Filipino accountants group gets new council officers

ABDUL Rahim Gandamra, a professionally qualified Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with 10 years of cumulative professional experience in financial audit and management accounting, will be leading the council officers of Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) Doha LLC(G) for fiscal year 20212022.

The incoming president of PICPA Doha is a native of Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, and has been resident of Qatar for six years. He is currently employed as a Budgeting and Reporting Project Analyst at Qatar Foundation Finance Directorate.

Also on the roster of the new set of PICPA Doha council officers are Christian Dave M Barrameda (Senior Vice President), John Vincent P Gunita (Vice President), Carmi Joy D Bue (Secretary), Micha Lizette M Pataueg-Vardanyan (Treasurer), Vernie Chris A abala (Auditor), Chubet Ann P Villanueva (Accountant) and Princess Joy T Bigay (Press Relations Officer)

“My sincere gratitude to all the newly elected officers who selflessly and courageously answered the call to volunteerism. Throughout the years, our organisation has combined collective knowledge and experiences from its council officers to provide quality service to our members and associates and to the Filipino finance community in Qatar. Today, as we find ourselves being impacted in many different ways during these unfamiliar times, we are in a position to offer more support than ever while holding truthfully to the mission, vision and core values set forth by our esteemed organisation,” Gandamra told Qatar Tribune in an interview.

On his leadership style, Gandamra describes it as a combination of participative, delegative and transformational. He reiterated the commitment of the non-professional organisation, which is registered at the Qatar Financial Center Authority, in providing quality professional services to members such as by providing webinars with topics that are relevant to their professional growth and wellbeing as well as the international certification initiative, under the CMA Coaching Programme, which has remained operational through digital platform.

He said, “As we are about to enter the transition stage (post pandemic), I, together with the entire Picpa Doha Council FY2021-2022, have planned to strengthen the social engagement within our community by conducting various social activities that focus on the physical and mental wellness of our members such as online and face-to-face fitness programme while adhering to the preventive measures set by Qatar.”

He shared that they are planning to intensity the organisation’s CSR activities by extending assistance to distressed Filipinos, including providing basic necessities and conducting seminar on Basic Accounting for NonAccountants, in collaboration with Philippine Professional Organization-Qatar (PPO-Q), the umbrella group of Filipino professional organisations in Qatar, and Philippine Overseas Labor Office-Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (POLO-OWWA).

In addition, as a tribute to host country Qatar, he said they will be collaborating with respective Qatari authorities who facilitate the Qatar National Vision 2030 initiatives such as ‘Plant a Million Trees’. Similarly, PICPA Doha will continue to conduct various relevant webinars catering to the professional development of their members.

The new set of council officers also include Merolie A Daguyam (Chairman for Continuing Professional Development), Kathryn Joyce T Fajardo (Chairman for Corporate Social Responsibility), Michelle Eugene L Baraquio (Chairman for Corporate Governance and Compliance), Sherman C Illustre (Chairman for Education), Mary Grace A Cabrera (Chairman for Community Affairs), Karish Laura T Elentante (Chairman for Sports), Ariel Joseph P Teologo (CoChairman for Ways Means), Rey E Barcena (Co-Chairman for Ways Means), Clint S Fadera (Chairman for Social Media Relations), Wilnessa P Dugang (Chairman for Website Management) and Jo-Hanna L. Imam (Chairman for Membership).

Gandamra remarked, “To our valued members and associates, our strength as an organisation is underpinned by the community spirit we share, and the limitless aid we offer one another. We can never thank you enough for your unwavering support to the organisation. Please continue supporting our programmes and activities lined up for this fiscal year.”