India’s decision to align with the globally recognised accounting rules, IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), from April 1 has thrown up significant opportunities for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), said Helen Brand, Chief Executive of the global body of professional accountants.
Brand said ACCA aspired to be the number one international professional accountants body in India, as it delves deep into the market with its range of services.
In 2016, ACCA will more emphatically ensure that people in India are equipped to deal with IFRS or its Indian equivalent, Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS), she said.
“Most of the business leaders and employers that I met during this trip clearly stated that they need this (IFRS) capability in India and that, too, very urgently,” she told
ACCA will work with employers to ensure that more Indian accountancy professionals opt for its ‘Diploma in IFRS’. Already, several businesses are deploying their top talent for this programme.
“We think we have an international perspective that will enable Indian businesses to flourish in the increasingly interconnected global environment,” Brand said, adding that India had emerged as the largest market for ACCA’s diploma in IFRS programme.
New programmeTaking note of the fact that India was a key shared services destination, ACCA is also offering a standalone programme — Global Business Services Certificate — for people entering the workforce in shared services centres and business process outsourcing (BPO), said Brand.
“This new offering — which mandates 30 hours of online learning — will make a positive difference to the Indian environment,” she said, adding that ACCA was also offering this certificate in China, Malaysia and Poland.
Brand said ACCA would this year look to expand the number of partnerships it has with universities. This is besides the digital strategy that it has devised, including introduction of computer-based examinations for its middle-level courses by the end of the year.
The accounting body has also renewed its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Directors.
The MoU, originally signed in 2012, aims to explore opportunities to drive higher standards of transparency and integrity in business governance and reporting by corporations and organisations.