Business & Money | Wednesday 31 August, 2016 11:52 am |

Fahad Ayed Al-Shammari the CFO at Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corporation (Spimaco Addwaeih) listed company in Saudi Stock Exchange (TASI), has earned the prestigious Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation.

The CFA charter, the most respected and recognized investment credential in the world, represents a tradition of upholding the highest standards of education and integrity in the investment profession. The charter is recognized globally by employers, investment professionals, and investors as the definitive standard by which to measure the competence, integrity, and dedication of serious investment professionals.

Recipients of the CFA charter have successfully completed the CFA Program, a graduate-level, self-study curriculum and a series of three intensive examinations taken sequentially, which, in total, takes most candidates between two and five years. Candidate surveys report that preparation for the three exams typically requires at least 900 combined hours of study.

The CFA Program, which is administered by CFA Institute, the global not-for-profit association of investment professionals, sets a standard that is acknowledged around the world for measuring the competence and integrity of financial analysts, portfolio managers, and investment advisers. Currently, more than 100,000 investment professionals in 135 countries and territories hold the CFA charter.

The first CFA exam was administered in 1963. Due to the rigor of the program, only around one in five candidates who enroll in the CFA Program pass all three exams and meet the professional and ethical requirements to earn the charter. Earning the designation demonstrates mastery of the skills most needed for investment analysis and decision making in today's fast-evolving global financial industry.

Administered worldwide in English, the CFA Program is firmly grounded in the knowledge and skills required every day in the investment profession and covers ethical and professional standards, securities analysis and valuation, international financial statement analysis, quantitative methods, economics, corporate finance, portfolio management, and performance measurement.

Fahad is a highly qualified financial executive having over 16 years of extensive and diversified experience in finance, accounting, project management, and investments in addition to being a CFA Charterholder, he has a golden set of internationally recognized qualifications and certificates such as SOCPA, CMA, MBA, Dip in Islamic Finance, and ACCA Certificate in IFRS CertIFR. He spent the first 10 years of his career life starting from 2000 in STC the biggest telecommunication company in MENA region carrying over different roles and assignments. Early 2011 he moved to work with two of the biggest Saudi national projects where he spent total of three years in managing accounting functions, these projects are SATORP and Maaden Aluminum that are owned by Saudi Aramco and MAADEN respectively. Since April 2014 Fahad is holding his current role. The 9th Annual CFO Strategies Forum recognized him for achieving the 2nd ranking in (Revolutionary CFO of the Year Award) during the MENA CFO Awards Ceremony held in Sofitel The Palm Hotel in Dubai on 26th of October 2015. This award is presented to the CFO of a public or private company who has broken through the traditional boundaries of finance and demonstrated innovation by expanding beyond accounting and control to a more active role developing strategies, and articulating them internally and externally to win the support of all key stakeholders, the judge's panel has praised Mr. Fahad leadership skills that combined with his knowledge and expertise in Accounting and Finance field that assist him progressing in his career.

"I am honored and proud to finally receive my charter," Al-Shammari said. "It represents the successful culmination of hundreds of hours of study and a demonstrated commitment to professionalism and ethics."

John Bowman, CFA, managing director, Americas at CFA Institute, explained what motivates candidates to make such a significant investment of their time and energy to seek to earn the CFA designation.

"For 50 years, candidates have sought to earn the CFA charter for two chief reasons," Bowman said. "One, to expand and test their knowledge of current practice across a broad range of investment topics, and two, to demonstrate to clients, employers, and peers their mastery of a demanding body of knowledge.

"In the past decade, as the CFA Program has been adopted as a worldwide standard, the charter also has become an 'international passport' to work in financial markets anywhere in the world," Bowman concluded.