ICAS General News

International Mobility the Key for the Accountants of the Future

Global recognition of the qualifications of accountants and auditors, irrespective of the country in which they train, is moving closer, according to a landmark report on the education and training of accountants.

The Global Accounting Education report, published by the Centre for Global Accounting Education, Benchmarking and Research and supported by Royal NIVRA and the Scottish Chartered Accountants Trust for Education, examines the accounting education provided by 32 of the world’s leading professional bodies in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and the Middle East.

At a time when most economies are experiencing a shortage of qualified accountants, the report identifies that international co-operation between professional bodies, regional organisations and donor agencies has increased ‘mutual recognition’ – allowing, for example, an accountant who qualified in Australia to work as an accountant in South Africa.

The study also identified International Education Standards ( IESs) as a key driver to aiding recognition. The standards mean that global benchmarks of education in accounting are available for the first time, allowing comparisons in skills and capability to be made.

One of the report’s contributors, ICAS Executive Director, Education, Mark Allison said, “This is the broadest study of global accountancy education since 2002, and the pace of change since then has been rapid. We are entering new territory, where the professional accounting skills of someone in Perth , Australia are the same as a CA in Perth , Scotland . This globalisation of accounting knowledge will also offer big opportunities to professional accountants in emerging regions such as China and India . Most of all, it is good news for the capital markets to which professional accountants provide assurance and stability.”

Gert Karreman, who was responsible for the basic research, observed: “It is amazing how quickly the IFAC International Education Standards (IES) have been accepted as the standard for the qualification of accountants all over the world. The IES increasingly are the basis of international cooperation between countries and between professional bodies and universities. The combination of professional and academic expertise is one of the pillars of the accountancy profession.”