A joint Approved Employer relationship in Cyprus
Under the partnership which was established in September 2005, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) and ACCA have now begun to jointly approve employers in Cyprus who provide CPD to their professional staff. This move has been made in recognition of the importance that both organisations place on the development of all finance professionals, irrespective of their qualification. In addition, the joint approval process is faster and less onerous for Cypriot employers. On 9 December 2005, The Treasury of the Republic of Cyprus achieved ACCA Approved Employer - professional development award and became the first employer in Cyprus to receive a certificate under the joint agreement. Baker Tilly Klitou & Partners, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Moore Stephens and PricewaterhouseCoopers also received joint approval from ICPAC and ACCA.
The Approved Employer relationship formally recognises the learning and development programmes which employers have in place, and offers both employers and employees a wide range of benefits as well as allowing employers to benchmark their training policies against those of other organisations. It demonstrates to employees and to the public that they are meeting best practice in planning and providing professional development opportunities for finance professionals. ACCA members who are employed by an organisation that has been approved under the professional development stream automatically meet the CPD annual requirement and are exempt from completing ACCA’s CPD unit scheme route. In addition, other employees within an approved organisation can access learning tools and resources normally reserved for ACCA members.
This is just the beginning of the collaborative activity in Cyprus which is specifically aimed at supporting finance professionals in their learning and development. Mr Lazaros Lazarou, Accountant General at The Treasury, said ‘The Treasury is honoured to be the first new employer in Cyprus to be signed up under the new agreement between ICPAC and ACCA. It is an agreement which The Treasury welcomes as it is very encouraging to see professional bodies working together to recognise the importance of learning and development.'
'We look forward to making the most of the benefits the Approved Employer relationship can offer us. The Approved Employer award can assist all employers in recruiting and retaining the highest quality finance professionals. This is because meeting the quality criteria reinforces the message that we are ‘employers of choice'.'