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RIYADH: Representatives from the Saudi Authority of Internal Auditors joined other international leaders and experts in Japan for the National Internal Audit Conference.

One of their aims is to strengthen cooperation between the authority and its foreign counterparts, reaffirming the Kingdom’s role in leading change and professional leadership at the global level. It will also highlight the authority’s experience in areas such as oversight, governance, transparency and compliance.

The authority’s CEO, Abdullah bin Saleh Al-Shebeili, was one of the keynote speakers. He stressed the need for international cooperation in developing the profession and said ������Ƶ attached great importance to internal auditing as a crucial tool for progress as it improved performance quality and helped ensure high standards.

He added initiatives presented by the authority, such as “From Riyadh to the World,” contributed greatly to the exchange of expertise and the building of professional networks that included China, Russia, Australia, Switzerland, Austria and the US. This in turn was reflected in developing methods of applying internal auditing in line with modern technological advances.

Al-Shebeili emphasized the importance of academic programs and partnerships with leading global universities, which the authority is currently undertaking with Harvard University in the US and Cambridge University in the UK.

These partnerships resulted in more than 200 professional leaders graduating from the Internal Audit Leadership program and 45 from Governance, Risk and Compliance.

He added the Kingdom had become a global hub for developing the profession by enhancing the quality of internal auditing, raising the efficiency of practitioners and building generations capable of leading the future.

The shared vision, he said, was to build an “audit profession without borders” based on knowledge, cooperation and innovation.

LONDON: A Saudi company that specializes in providing digital health solutions and e-services this week signed a deal with Syria to help develop its healthcare infrastructure.

Lean Business Services CEO Mohanned Al-Rasheed and Syria’s Minister of Health Musab Al-Ali oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding in the presence of Saudi Minister of Health Fahad Abdulrahman Al-Jalajel.

The deal will involve the use of innovative technologies developed by Lean, which is owned by the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund.

The company will also provide technical support, consultations and staff training to help Syria’s Ministry of Health build digital health and record systems.

The partnership will create data management and analytics solutions to ensure data flow between health systems and support the establishment of national standards and policies.

Al-Rasheed described the deal as “an important step toward building bridges of knowledge cooperation.”

“(This is) a strategic partnership to share the expertise we have built in the Kingdom, which has proven successful in achieving a qualitative leap in health services,” he said.

“Our strategic vision is to empower the Syrian health sector by building sustainable digital foundations that support evidence-based decision-making and develop national capabilities.”

Lean’s teams would help Syrians digitize their health sector and pave the way for “a modern and flexible health future,” Al-Rasheed said.