The Arab Financial and Accounting Forum to be held in Beirut to discuss the

"The global financial and economic crisis is not over and will not end until after the formulation of a new global economic order," Talal Abu-Ghazaleh

Beirut ? 1 December 2009 - It was announced in Beirut last week that the conference of the "Arab Financial and Accounting Forum ? the G20 Resolutions and their financial, economic and accounting implications" will be held in Beirut on 22 & 23 next December.

The announcement came at a press conference organized by "Confex International" by its Chairman, Mr. Rafik Zantout in the presence of H.E. Minister of Tourism, Mr. Fadi Abboud, and the Chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization, Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, and a host of financial and economic personalities.

Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh spoke to the press on this occasion and repeated his statement said at the beginning of the global financial crisis that ?it would take ten years?, and said: "Today we are experiencing a crisis that has not yet begun, and all that happened was that the debts have moved from the private sector to the public sector, and states became indebted more than their gross national product. While the total debt of companies is about 1,3 trillion U.S. dollars, the debts of states are more than of the U.S. $ 3 trillion. "

Abu-Ghazaleh confirmed "that the crisis is still there and will not end until the formulation of a new economic order. The world entered into the era of the G20 instead of the G7, and the G20 have met 3 times and their ministers met twice, in addition to many meetings at the international level, but the Arab nation did not; may be because our conditions are still better."

Abu-Ghazaleh also spoke about the importance of international accounting standards, and said that "there is an international demand that governments should not interfere in the drafting of these standards." He warned against "corrupt cash in the global economy the size of which in more than 60 trillion, while the volume of corrupt cash is ten times that figure. So the crisis is not over, not even started yet, and in order to save our financial institutions from the crisis we must address the crisis before it hit us, especially that there is a conflict between the International Federation of Accountants and other relevant organizations about the standards and their drafting. "

He added: "Therefore, the Arab Society of Certified Accountants decided to hold the "Arab of Financial and Accounting Forum" to draw attention to the crisis and the need to address it. We have issued the stress test and cash flow test programs, and we will launch the Islamic accounting program, which is the only source in the world for the issuance of Islamic standards."

Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh considered that the entry of Saudi Arabia to the group of twenty was the start of appreciating the Arab and Islamic role by the international community, and the joining of countries such as Brazil became part of the decision making. "

On his part, H.E. Minister Abboud commended Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization for its initiative to convene the Arab Financial and Accounting Forum in Lebanon, and said, "Specialized conferences are part of tourism in Lebanon and we must nurture and encourage them."

The Forum will be held on the initiative of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh & Co International and the Arab Society of Certified Accountants, in cooperation with the Bank of Lebanon, the Union of Arab Banks, the Association of Certified Accountants in Lebanon and the International Union of Arab Bankers. It will discuss various topics, including corporate governance, transparency test, stress test, cash flow test, fair value and hedging, securities, derivatives, investments and forensic accounting.

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