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The World Congress of Accountants, the most important international event for accountants and finance professionals around the world that takes place every 4 years, was conducted on 8-11 November in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and attracted over 600 participants.

Nataliya Vovchuk, Head of ACCA Ukraine, Baltic and Caucasus States delivered a presentation at the panel discussion at WCOA about the future of the accountancy profession, focusing on the future education and development of finance professionals.

“It is important to emphasise that accountancy education and training is set up for extensive changes, ones that will happen at a fast pace especially in the areas of the regulation of the profession, qualification requirements, professional education and practical experience. New, global education standards will certainly have an impact on the accountant of the future,” said Nataliya Vovchuk.

Educational standards for the accountancy profession are set by the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB). There are eight standards in total which determine global standards.

For accountants, changes will mean:

• more clarity on how professional capabilities should be developed and recorded
• professional bodies will be required to introduce effective assessment mechanism and examination techniques – that will put emphasis not only on theoretical knowledge but also on skills obtained through the practical experience
• global relevance will be vital to the education developments of the future

Seven professional bodies from Ukraine, Baltic and Caucasus States (Ukrainian Federation of Professional Accountants and Auditors, Georgian Federation of Professional Accountants and Auditors, Lithuanian Chamber of Auditors, Chamber of Auditors of Azerbaijan Republic, Armenian Association of Accountants and Auditors, Estonian Board of Auditors, Latvian Association of Certified Auditors) provided evidence of positive trends in the region regarding accountancy education.

In particular, there is a big achievement in the region regarding exam procedures, by Georgian Federation of Professional Accountants and Auditors. After 10 years of developing and improving examination this professional body got special status and now is authorized for examining governmental structures – e.g. Ministry of Finance staff members.

Regarding exams development, number of exams vary from 5 (Lithuanian Chamber of Auditors) to 9 (GFPAA; AAAA). These professional bodies, who developed their syllabuses and exams in the framework of mutual agreements with leading professional bodies (like ACCA) have now have built some solid bases for further improvement.

All professional bodies in the region are well aware of published documents of International Accounting Education Standards Board, and are following latest IAESB developments closely.

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