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ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has enjoyed a record year in terms of the number of new long–term partnerships it has developed with other leading organisations around the world as it builds an enviable reputation and continues to set new records for student intake, results for 2005 have shown.

Commenting on the year, Allen Blewitt, ACCA’s Chief Executive, said: "It is very pleasing to note that, in the past 12 months, we have entered into more partnerships with other bodies, institutes and tuition providers than ever before, which gives a clear indication that ACCA’s reputation continues to grow and to attract organisations which wish to work with us to develop the accountancy profession around the world."

In 2005 ACCA won valuable consulting projects in Russia and Trinidad and Tobago; undertook successful monitoring and regulation projects in Cyprus, East Africa and the UAE; and signed new agreements with national accountancy bodies in Singapore, Vietnam, Cyprus and Egypt. Among the new tuition providers with which ACCA signed agreements was Tsinghua University, often referred to as 'China’s Harvard’. Two further ACCA members were appointed to committees of the International Federation of Accountants.

During the year, ACCA undertook the largest-ever consultation project of its kind over the future shape and direction of its professional qualification. The feedback from over 25,000 employers, tuition providers, members and students around the world helped to develop the new syllabus, which will be first examined in 2007 with a strong focus on professionalism and ethics.

Allen Blewitt said: " The consultation process over the new syllabus showed our intent to ensure we secured as wide a range of views as possible to develop a qualification which meets the needs of a 21st century profession. We value the views of our stakeholders on how we should take ACCA forward and it is encouraging that through surveys we found that over 80% of our members would recommend ACCA to others. Regular student surveys also indicate that they are highly supportive of our work and that they identify strongly with our core values such as opportunity, diversity and integrity, which enable many thousands to go on to enjoy successful and rewarding careers."

Major regional conferences were held in Central Europe and East Africa, and there was also a successful introduction of ACCA Realise, the new Continuing Professional development scheme. In addition, 77,000 accountants attended over 1,300 CPD events worldwide. A new Approved Employer award provides enhanced support for our students and members – there are now 7,500 Approved Employers globally.

In the UK, ACCA's new Public Policy Unit developed rapidly, and achieved high recognition and impact in Westminster and Whitehall, raising issues of direct concern to ACCA’s members, their clients and employers. It is intended to develop public policy initiatives globally.

ACCA also launched the skills2share initiative, working closely with leading development agency ActionAid to enable ACCA members to volunteer their skills to help local communities in the developing world.

The results for 2005 underline that ACCA has maintained excellent rates of growth throughout 2005, adding 76,000 new students – a record intake – and over 7,000 new members in the past 12 months.

Allen Blewitt said: " We are delighted with the sustained growth in our membership and the record intake of students for the past year which means that ACCA now has 260,000 students and 110,000 members in 170 countries worldwide.

"Overall, total student growth was 8% and total member growth 5%. There were nearly 20,000 new students in the UK and Ireland and over 14,500 in Greater China, Malaysia and Singapore. Student numbers in core markets in Central and Eastern Europe grew by nearly 38%, Africa by more than 14%, Pakistan by over 14%, the Middle East by 13% and mainland China by 12%. There are now nearly 420 registered tuition providers around the world, " he said.

ACCA performance by region

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