DUBAI – The University of Dubai (UD) has successfully consolidated and maintained its financial quality certificate MSI 20000, based on the outcome of the first surveillance audit.

Once again, UD has achieved an outstanding score by conforming to the requirements of the standards, hitting an initial score of 161 points out of 200, which exceeds first time’s performance by 60%.

The University was awarded the financial quality certificate MSI 20000 at the end of 2020 to become the first educational institution in the region to obtain this international standard allocated to the financial quality of companies

The certificate was awarded by the French certification body Commission for Financial Certifications (COFICERT), with the technical support of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh & Co. Consulting (TAG-Consult), a member of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global), the exclusive professional partner of COFICERT in the Middle East.

The standard is a comprehensive measurement and evaluation model of financial performance that is based on benchmarking in the business sector. It focuses on two main aspects; the financial solidity and financial performance.

Out of the 60 global performance indicators according to which the UD was evaluated on its financial governance, UD exceeded its previous results in nearly all of them. During an ongoing COVID pandemic that had a major impact on the global economy, these outstanding results confirm once more the firmness and the solidity of UD, reflected entirely throughout its excellent financial performance and continuous growth achieved during the past six years.

It is also to be reminded that the results of the MSI 20000 evaluation report show that UD has achieved outstanding rates in the results of benchmark comparisons in the University sector, which includes the best leading international universities, such as “Oxford, Amsterdam, and Quebec, in addition to the University of London, Paris School of Business, and others. UD has even outperformed these institutions financially on several criteria.

UD President, H.E. Dr. Eesa Al Bastaki, pointed out that the certification had consolidated and continued to help the improvement of the University’s exerted efforts in developing and supporting its financial strategies. “The certification proves its commitment to the continuous improvement of the financial position and the development of its risk management,” he said. 

He added that the financial quality is part of the overall performance of any institution that aims to succeed and make progress in several areas, noting that successful institutions and companies compete with each other to implement international standards that secure financial sustainability, based on the quality of services and products they provide in global markets.

Dr. Al Bastaki said that the University of Dubai accepted this challenge despite the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and proved through its new results again to the world and the relevant parties, the strength of its financial governance and its successful strategy in managing the crisis.

For his part, HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and chairman of TAG. Global, expressed his pride in this global achievement by UD in consolidating the MSI 20000 certification and the results of this first surveillance audit prove once again to the world, the extent of the Arab institutions’ commitment to the global best practices, as well as, their keenness on the quality financial performance, governance, disclosure, and transparency.

Furthermore, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh restated that the MSI 20000 certification is handled by TAG-Consult in its capacity as the exclusive professional partner of COFICERT. 

UNIVERSITY OF DUBAI (UD)

Located in Dubai’s Academic City, the UD is one of the institutions affiliated with the Dubai Chamber. It aims at supporting the UAE’s government initiative to qualify its citizens through human resources development programs in both the private and public sectors. The University adopts university curricula that satisfy the highest local and international educational standards approved in the UAE and the USA.

TALAL ABU-GHAZALEH & CO. CONSULTING (TAG-CONSULT)

TAG-Consult operates out of the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global offices, which has more than 100 offices in the Middle East, Africa, and the world and representative offices spread in Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America. It also operates through a network of experts and specialists to offer the best management consulting services to local and international companies and institutions, in accordance with the best practices in this field.

COFICERT

COFICERT is the first specialized dedicated body to the certification of the financial and extra-financial standards in the world. The organization gathers national and international experts around standards and certification, related to Finance: such as financial governance, anti-money laundry, counter financing of terrorism, corporate social responsibility. 

MSI 20000 STANDARD

The standard focuses on evaluating all the data related to financial affairs and companies’ management through a sectoral approach and strict principles, based on many evaluation criteria and performance indicators utilizing benchmarking. The standard was developed by the French, non-government organization MSI Observatory, by leading experts in the field of finance. It was then tested and adapted over several years. It was first launched in 2008, during the global economic crisis.