INTERVIEW-Islamic finance body AAOIFI to revamp standards, expand agenda

The Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) is revamping key standards and boosting its engagement efforts with the industry, part of an ambitious reform agenda for the Bahrain-based body. A revised standard for sukuk and a new one covering the sale of debt are among major efforts planned for next year, secretary-general Hamed Hassan Merah told Reuters in an interview. Industry bodies like AAOIFI have been urged to adapt in a sector that has grown fast but remains fragmented across its core centres in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.