within education include being a governor sitting on the Education Governance Committee of The Children’s Trust School.
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Sarah achieved a 1st class honours degree in Business Management from Greenwich University, and was awarded a prestigious scholarship to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, USA in 2006.
Sarah has a successful career in business and management across different business sectors including retail, recreation and financial services. She qualified as a bookkeeper and established her own practice, ‘Women Who Count Ltd’ in 2009. She has developed that business into a successful enterprise employing a team of eight staff and managing over ninety clients.
Her recent business awards include, runner-up in the Kent Women in Business awards for Leadership and finalist in The Business of the Year & Employer of the Year at the Independent Business Awards Kent.
She supports nurturing bookkeepers and their business and holds the UK licence for the global organisation, ‘Pure Bookkeeping’. She has contributed to industry leading publications and is a regular columnist in the bookkeeping press.
Complementing IAB’s worldwide reach Sarah has established her own effective networks within the bookkeeping industry which extend to Australia and Canada. She has also built relationships with UK corporates including Barclays.
Recognised as an industry leader within bookkeeping Sarah was invited to become a director of the IAB in 2017 and took on the role of Chief Operations Officer in August 2019. From 2024, Sarah has been appointed the new CEO for the IAB.
At IAB, her aim is to raise the bar in bookkeeping; changing the mindset to challenge and build standards for professional practice amongst bookkeepers.
Alongside the IAB Group Global President she has been the driving force at IAB instigating modernisation; completely restructuring the organisation and re-defining its focus on integrity in process, practice and performance.
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Janet was appointed CEO of the IAB and its affiliated body the IAAP (International Association of Accounting Professionals) in 2018. She brings a wealth of experience in both running her own and managing businesses within different sectors, working in the UK and internationally. From 2024, Janet will begin her new role as IAB Group Global President.
Janet qualified as a bookkeeper in 1996 and established a significant and successful practice with clients including small businesses and SMEs.
Janet has a deep understanding of the needs of bookkeepers as well as the pressures brought by their clients. She has also operated in highly regulated industries following strict procedures, performing and ensuring due diligence, whilst managing people handling large cash sums and working in pressured performance environments.
Janet has held several volunteer positions for FSB (Federation of Small Business) progressing over several years to national treasurer and ultimately financial director. Her experience was key to supporting the organisation through significant changes and restructuring to deliver cost savings.
Janet’s ability as to lead at the highest levels and to deliver change means she is best placed to ensure the best service to members, while promoting and protecting the professional integrity of bookkeepers in the UK and internationally.
