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UK’s Association of Chartered Accountants accreditation hits Dubai
6 November 2007
Dubai accountants are to be offered the chance to earn the British ACA accreditation locally for the first time.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) reckons rapid expansion in the Gulf has driven an increased need for qualified accountants, which has prompted it to set up shop in the region.
So far, the ICAEW has been in talks with the Gulf branches of the big four accounting firms – KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and Deloitte – but says investment banks could still benefit from a surge in ACA qualifications.
“The tendency here is for investment banks to poach accountants from the big four once they have been trained, and then pay them a lot more money,” says Jonathan Worrell, international business development manager at the ICAEW.
Until now, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the US’s Certified Public Accountant (CPA) have been the favoured qualifications in the area, but the ACA hopes to muscle in on the market. There are currently 500 people in the Gulf who hold an ACA.
Worrell says that having a presence on the ground shouldn’t deter firms from recruiting internationally: “There is a real shortage of good quality people within this region, and from speaking to the firms, they are looking all over the world to try and get the good people in. However, hopefully this will encourage people to train locally.”
Last week's meeting between Queen Elizabeth, King Abdullah, and Gordon Brown was all-over the news. Why? The bloodshed in Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions,the Turkish-Kurdish border tensions...among other vital issues that included investments in islamic insurance, Audit&Risk review matters, and Saudi investments in UK's real estates and foreign assets invested in Gilts. The meeting was described as friendly and all-smiles.
As for the ACA, it still has along way to go to surpass the age-old CPA which many pro accountants and auditors seek throughout their careers. For some, it's much better to earn a master of accountancy from Cambridge for instance than to seek an ACA. You will get the chance to enjoy the cloudy skies and eat fish and chips. But remember, nowadays the trend is in trading and investment banking and not in accounting and audit, because the two cannot be combined!.
Anonymous 06 Nov 2007
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