HONG KONG, Sept. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The accountancy profession needs a modern, relevant and up-to-date syllabus for it to thrive on the global stage, says ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) on the back of another improvement in its professional qualification, which develops and trains complete finance professionals.
A recent report from global recruiter Randstad warns that there is a potential for a future shortfall of finance professionals in London and the UK; as the global professional body for accountants, ACCA is aware of shortfalls elsewhere, such as in Indonesia where there is ample capacity for the profession to grow and thrive.
Catherine Edwards, director of qualifications at ACCA said: "To meet this capacity challenge, it is important that the profession meets the changing needs of businesses and other organisations and not only the number of accountants required."
"Employers from the public and private sectors, in businesses large and small regularly tell us what they need from the finance function or the wider accountancy profession; their feedback helps ACCA and its partners develop complete finance professionals who know all aspects of the profession they want to enter."
Since its beginnings in 1904, ACCA has developed a number of 'firsts' for the profession, most recently with the sponsorship of a massive online open course (MOOC) from FutureLearn, in partnership with the University of Exeter. It is the first professional accountancy body to sponsor a MOOC on the social learning platform, leading to professional recognition.
ACCA also recently enhanced the computer-based assessment for papers F1 -- Accountant in Business; F2 -- Management Accountant and F3 -- Financial Accounting. New task-based questions enable students to tackle practical problems in a computer environment, and are also available for ACCA's Foundations Level exams, which are the stepping-stones onto the ACCA Qualification.
Catherine Edwards explains: "Employers from the public and private sectors, in businesses large and small tell us that our range of qualifications meets their needs -- but how we design, deliver and develop our qualifications is important, so that we produce accountants who know all aspects of the profession so they can deliver effectively in the workplace."
"Over the years, ACCA has introduced new and modern 'firsts' for a profession that depends on excellent education and training, that prepares people to work in any area of business life, whether that is management or financial accounting, in audit or as a tax expert."
ACCA's firsts also include:
Catherine Edwards concludes: "ACCA is innovative -- but we also ensure this innovation is based on feedback with employers, learning providers and other stakeholders; we work to ensure there is stability and comparability with our qualifications. The whole point of these innovations is to ensure that ACCA, its students and members remain ahead of the game, that they are prepared for the challenges ahead -- and that we ensure there are enough accountants for business's needs on the global stage."
Notes to Editors
1. 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.
2. We support our 170,000 members and 436,000 students in 180 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. We work through a network of 91 offices and centres and more than 8,500 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through our public interest remit, we promote appropriate regulation of accounting and conduct relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.
3. 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.
4. 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 and seek 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 delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers.
5. For more information, please visit:
www.accaglobal.com | www.facebook.com/ACCA.HongKong
