The advisory board of the Master of Accounting and Finance has organized a visit to Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF), on Sunday 7February, 2016, to discuss potential collaboration with the College of Administrative Sciences of ASU that is aimed at enhancing the curriculum of the Master of Accounting and Finance program.

The visit has taken place in BIBF premises with the presence of Dr Al-Shaikh, BIBF deputy director, Deen Jayah, head of the center of Banking, Accounting & Finance, Hussain Jubail, Programme manager of the Banking & Finance center, and the advisory board composed of Dr Mohamed Al Khinji (Chair), Dr Shaban Islam, Dr Ziad Zuriqat (Dean), Dr Ramzi Nekhili (Vice Dean), and Dr Bashar Matarneh (MAF program coordinator).

The meeting started with a brief video introduction on BIBF and a visit to the Dealing Room where simulation training is conducted. A brainstorming discussion was carried afterwards around topics that concern benchmarking with professional bodies like CPA, ACA, and others, using simulation as a mean to prepare future graduates to real-life practices, and the role of professional certification in employability.

BIBF has accepted to allow our master of accounting and finance students to have a demo day on simulation training and to work closely with the programme coordinator to benchmark the porgramme curriculum with professional bodies. BIBF agreed to pay us a visit to Applied Science University to introduce undergraduate students the existing professional certifications and their importance not only for Bahrain job market but also around the Gulf Cooperation Council.