"The (accounting) profession is continuing to evolve because the external business environment in which it operates is changing. The roles that finance professionals perform across their organisations are increasingly central and strategically vital to business success.
These roles are also much more technically demanding, and this is having a dramatic effect on the skills, knowledge and experience that finance professionals must now demonstrate to be fully effective." (A changing profession - the evolution of accounting roles, skills and career aspirations, ACCA Insight series research report).
ACCA research shows that increasing regulation and business complexity will compel organisations to focus on recruitment and retention of increasingly specialised human resources in accounting and finance roles. Though accounting and finance roles will become increasingly technically specialised, they will also become more strategic and central to business performance, particularly in the corporate and public sectors.
Consequently, management skills and business awareness will become critically important also. Demonstrating ethical behaviour in the workplace is also going to become much more important. As roles and skills evolve, communication skills, analysis skills, leadership skills, time management skills, team building skills and presentation skills would become critically important.
Accountants are more mobile and careers will increasingly cross traditional borders, both inside and outside the finance function. They will transcend national borders. This increased career mobility is facilitated by the growing global demand for the services of financial professionals. The evolution of roles, skills shortage, the growing demand for accountants and the higher career aspirations of finance professionals are leading to recruitment challenges for many organisations.
To enable employers manage the challenge, professional accounting bodies like the ACCA have taken a proactive approach in adapting their professional qualification to meet the employer expectations. Over the years, the ACCA qualification has evolved to develop evaluation and synthesis skills of convergence to IFRS, corporate governance, ethics, e-business, corporate social responsibility, money laundering, non-financial reporting and non-financial performance measurements all that have become central to maximising shareholders value.
Besides financial reporting, auditing, taxation, management accounting ACCA qualifications develops analytical and evaluative skills and knowledge of strategy, people management, e-business and performance management. As the scope of qualification broadens, as softer skills become the cornerstone of success at work, ACCA assessment methods have also evolved to keep up with the demand of the workplace.
As shown in figure 1, the ACCA examinations aspire to develop a broad set of skills and knowledge and the assessment methods include MCQs, scenarios, technical questions and discussion questions. As professional accounting qualifications match up with employer expectations, the role of the delivers of the qualification becomes increasingly significant to ensure that human resource have the employer's desired skills, knowledge and expertise.
In Pakistan, professional accounting education is imparted by professional accounting education providers. ACCA, over the years, has been working with these providers in enabling them manage the challenges of professional accounting education and enhancing their standards to bring them at par with employer expectations and international standards.
Professional accounting education excellence implies management of a number of challenges, including study support, English, employment and academic backgrounds. Imperative to the success of students is study support. This includes access to high-quality study material and support, either face to face or by distance learning.
The tutor's role is pivotal in the student's success. Preserving the ACCA's independence as an examining body is of primary importance in maintaining reputation and flexibility. While not teaching or publishing itself, a priority for ACCA is to improve overall levels of tuition and study support, through working closely and effectively with publishers and tuition providers and supporting them in their face-to-face, e-learning and material provision.
Conducted by national and international trainers, the ACCA-organised Train the Trainer workshops have focused on creating appreciation of the best practices of teaching practices, student engagement and assessment methodologies. Tutors attending the workshops have commented that as there is no formal training of tutors delivering professional accounting qualifications, these workshops have equipped them with the knowledge of employer expectations from tutors, best practices of delivery of professional accounting qualifications, setting assessments and student engagement.
Commenting on Train the Trainer workshops, Arif Masud Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan said, "Our students have demonstrated ability and potential to be world class professional accountants. Through initiatives like Teach Excel we are facilitating ACCA tutors to help young men and women of Pakistan pursue their ambition of a successful career in finance, accounting and taxation successfully as well as become world class professional accountants".
As professional accounting qualifications have to be cognisant of employer's dynamic expectations, tutors teaching professional qualifications need to dedicate time and resources to continuous professional development. Students also need to be aware of emerging business challenges. Through publications like Focus, Teach Accounting, Accounting and Business, Accountancy Futures and Student Accountant, technical outputs, ACCA is continually striving to keep the tutors abreast of changes in financial reporting, auditing, taxation and management accounting.
ACCA discussion forums on corporate governance, SMEs and financial reporting emerging challenges, provide an opportunity to deliberate over the lessons to be learnt from international practices and events and their local implications. Professional accounting qualification like ACCA has been designed to provide all the competencies required of professional accountants and auditors.
In order to qualify as an ACCA member, any individual registering on the ACCA Qualification will be required to complete 14 exams (nine of which are eligible for exemption), relevant practical experience, with a minimum of three years, an online Professional Ethics module. Students have a much greater likelihood of passing the examinations if they undertake relevant employment during the course of their studies. ACCA partners with learning providers in linking high quality employers, with students, through events like Talent Management and Employer Conference.
As the medium of assessment of professional accounting qualifications, for example ACCA, is English, proficiency in financial English is essential for exam success. As English is not the first language for the majority of students in Pakistan, the majority of students undertaking professional qualifications struggle to comprehend financial English, consequently impacting their chances of communication of thoughts and knowledge in concise and simple English while attempting exams.
Fluency and competency in financial English is a prerequisite for employment in the financial and corporate sector. ACCA, along with Cambridge ESOL, has launched an International Certificate in Financial English (ICFE). Cambridge ICFE assesses candidates' ability to understand spoken and written English in realistic contexts that accounting and finance professionals encounter in their daily working lives.
The exam consists of four papers - reading, writing, listening and speaking - providing a comprehensive approach to developing financial English language skills. ICFE has been gaining popularity in Pakistan with learning providers encouraging its student to complete ICFE certification.
Students pursuing professional accounting education come from diverse academic and geographical backgrounds. Bringing them at par with one another and to the standard of a professional qualification requires tutors to work as mentors, giving additional support to students in need of the support, at the same time continually providing counselling. ACCA has worked with the learning providers in empowering the students achieve academic excellence, at the same time developing their personality skills.
ACCA and learning providers conducted study skills, exam technique and softer skills workshops to train students for the requirements of the professional world. Student motivation and parental involvement is also essential for exam success. ACCA along with learning partners, has conducted motivation seminars for student. ACCA student orientation and annual student meeting provide a forum to the student for discussing academic and non-academic challenges.
ACCA research shows that in future, demand for professional accountants with the right mix of skills and knowledge would only increase. In the context of Pakistan, as key to future foreign investment, sustained industrial growth and enhancing reputation lies in compliance with international standards and transparency in compliance with regulations and communication, the value of professional accountants to organisations success is going to enhance.
Against this background, the role of professional accounting education will only become more critically imperative. Professional accounting education providers have shown commitment to striving for excellence, contributing to amplifying the vibrancy of the accounting profession.
ACCA is committed to working with professional accounting education providers in managing the challenges and enhancing their capacity to provide to the corporate and finance sector of Pakistan accountants, with the right mix of skills and knowledge essential to enhance Pakistan's image of a country compliant with international financial reporting, auditing, corporate governance and SME standards.
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