EY Academy Concludes Middle East Corporate Reporting Insights Roadshow

Business

EY Academy Concludes Middle East Corporate Reporting Insights Roadshow

EY Academy has concluded its 2025 Corporate Reporting Insights Roadshow, a major regional initiative that brought together nearly 950 senior finance professionals across the Middle East to prepare for the next phase of global financial reporting reform.

The program was held across eight cities in six countries, including Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. It convened chief financial officers, finance directors, controllers and industry specialists at a critical juncture marked by extensive changes to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

The roadshow focused on the implications of IFRS 18, IFRS 19 and other amendments issued by the International Accounting Standards Board between January 2024 and June 2025. These updates represent the most significant overhaul of financial reporting standards in more than a decade, prompting organisations across sectors to reassess reporting frameworks, performance measures and disclosure practices.

Participants from banking, asset management, government, manufacturing, retail and consumer goods sectors attended the sessions, highlighting the cross-industry urgency to strengthen reporting capabilities ahead of upcoming implementation deadlines.

Fazeela Gopalani, EY MENA Academy Leader, said the strong turnout reflected a growing recognition of corporate reporting as a strategic capability. She noted that the sessions were designed not only to explain regulatory changes but also to help organisations interpret and apply them with confidence.

The roadshow featured in-depth discussions on IFRS 18’s new performance reporting structure, including mandatory subtotals, profit categories and enhanced disclosure requirements. Other key topics included materiality, aggregation and disaggregation principles, real-world challenges under IFRS 15 and IFRS 9, and recent IASB updates affecting leases, supplier finance arrangements and covenant disclosures.

The sessions also addressed interpretation challenges emerging in global practice, using scenario-based discussions to examine complex areas such as financial instruments, leasing arrangements, contingent consideration and alternative performance measures.

Beyond technical updates, the program explored the broader strategic implications of IFRS reform, including potential revisions to key performance indicators and remuneration metrics, operational changes required to support more granular disclosures, and evolving expectations from investors and regulators across the region.

The roadshow was led by Lakatos László Péter, Associate Senior Trainer at EY Poland and IFRS specialist, who guided participants through practical case studies and implementation scenarios aligned with the latest IASB guidance.

Marco AbouZahr, EY MENA Financial Accounting Advisory Services Leader, said the initiative underscored the role of high-quality corporate reporting in building trust, supporting investment and enabling long-term economic growth as regional capital markets continue to expand.

The Corporate Reporting Insights Roadshow forms part of EY Academy’s wider efforts to support finance professionals as they prepare for IFRS 18 and IFRS 19 implementation from 2027. EY Academy plans to build on the program’s success by expanding its technical and leadership offerings in 2026, including tailored in-house workshops, industry-specific IFRS labs and certification pathways.