WORLD - REGULATIONS - Islamic finance pressured to join accounting mainstream

www.reuters.com - (Reuters) - Rapid growth of Islamic finance is increasing pressure for the industry to enter the accounting mainstream, by seeking guidance from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the global body which sets the tone for book-keeping in conventional finance.

It would be a controversial move - by basing itself on religious principles, Islamic finance seeks to set itself apart from conventional finance. But some experts think the industry is becoming so big that it can no longer sit comfortably outside a trend towards harmonising accounting rules across the world.  (source)

LEGAL - 'Islamic finance industry is under regulated'

RIYADH: The total assets of Islamic finance sector in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which exceed $600 billion, have prompted the calls for regulating the Islamic finance industry and for imparting more training and skills to professionals working in this area. This was one of the findings of a major survey conducted by Deloitte's Islamic Finance Knowledge Center (IFKC), which was shared by Deloitte's experts, Tuesday.