HONG KONG, July 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
World-wide membership of ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has increased from 154,000 to nearly 162,000 over 2012 / 13, the global body for professional accountants announces today, with some 10,361new members being welcomed in the period.
ACCA also reports that business leaders and employers of accounting professionals have endorsed ACCA as a global leader in its sector, following a survey which covered 35 countries. Key figures from this research show that:
The ACCA Qualification continues to be highly attractive to aspiring professionals around the world, with ACCA recruiting 61,311 new students to the professional ACCA Qualification, an increase on last year.
Helen Brand OBE, ACCA's chief executive, comments on three key areas of performance for ACCA: member numbers; employer feedback; and customer service.
Member numbers
Helen Brand says, "ACCA has 12 strategic outcomes which we publish in our Annual Report. This is due to be published later in the year as an integrated report for the second year running."
"We have achieved significant outcomes on behalf of our members in the past year. I am very pleased to note we increased the number of ACCA members by 7,606, driven by 10,361 new member admissions during the year. It is these members who bring value to their employers and wider society around the world, during a time of continued challenging economic conditions around the world."
Investment in the future of the profession
As part of its commitment to customer service, ACCA invested GBP12m (equivalent to HKD142.7m) in development programmes, delivering a wide range of customer service improvements. As a result, ACCA continues to see improvements in scores on the ease of doing business online with ACCA, with member scores rising from 70% to 73% and student scores from 75% to 76% - following significant jumps last year.
ACCA also invested in key development markets, opening new centres in Shenyang, China; Kazakhstan and Indonesia.
Helen Brand adds, "This investment is essential to maintain our position as a leading global body and to underpin sustainable growth, working closely with national and regional professional bodies. We are committed to capacity building in the profession, and have established new operations to further support members and students and work with employers and tuition providers."
Employers
Commenting on feedback from employer based research, Helen Brand says, "We also continue to see very high ratings from employers for the strength of our brand, many of whom have recommended ACCA to others, so our brand positioning overall remains very strong with them. We asked employers about their perception of ACCA in general and their responses to these questions were very positive. 90% of employers said that ACCA is a world class organisation and 89% of employers would recommend ACCA to other organisations. In addition, 59% said that ACCA is a global leader in the profession, ahead of the next most mentioned international body at 12%."
Helen Brand says, "2012 / 13 was a challenging year and one from which we can learn. It is clear that there is a very good opportunity for professional accountancy qualifications, and the ACCA Qualification remains highly relevant to all sectors, providing flexible routes to entry that work for school leavers and graduates of all disciplines. It also meets employer needs to access a diverse, global talent pool of complete finance professionals. We will keep investing in new and existing markets and sectors to meet demand, ensuring the ACCA Qualification remains accessible to students worldwide."
Notes to editors:
About ACCA
ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. As the first global accountancy body entering into China, ACCA now has over 23,000 members and 48,000 students, with 8 offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Hong Kong SAR, and Macau SAR.
Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. We believe that accounting professionals bring value to economies in all stages of development. We aim to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards. Our values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and we ensure that, through our qualifications, we prepare accountants for business. We seek to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating our qualifications and their delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers.
We support our 162,000 members and 426,000 students in 173 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills needed by employers. We work through a network of 89 offices and centres and 8,500 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development.
For further information, please visit www.accaglobal.com or follow ACCA Hong Kong at www.facebook.com/ACCA.HongKong.
