AN ACCOUNTANT from South Harrow said it is a ‘great honour’ to be elected to the top job at his professional body.
Gulzari Babber, who runs his own practice Gulzari Babber And Co from his Leamington Crescent home, was voted in as president of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) at its annual general meeting on Saturday, June 9.
The India-born 67-year-old, who has been a CIMA member since 1984, active in its executive since 2001 and was deputy president for the previous year, said: “It’s a lot of responsibility right now to lead a world class accountancy institute and it’s a great honour. I’m looking forward to making sure that I uphold for the membership and other stakeholders what is required of CIMA.”
The Pimlico-based institute operates in 176 countries and boasts 90,000 members worldwide and at least that number again of students.
Mr Babber said: “Being president is equivalent to a full-time job, more or less. Seventy-five per cent of my working life will be taken up by the institute. I will be meeting members, employers, government officials, and visiting countries all over the world, carrying the flag for CIMA.”
Mr Babber, who is married and has three grown up sons, is a former civilian chairman of 1454 (Harrow) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Northolt Road, South Harrow, as well as being general secretary of Vishwa Hindu Mandir in Southall, a former national treasurer of Hindu Forum Britain, a former chairman of the Hindu Consultation Forum that advises the Metropolitan Police, and a former chairman of the Ealing Community and Police Consultative Group.
