Going global

ACCA has come a long way in 10 years. Colette Steckel reviews a decade of progress

Over the past 10 years, ACCA has emerged as a global professional accountancy body that has witnessed unprecedented growth in its international presence with nearly 80 offices and centres worldwide to support a thriving student and member community in 170 countries. National interests are voiced via the International Assembly (IA) - a diverse group of 54 ACCA members representing ACCA's worldwide membership. Formed in 1997, the International Assembly meets annually in an advisory capacity to offer a unique international perspective to ACCA's governing Council. Last year's meeting in November marked the first time that IA representatives comprised elected presidents or chairmen of member branches, which ensures closer communication between Council and voluntary networks worldwide.

Gill Ball, ACCA's President, remarks that ACCA's global presence and status has accelerated over the years. 'There has been a clear strategy that has focused on three principal areas: reputation, influence and size. With over 296,000 students and 115,000 members worldwide, we are the world's largest and fastest-growing global professional accountancy body.'

Allen Blewitt, ACCA's chief executive, echoes Ball's words. 'I have been four years in post,' he says, 'and during that time our aim has been to build ACCA into a substantive body with a solid and growing reputation and reach.'

Partnerships with national bodies and standard setters have been key to ACCA's global development, explains Laurie Gillow, ACCA's director - international corporate development. 'To enable ACCA to achieve its strategy of supporting the accounting profession worldwide, we aim to work through global accountancy partnerships in order to share our expertise to assist organisations to develop a robust and sustainable profession, and to add value to professional accountants at international and national levels.'

Gillow notes that partnerships vary according to national requirements. 'Sometimes ACCA is invited through donor-funded projects to transfer expertise to national professions - for example, assisting with the adoption of IFRS and their implementation, advising on the establishment of regulatory and legal frameworks, and sharing knowledge on educational and training programmes. But other opportunities have come through direct requests where we are approached by a national accountancy body or the government.' ACCA's collaboration with the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance is a case in point. As well as establishing a Joint Examination Scheme (a partnership providing access to ACCA's internationally accepted scheme of exams and which satisfies the examination criteria for membership of both bodies simultaneously), ACCA has advised on the development of the national professional body and the implementation of IFRS. Similar partnerships have flourished worldwide, including those in Africa, the Caribbean and Central and Eastern Europe.

Blewitt adds that by collaborating with accountancy bodies around the world on a wide range of areas, ACCA develops close relationships with its partners as well as fulfils its corporate social responsibility. 'ACCA is a large and global accountancy body that shares its intellectual capital and strives to mentor the profession,' he says.

Building technical capacity, in order to further the debate on technical issues affecting business and accountancy, has also assisted in serving the interests of members in relation to the legislation and professional standards that they have to comply with in their work. 'ACCA's system of monitoring and regulation has been a feature of the past decade,' begins Blewitt. 'Our aims are to achieve and promote professional, ethical and governance standards of the highest standard, and to advance the public interest through campaigns and lobbying, which positions ACCA as a thought-leader in the profession.'

ACCA's infrastructure of national offices and centres also contributes to the solid support of members and students worldwide. 'Global delivery is what differentiates ACCA as a professional accountancy body. Education and training are flexible: there are multiple routes into ACCA's suite of internationally recognised qualifications and students can study at their own pace anywhere in the world.' To illustrate her point, Gillow refers to the 2006 examinations, when over 284,000 students sat their ACCA papers in 140 countries at 350 examination centres. And partnerships with nearly 8,500 Approved Employers and many learning providers worldwide ensure that education and training standards are consistently high with strong employer support.

Stakeholder engagement is also evident in the development of a robust continuing professional development scheme. Gillow remarks that CPD has always been in place but, post-Enron, there was a clear need for employers and the public to know that finance professionals regularly fine-tune their knowledge and skills. To that end, ACCA consulted with employers and members on the requirements of CPD and developed ACCA Realise, ACCA's leading-edge CPD policy. Since 2005, members are required to undertake relevant CPD. The scheme meets the requirements of IFAC, of which ACCA is a member body. ACCA has also strengthened its global quality assurance, including implementing a global code of ethics for all members. In the last 10 years, ACCA has greatly increased its reputation in regulation - it was the first accountancy body to open disciplinary hearings to the public, for example, as early as 1996.

Blewitt notes that globalisation has had a dramatic impact on the role and value of accountants, fuelling international mobility among ACCA's membership and expanding ACCA's presence into new markets. 'The upsurge in emerging nations wanting to stake their claim to a place in the global economy, which has been such a feature of the last decade, has opened many more markets for ACCA. The calibre of people coming into the profession has been outstanding: talented people in developing economies, where there is a shortage of professionals, can be in very senior positions by their early thirties.'

Ball acknowledges the importance of an international accounting education in a dynamic and fast-moving business environment. 'In my presidential year so far I have visited China, Kenya, Uganda, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand and in all of those places, particularly the developing nations, the difference a professional qualification, such as ACCA, makes is significant. With ability and commitment, finance professionals can achieve success at a national level. But the ACCA qualification also offers opportunities for an international career.'

A shortage of accountants, particularly in developing nations like China, presents immense challenges for the global accounting profession, but Ball concedes that here lies an opportunity for ACCA to build national capacity. 'In 2008, ACCA celebrates 20 years in China. There is said to be a severe shortage of internationally qualified accountants in the country and an English language qualification such as ACCA is extremely popular.'

An overhaul of the ACCA syllabus in 2007 has ensured that the qualification is geared to the needs of today's finance professional. 'Ethics and professionalism are at the heart of the new syllabus, which was developed following extensive consultation with employers around the world,' says Gillow. Blewitt also points to the support of members in the development of accounting education. 'Whenever we ask members to give their views on policy-making, they respond in significant numbers. With our recent work on the syllabus, 30,000 members and stakeholders responded, which was a very good response rate and illustrates the extent of our engagement with members.'

Ball concludes that ongoing efforts to contribute to a sustainable global profession through stakeholder engagement have transformed the way in which ACCA is perceived worldwide. 'The transformation in ACCA has been significant over the past 10 years. As a global accountancy body, we have an understanding of the broader issues of the world and that has made a big difference to the ACCA brand. We are a body with a global reach and relevance.' Blewitt agrees: 'Globalisation has brought about significant changes that affect the roles of the global accounting profession and finance professionals; our challenge as the leading international accountancy body is to continue to respond effectively to the needs of both.'