Thursday, 3 April 2014 00:01
-
- {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is one of the leading finance professional qualifications, which is not only growing in size but is also spreading its tentacles across countries, borders and business sectors , with students and members in over 170 countries. ACCA Sri Lanka recently held its new members’ ceremony at the Cinnamon Grand, Atrium Lobby.
The ceremony commenced with a few words of wisdom from the ACCA President Rajiv Casie Chitty, who emphasised the need to keep up ACCA’s values of opportunity, diversity and integrity in all walks of life.
The newly-elected members received their certificates and awards from the Deputy President of ACCA Global Council Anthony Harbinson, Global Council members Lynne Hunt and Hemraz Hoolash, the Regional Director of ACCA Stuart Dunlop, and the President of ACCA Sri Lanka Rajiv Casie Chitty. These new members will now join a Global Membership of over 160,000 fellow ACCAs.
Addressing the gathering , Dunlop stated that with the ongoing shift in economic influence towards the south and east away from the US, Western Europe , that there was little doubt that the South Asian region was at present one of the most exciting in terms of its rapid development and it presented huge opportunities for those who operated in it.
He explained: “However the perils of protectionism, inflation, inadequate legal and regulatory systems are there for all to see. In the face of those changes, it is now more critical than ever that finance professionals are prepared to play a key part. This will require CFOs to have a broader range of skills and experiences. The rise of new financial services centres in terms of the growth of outsourcing, off shoring and shared services in the professional services sector will also have significant implications for the accountancy profession in this region. Therefore, unless talent management strategies become more effective and attuned to the needs of the global finance function, it will not have the capabilities necessary to create true business value in the future, let alone create global finance leaders that will steer businesses through the challenging global economic conditions.”
Dunlop added: “ACCA currently works with over 8,500 employers around the world, including many here in Sri Lanka, where they consult with them to ensure that ACCA members and students are complete finance professionals who are equipped to help build their finance capability and in turn provide their members with the basis to build rewarding careers, in the context of a rapidly changing global business environment. We have 70 formal accountancy partnerships and have been involved in over 40 developmental consultancy projects around the world. We believe ACCA does make a difference – we are genuinely global but we use that reach to share value and knowledge locally. This really is an instance where organisations must ‘think global – act local.’”
Endorsing these views, Deputy President of ACCA Harbinson congratulated all the new members and commented that being an ACCA member was clearly an ambassadorial role that entailed in upholding public value and acting in the public interest, promoting ethical businesses and growing economies around the world. Harbinson added: “The global economy relies on high quality financial information and high quality audits that only accountants can provide. Therefore with global business still under pressure, if we want to remain relevant in challenging and fast changing times, the global accountancy profession needs to be prepared to be different. We need to show how professional accountancy adds value. We need to constantly do more. We need to continue to change and improve. And I believe this is happening in Sri Lanka.”
Today the ACCA membership is considered as one provides access to what is widely regarded as the profession’s most comprehensive range of career and professional development resources including accounting and auditing standards, technical updates, online and face-to-face learning opportunities and further qualifications.
