Prof. Dr. Fatma Özkul has been appointed to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey’s (TCMB) Monetary Policy Committee as announced in today’s Official Gazette. This is an exciting development as Turkey hosts one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency communities. According to the lowest reported figures, there are 5 million unique cryptocurrency investors, many of whom are actively trading. Moreover, Turkey has started to have its own cryptocurrency companies. So who is Prof. Dr. Fatma Özkul, the person that excites everyone?
Who is Prof. Dr. Fatma Özkul?
As of today, Fatma Özkul, a member of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey’s Monetary Policy Committee, was born in Elazığ in 1978. She completed her education at Ayazağa Işık High School and the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Business Administration at Marmara University. Fatma Özkul completed her master’s degree in 2002.
After completing her doctorate in Accounting and Finance at Marmara University’s Institute of Social Sciences in 2006, Fatma Özkul received her associate professorship in the field of Accounting in 2012 and became a Professor in 2018.
Between 2007 and 2021, Özkul served as a lecturer at Bahçeşehir University and held various managerial and assistant managerial positions at different institutions.
Continuing her academic career at Marmara University’s Faculty of Business Administration, Department of Accounting and Finance as of the 2020-2021 academic year, Özkul has various national and international publications in the fields of auditing and accounting.
Fatma Özkul and Cryptocurrencies
We mentioned that cryptocurrencies are important because a person truly knowledgeable about the industry, its problems, and needs has been appointed as a member of the TCMB. Moreover, this wonderful step taken before the expected announcement of the cryptocurrency law in January could protect investors from nonsensical restrictions and rules that do not solve the industry’s problems.
Fatma Özkul has authored three different books titled “Accounting for Crypto Assets,” “Fraud Risk Management in Businesses,” and “Accounting Practices in Retail Businesses.” Her book “Accounting for Crypto Assets” was awarded the Best Finance and Economy Book of the Year at the Best Business Books of the Year Award Ceremony organized by Platin Magazine in 2023.
A lecturer in Turkish and English undergraduate and graduate programs; she teaches Financial Accounting, International Accounting Standards, International Reporting, Auditing, Blockchain Technology, and Crypto Assets, and Accounting for Crypto Assets. She is an invaluable asset to the TCMB on the eve of cryptocurrency regulations.
Some of the events Prof. Dr. Fatma Özkul has participated in as a speaker include:
- The Future of Digital Currencies (TESAM Economic, Political and Strategic Research Center-Turkey November 2023)
- “Regulations in Crypto Assets” (SOLANA Hacker House-Turkey February 2023)
- “Transformation of Businesses and Money in the Digital Age” (TESAM- Economic, Political and Strategic Research Center-Turkey December 2022)
- “Blockchain, Regulations, Open Data Economy, and Security: Examples and Opportunities from the World” (16th Istanbul Informatics Congress-Turkey November 2022)
- “Digitalization, Economy, and Accounting in the Changing World Order with the Pandemic,” “Development and Future of Cryptocurrencies in the World and Turkey” (10th Turkey Accounting Expertise Congress-Turkey October 2021)
- “Crypto Asset Market and Banking Sector: Opportunities, Threats”
- Crypto Law Summit 2021, “Taxation of Cryptocurrencies (Examples from the World)”
- Transformation of the Digital Generation: Challenging the Future, “New Dynamics of the Financial World”
- “TCMB Regulation on the Non-Use of Crypto Assets for Payments” (Bahçeşehir University-Turkey April 2021)
- “Accounting and Taxation of Cryptocurrencies”
And she has participated in many more events. A common theme among most of them is their focus on cryptocurrencies.
