Kuwait Finance House (KFH), represented by the Group Internal Shariah Audit, organized a group-wide workshop titled Planning Stages in the Internal Sharia Audit Process with the participation of 26 employees from Sharia departments across the Group (Kuwait, Bahrain and Turkey).

The workshop aimed to enrich participants’ professional expertise in internal Sharia auditing, facilitate the exchange of technical experiences and best practices among Sharia departments across the Group, and standardize the process applied to annual and strategic planning for internal Sharia audit activities.

During the workshop, three core programs were delivered under the following themes: procedures for preparing the strategic annual plan for Sharia auditing, presented by Mohamed AlMualla from KFH-Bahrain, procedures for preparing Sharia audit plans, presented by Dr. Ismail Hatoglu from KFH-Turkey, and professional planning of Sharia audit tasks in accordance with ISAE3000 standard, presented by Yousef Almajed from KFH-Kuwait.

Group Executive Manager Internal Shariah Audit, Abdullah Al-Shuaib, commended the contributions of the participants and the engagement demonstrated during the workshop. He also highlighted the importance of proactive planning in the Sharia audit process and its positive impact on all subsequent stages of Sharia auditing.

He emphasized the significance of continuous communication and collaboration among colleagues across the Group through workshops, noting their positive outcomes and constructive role in enhancing performance and accelerating progress. He noted that these events provide valuable opportunities to exchange expertise, enhance practices, and standardize the professional methods of Sharia auditing.

He also highlighted the importance of Sharia auditing as a fundamental pillar of Sharia governance in Islamic banks in Kuwait, describing it as a key safeguard that ensures banking services and products fully comply with Sharia requirements and are in complete alignment with the principles and applications of Islamic Sharia, and the resolutions and fatwa issued by the Bank’s Sharia’a Supervisory Board.

 Al-Shuaib also emphasized the role of effective planning, the development of executable programs for approved plans, and their translation into clear timelines spanning different periods. He stressed the need to incorporate monitoring and evaluation elements, prepare schedules and charts illustrating stages of progress, and document observations, if any, while presenting them to work teams with full transparency and professionalism. He noted that this approach helps mitigate factors that may affect achievement rates, success indicators, and levels of compliance with Sharia rulings and applications, while taking into account the nature and characteristics of each market in which the Group operates, and adhering to Sharia, regulatory and administrative requirements of the relevant supervisory authorities in each market.

Al-Shuaib honored the participants at the end of the workshop, commending their interaction and commitment to benefiting from the program.