Association of Chartered Certified Accountants ( ACCA) has taken a major step forward in shaping the future of accountancy by unveiling major innovations to its Master’s level qualification tailored to meet the strategic challenges of the 21st century’s disruptive economy.

ACCA’s new ground-breaking design of its qualification draws on an extensive, two-year review and consultation with members, employers and learning providers.

The Head of ACCA Nigeria, Toyin Ademola, stated, ‘Our ground-breaking redesign of the ACCA Qualification will give students the forward-thinking strategic abilities and advanced skill-set required of modern professional accountants who will shape the future of global business.

‘We’re delivering a qualification that meets the demands of professional accountants in the 21st century, while maintaining the rigorous standards of technical, ethical and professional skills that has established ACCA as the international benchmark for accountancy qualifications. These measures are important as they will ensure the rigour and relevance of the qualification remains central to ACCA’s offering in emerging, as well as established, markets.’

ACCA’s latest innovations to the top level of its qualification are new Strategic Professional level exams which will replace the existing Professional level exams in September 2018 and a new Ethics and Professional Skills module, which will be introduced in October 2017.

The redesign enhances the breadth and depth of the qualification, with greater focus on employability and the practical application of core skills in the contemporary workplace and includes:
• Strategic Business Leader – an innovative case study exam, based on a realistic business scenario. This gives students the skills and technical expertise required by modern business where decisions need to be made, measured and effectively communicated to the wider organisation.
• Strategic Business Reporting – a new exam exposing students to the wider context of finance and business reporting, giving them the vital skills needed to explain and communicate to stakeholders the implications of transactions and reporting.
• An Ethics and Professional Skills module – making modifications to the existing ethics module, which ACCA was the first professional body to offer to students in 2008. This new module will equip them with the professional skills that are needed in the modern workplace.