Professional Opportunities for Indian CAs in Dubai, UAE

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Professional Opportunities for Indian CAs in Dubai, UAE & Northern Emirates – Role of the ICAI Chapter. Opportunities are galore for Indian Chartered Accountants in UAE, particularly with Indian CAs enormously contributing to the economy in Dubai and the other Emirates of UAE. This phenomenon is being facilitated by ICAI Dubai Chapter, which was formed way back in 1982, justifying the presence of a large number of Indian Chartered Accountants. Read on to know more….

Professional Opportunities for Indian CAs in Dubai, UAE

If we look into the current numbers, ICAI Dubai has membership of over 2,000 members and we are aware that there are still a large number of Indian Chartered Accountants who are working and living in the area but have not enrolled themselves as members of ICAI Dubai, which may be due to one reason or the other. When we look into the penetration of ICAI members, we see a large number of areas where members are present and for the sake of clarity, the three major areas of presence of members include Industries, Professional Practice, and Banking. A large numbers of members are working in industry, followed by Professional Practice and Banking and the percentage will be around 65%, 20%, and 15% respectively.

When we talk about industry, the members’ presence can be divided into the following sectors:

  • Government Companies
  • Large Diversified Groups including MNC’s
  • Other Companies which are not part of the above and can either be established on mainland or free Zones in Dubai and other adjoining Emirates.

In the above stated Companies, the Chartered Accountants are mainly employed in the Finance sector with the position from the junior level to the position of CFO depending upon the experience the members have gained in their career. There are a large number of Companies in the region in diversified industries and massive opportunities exist for our members in the industry.

Moving forward, the other area of opportunities is professional practice in a large number of Accounting firms including Big 4, mid-tier firms and the firms locally set-up by our members in the region. Over the years, the Big Four Accounting firms have been one of the largest employers of Indian Chartered Accountants and many Indian Chartered Accountants are currently serving as Partners and are on the senior level in these firms.

Besides, all mid-tier firms which are ranked amongst top 20 accounting networks and many Indian Chartered Accountants with the practice established for many years, also employ a large number of Indian Chartered Accountants and huge opportunities exist in the field of professional practice. In all, there are more than 200 accounting firms and most of the firms are managed by Indian Chartered Accountants wherein a wide range of services is provided to the industry.

Banking is one of the most important sectors wherein huge opportunities exist for Indian Chartered Accountants which is not just limited to the finance but large numbers of Chartered Accountants are currently employed in almost all departments including finance, credit, risk, operations, and sales. There are many banks whose CFO position is held by Indian Chartered Accountants and there has been a significant contribution by Chartered Accountants in the overall growth of the banking sector in the region.

Even though I have categorised the opportunities in three sectors above, I would also like to clearly express that there is no field which has been left untouched by Indian Chartered Accountants who have made significant contributions in the respective fields. There is significant presence of Indian accounting fraternity in many sectors of the country

There are numerous examples of Indian Chartered Accountants turning entrepreneurs and many Indian Chartered Accountants also hold the position of CEOs in many big groups of UAE. Hence, the contribution of Indian Chartered Accountants is not just limited to the finance field but with the top positions in the management of the Companies, the contribution to the overall growth of the economy has been immense and widespread.

Honestly, it will not be an exaggeration to say that Indian Chartered Accountants have contributed as one of the strong pillars of the economy and it has significantly helped in building confidence, trust and positive environment in the economy. The Indian Chartered Accountants who have lived in the region have worked hard towards building trust and gaining confidence which in turn has helped them achieve tremendous success and given opportunities to them in significantly raising the industry standards, giving valuable strategic advice and act as business partners in the growth of the economy.

To make an effective contribution to the growth of the region, it is very important that we acquire requisite skills in a good way and my sincere advice to all my fellow colleagues would be to work hard and gain those skills which can make a difference to whatever field they are employed in.

Challenges create opportunities and it becomes necessary that challenges exist as it helps in bringing the best out of us. My best wishes to all my fellow members who want to build their career in this region.

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