Simon Archer was Professor of Financial Management at the University of Surrey, UK, where he continues to supervise PhD students. Previously, he was Midland Bank Professor of Financial Sector Accounting at the University of Wales, Bangor. After his studies in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University, he qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen in London and then moved to PriceWaterhouse in Paris, where he became Partner in charge of Management Consultancy Services in France and Scandinavia. His academic career began after working as a practitioner, mainly in management consulting. Professor Archer's main research interests are in international accounting, accounting theory and accounting for banks, including the financial reporting, capital adequacy, risk management and corporate governance of financial institutions. His recent work focuses on Islamic financial institutions. He is also co-author of the International Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards Guide as well as co-editor of the "Miller European Accounting" and "Islamic Finance: Innovation and Growth,"

Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim is the Secretary-General of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), a post he has held since the IFSB stated to operate in 2003. Prior to his current post, he was the Secretary-General of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions. He is a member of both the Standards Advisory Council of the international Accounting Standards Board, now serving his second three-year term, and the Consultative Advisory Group of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. Professor Rifaat has been Visiting Professor at theUniversity of Surrey (UK) since 1996, and is an Honorary Professor at Monash University in Australia. He is the co-author of Islamic Finance: Growth and Innovation and Business and Accounting Ethics is Islam. He is the first recipient of the Euromoney Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Islamic Finance Award, and other distinguished awards.