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The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has unveiled the new international quality management system standard, ISO 9001:2026, including the Arabic edition released alongside the international edition.The move expands access to international standards in Arabic, supports organizations and specialists across the Arab region in capitalizing on global best practices in quality management systems, and demonstrates the productive cooperation and integration among Arab nations in this field.President of the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO), Eng. Jabor Mohammed Al Naimi, said the achievement marks a consequential step toward expanding access to international standards for users and stakeholders in Arab nations, supporting the adoption of global best practices in quality management, improving institutional performance and strengthening competitiveness.Al Naimi highlighted that the Arabic edition is the outgrowth of collaboration among members of the Arab Translation Management Group (ISO/TMB/ATMG), which is responsible for managing and carrying out the translation of international standards into Arabic.The Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS) serves as the group's technical secretariat, with active participation from GSO as the group's rapporteur, alongside contributions from Arab standards bodies and experts involved in the translation and technical and linguistic review, he pointed out.Eng. Al Naimi elaborated that the feat is a quintessential model of Arab cooperation in standardization, expands access to technical knowledge in Arabic, and helps broaden the benefits of international standards and support their implementation, stressing that what has been accomplished grew out of coordination and integration among all participating technical and implementing parties. Generally, ISO 9001 is among the world's most widely used quality management system standards, and ISO 9001:2026 is the sixth edition of the standard. It grew out of the periodic review of the previous ISO 9001:2015 edition and includes updates that enhance the clarity of requirements, ease of implementation and suitability for contemporary business environments, with greater emphasis on leadership, quality culture and ethical behavior, clearer treatment of risks and opportunities, and improved alignment with other management system standards.The ISO technical committee ISO/TC 176/SC 2 is charged with preparing, reviewing and developing the standard as part of its work on quality management systems and their supporting documents, while the United Kingdom, represented by the British Standards Institution (BSI), serves as the committee's technical secretariat.The GSO had previously adopted the standard's earlier editions as Gulf standards, while an update to the adopted Gulf standard based on the new edition has also been included in the 2027 plan of the Gulf team for management systems and sustainable development. 

QNB Group has expanded the scope of its ISO 9001:2015 certification for the Policies and Procedures Department within the Operations Control Division to include its diverse international network.ISO 9001:2015 is an internationally recognised standard for quality management systems, focused on ensuring organisations consistently meet stakeholder requirements through effective processes, strong governance, and continuous improvement.The certification covers the provision of centralised policy and procedure governance and support to both domestic and international branches where QNB operates.It also includes the full lifecycle management of policies, procedures, circulars, and forms, including their creation, review, approval, dissemination, implementation, monitoring, and retirement, in line with internationally recognised quality management standards.This scope extension reinforces QNB’s commitment to operational excellence by ensuring a consistent, structured, and transparent approach to governance across all markets.By centralising policy oversight, QNB enhances alignment across its international network, strengthens control frameworks, and supports effective risk management and regulatory compliance.The certification also reflects QNB’s focus on continuous improvement through regular reviews, performance monitoring, and ongoing enhancement of internal processes.The milestone further supports the Group’s broader transformation into a diversified international banking group, underpinned by strong governance, operational discipline, and sustainable growth. 

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has organised a specialised seminar on enhancing quality management in the auditing profession.Held at the ministry's premises with the participation of registered auditors, the seminar aimed to bolster their understanding of the latest updates to quality management standards in the auditing profession and to raise awareness of the practical applications of these standards, thereby contributing to enhancing the quality of auditing work and ensuring strict compliance with professional and regulatory requirements, in accordance with best practices.This event was part of MoCI's steadfast efforts to advance this profession, as regulated by Law No 8 of 2020, through backing auditors' capabilities and enhancing their performance to ensure accurate and reliable financial reports.The seminar featured the International Standard on Quality Management (ISQM 1), which aims to enhance the efficiency of audit processes and emphasises the importance of quality management within auditing and assurance firms, whether regarding financial statement audits or assurance and related services, including engagement quality reviews.In addition, the seminar emphasised that it is important for auditing firms to establish integrated quality management systems, pursue a constant optimisation approach, and implement a monitoring mechanism as a key enabler of success, through quality standards impacting the quality of audit services and their role in building client trust and enhancing firms' presence and credibility in the market.The seminar concluded with an interactive panel discussion, during which experts answered the participants' questions, reviewing methods of navigating key challenges they might encounter when applying these standards, thereby fostering the quality of auditing processes and adherence to international standards.