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Nurturing the next generation of responsible accounting and finance leaders in contributing to a sustainable economy

Towards strengthening the mutual cooperation and nurturing the next generation of talents in accountancy and finance, ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and HKU Business School signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today. This is a renewed MoU between the two parties after the first MoU signed in August 2018.

This partnership agreement stems from the fruitful relationship between the two parties since 2018, making HKU Business School the first institution in Hong Kong to embed ACCA Qualification’s innovative exam ‘Strategic Business Leader’ into the syllabus of its Master of Accounting (MAcct) Programme, with the global resources and support from ACCA including teaching guidance, case studies and learning materials. At the same time, the Programme has secured the maximum exemptions from ACCA papers at the ‘Fundamentals’ Level, where graduates from this Programme (2019-2023) are entitled to exemption of nine ACCA papers. The two parties also joined hands in expanding and attracting top talent from the region, elevating students’ strategic professional capabilities, enhancing their ethical and professional skills, and raising their employability in the career market.

With the economic anxiety over the Covid-19 crisis, there is, however, a silver lining as the pandemic has brought the role of business ever more front and centre. Businesses must now play their part, rebuilding economies, supporting societies to thrive and providing jobs. For accountancy, this is a brilliant opportunity to attract new young talent into a global profession that is repurposed for the modern world of work.

This new MoU signifies the commitment of the two parties to further foster strategic partnership in promoting diversity of international student pool and driving global competitiveness and employability of students.

Ms. Helen Brand OBE, Chief Executive, ACCA, said, ‘As a forward-thinking and innovative global accountancy body that offers first-choice qualifications to people of ability and ambition, ACCA is strongly committed to equipping aspiring finance professionals around the globe to be the most valued, up-to-date and sought-after talent, and we’re glad to share this vision with HKU Business School. We are also united in a common objective of developing responsible and impactful leadership capability. We could not be recommitting to this MoU at a more significant moment for the global economy. The challenges of the pandemic have brought the need for business and finance professionals to play a key role in driving a sustainable future. Through deepening this important partnership, we look forward to truly bridging the academic to the professional, showing the interconnectedness of how HKU and ACCA work together on a global basis – for the benefit of students, the profession, and the economy.’

Professor Hongbin Cai, Dean of HKU Business School, said, ‘Despite the challenges in local, regional and global economy in recent years, our Master of Accounting Programme continued to grow, from 64 students in the inaugurate intake to over 300 new students in the next academic year, which is five times of our first cohort. In addition, our academic and research capabilities in Accounting and Law grew stronger with new scholars joining us from around the world. All these contribute to the overall development of HKU Business School. The first MoU signed between ACCA and HKU Business School three years ago helped enhancing students’ business knowledge, learning experience and professional network. I believe the signing of the new MoU will further synergise our strength to provide support to our students and enable us to achieve new heights in the future.’

This press release is issued on behalf of HKU Business School and ACCA by Locus Communications Ltd.

For media enquiries, please contact:

ACCA Hong Kong
Jacqueline Lam
Head of Marketing
+852 2973 1106
jacqueline.lam@accaglobal.com

About ACCA
ACCA is the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. We’re a thriving global community of 227,000 members and 544,000 future members based in 176 countries that upholds the highest professional and ethical values.

We believe that accountancy is a cornerstone profession of society that supports both public and private sectors. That’s why we’re committed to the development of a strong global accountancy profession and the many benefits that this brings to society and individuals.

Since 1904 being a force for public good has been embedded in our purpose. And because we’re a not-for-profit organisation, we build a sustainable global profession by re-investing our surplus to deliver member value and develop the profession for the next generation.

Through our world leading ACCA Qualification, we offer everyone everywhere the opportunity to experience a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. And using our respected research, we lead the profession by answering today’s questions and preparing us for tomorrow.

ACCA now has 27,000 members and 154,000 future members in China, with 11 offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Qingdao, Wuhan, Changsha, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR.

Find out more about us at www.accaglobal.com/hk
or follow ACCA Hong Kong on social media: www.facebook.com/ACCA.HongKong | www.instagram.com/acca_hk | www.linkedin.com/showcase/acca-hong-kong |
WeChat ID: ACCA_HK

About HKU Business School
HKU Business School strives to nurture first-class business leaders and foster academic and relevant research to serve the needs of Hong Kong, China and the rest of the world in the new Asia-led economy. As Asia’s premier international business school, we engage leading scholars from all corners of the globe and they instil in the students global knowledge with an Asian perspective. HKU Business School attracts top students from Hong Kong and beyond. It admits the highest proportion of non-local undergraduate students amongst all Faculties at HKU. Three of its undergraduate programmes are ranked among the University’s top 10 programmes.

Our full-time MBA programme has a strong Asia and China focus, and the programme has been ranked Asia’s no. 1 in the World MBA Rankings released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for nine consecutive years from 2010 to 2018. Students can opt for an overseas exchange opportunity to supplement their campus learning in Hong Kong: a London track at London Business School, a New York track at Columbia Business School or a Hong Kong/China track at Fudan University.

HKU Business School also offers an elite EMBA-Global Asia programme, jointly with CBS and LBS, for globally-focused senior executives and professionals. Its International MBA Programme, delivered in Shanghai in collaboration with Fudan University, was the first of its kind when it was launched in 1998. The School collaborated with Guanghua School of Management of the Peking University and offered a DBA programme and the HKU-PKU EMBA Programme in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

HKU Business School is fully accredited by the European Quality Improvement Systems (EQUIS) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

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