GCC Market Corrections and New Employment Opportunities Ahead Dubai : Blue Ocean, the region’s largest knowledge empowerment enterprise, has launched comprehensive training programmes on “Value Added Tax : Implications, Challenges & Roadmap” for  procurement and finance professionals as GCC countries prepare to  introduce VAT on all goods consumed from January 1, 2018. While VAT is at work in 140 countries in the world and for decades, GCC countries are still grappling with its introduction and implications. The last quarter of 2017 and 2018, promises to be a trying time for the economy as the GCC countries are thrown into a state of flux, while businesses evaluate and implement VAT. Value Added Tax is a consumption tax levied on end users, it’s optional and is only applied when some value is added. Blue Ocean training programmes are focused on four key areas : Understanding VAT, VAT Accounting, VAT Challenges and VAT Implementation. Mr. Rehaan Ali Khan, Blue Ocean VAT trainer explained at a recently held Blue Ocean workshop : “The introduction of VAT will result in a change in the reins of power and expected market shakeouts. It will present an interesting learning curve allowing market corrections and new employment opportunities.” In the GCC every member state is coming up with a strategic programme like Vision 2030 or 2021 and VAT is expected to contribute 1.5 per cent to the GDP of the economies. A serious challenge awaits businesses operating in multiple GCC countries while understanding implementing and synchronizing business objectives. Dr. Sathya Menon, Academic Director, Blue Ocean Academy said : “VAT implementation in GCC countries is an interesting and new phenomenon. Businesses are facing multi-dimensional challenges ranging from delayed legislation announcement to expected disruption in a number of business areas. In absence of clear guidelines and in-house expertise, the learning requirement in this area has increased manifold.” Fundamentally, VAT is considered an accounting issue but not when it is being implemented for the first time. Every area of business, stakeholder, supply chain, competitors and customers has some impact. “Blue Ocean VAT training programmes have been designed with a special focus on one of the most vulnerable areas expected to be affected during VAT implementation: Procurement.  A radical realignment will be required to manage a floodgate of challenges both in terms of legal issues and processes resulting from VAT implementation in,” explained Mahendra Yadav, VAT Training consultant with Blue Ocean Academy. Introduction of VAT needs a realignment of business processes to keep them working efficiently, develop a robust accounting model with inherent characteristics of agility to successfully respond to the learning curve which the system will undergo. Therefore all top notch professionals ranging from CEOs, CFOs, Finance Directors, Finance Managers,  Tax and Audit Managers, IT Managers, Sales, Marketing,  Procurement and Supply Chain staff need to be trained and sensitized about VAT. “Blue Ocean VAT training programmes have been designed with a special focus on one of the most vulnerable areas expected to be affected during VAT implementation: Procurement.  A radical realignment will be required to manage a floodgate of challenges both in terms of legal issues and processes resulting from VAT implementation in,” explained Mahendra Yadav, VAT Training consultant with Blue Ocean Academy. -----------------------------------------------------------------ENDS-----------------------------------------------------------------