Salem Youssef Al-Qaseer, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sharjah Prize in Public Finance – the first award of its kind in the Arab world – has confirmed that the second edition of the prize has been expanded to include 17 different categories.
This represents a significant qualitative advancement at the Arab level, as evidenced by the large and remarkable turnout. Al-Qaseer also noted that a series of introductory seminars and workshops were held in several Arab countries to explain the objectives and importance of the award, according to WAM.
The award has been given a new look after increasing its institutional and individual categories and expanding its reach to include more candidates from Arab countries and institutions. The award guide has also been revised to include technical and organizational conditions and criteria that are more in line with current financial and economic changes and challenges.
Several Goals and Insightful Vision
Al-Qasir explained that since its establishment in 2016, the award, according to the vision and directives of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, has been working on translating its vision of “achieving outstanding government financial performance”. It emphasises the message that refers to “Creating and consolidating a qualitative shift in the performance, results and services of public finances in government agencies and institutions in the Arab region to reach a world-leading level, by providing a guiding model for excellence, and a continuous and sustainable set of improvement initiatives and development activities,” and working hard as one integrated team.
The award seeks to achieve a package of objectives to encourage the optimal utilisation of financial resources by using the best financial and administrative systems and government budgets to achieve sustainable development, achieve the principles of transparency, accountability and governance in all government agencies and their effectiveness in using the allocated funds to achieve the best returns and mobilise efforts to come up with innovative and creative solutions to develop mechanisms.
The work of government agencies in the matter of public finance, in addition to strengthening and enabling them to effectively implement the functions of financial and accounting management, keeping pace with international best practices in managing government finances and the public budget, deepening the application of the concept of performance budgets of various types in the matter of public finance, and providing indicators of a high degree of Comprehensiveness and accuracy to support policymakers, decision makers and strategic planners in public finance, are also among its objectives.
17 Different Categories Concerned With Empowering Financial Sector
The award’s second edition includes 17 different categories, nine of which are institutional, and eight individual categories. They would enable the financial sector to be a successful and sustainable lever for developing Arab countries by continuously measuring and evaluating its adherence to standards of excellence related to the financial sector at government-level institutions in Arab countries and enriching the competition among them to achieve optimal performance and successful financial management practices and experiences.
Institutional and Individual Categories
Institutional categories are the privileged body in public finance. These are the distinguished entity in electronic financial systems and applications; distinguished entity in management of financial projects; distinguished entity in financial innovation; distinguished authority in cash management and sovereign funds; distinguished entity in control, auditing and financial risk management; distinguished entity in providing financial services; distinguished entity in financial banking services and distinguished entity in the management of pension / social security funds.
As for the individual categories, these are the Distinguished Arab Financial Manager; Distinguished Arab Budget Manager; Distinguished Arab Tax Manager; Distinguished Arab Account Manager; Distinguished Arab Electronic Financial Systems Manager; Distinguished Arab Procurement and Contracts Manager; Distinguished Arab Financial Controller and Distinguished Arab Financial Accountant.