Recent scandals, such as BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, clearly demonstrate that entities which operate across multiple jurisdictions and business areas must ensure that their subsidiaries in these regions are adequately governed.

Last October, London hosted the World Islamic Economic Forum. It was the first time the event had been held outside the Muslim world, and it was strongly backed by the UK government, with George Osborne, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, saying that he wants the City of London to become “the unrivalled western centre for Islamic finance”.

China’s recently proposed financial reforms and the imminent launch of its qualified domestic limited partner (QDLP) programme are further signs of the ongoing liberalisation of its capital account and the continued promotion by the People’s Bank of China of inbound and outbound capital flows.

Banks, securities investors and hedge funds enjoy access to many powerful and well developed financial services software solutions. But private equity and real estate funds aren’t so lucky.