EDUCATORS COME TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT THE COMPLETE FINANCE PROFESSIONALS OF T...

　　An event which explored how aspiring finance professionals can be fully prepared for the demands of today’s business world, was held in Warsaw by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).
　　
　　The Education to employment: partnering pathways event which focused on what needs to be done to bridge the gap from education to employment, asked:  'How can we, working together, ensure the employability for the aspiring accountants of today and tomorrow?'
　　
　　Lucia Real-Martin, director of emerging markets - ACCA, said: 'We know the global demand for professional accountants exists. Only recently Randstad - the global recruiting firm - warned that to keep London as a financial powerhouse in the world, it needs to have the right people with the right skills to maintain and sustain its market position. This should also be seen as a warning for countries such as Poland which have fast developing financial service sectors and which will need to ensure there is a healthy pipeline of talent coming through.'
　　
　　'Together, we need to make sure that the pathways to employment are free of hurdles. We need to make sure that we build strong bridges to employment for those wishing to become professional accountants. We need to make sure that the talent pipeline is well connected and well supplied.'
　　
　　Alan Hatfield, ACCA’s director of learning, spoke about why ACCA’s partnerships with universities are so important in offering students a unique and compelling proposition to support their ultimate employment prospects. He also spoke about the ACCA Qualification and how the global body for professional accountants ensures its graduates are work-ready for their employers – complete finance professionals.
　　
　　FEE’s (Federation of European Accountants) deputy president Petr Kriz, spoke about how to make the accountancy profession attractive to the next generation, as well as maintaining those already with experience: 'We need to promote the profession and its new job profiles to gain new potentials now, recruit people who are technology-enabled, with knowledge about cross-border transactions, cross-cultural soft skills, languages and with a global view, people who can be creative and innovative. Creativity and innovation will be most prized - ideas will be the currency of the future. There's no way you can outsource innovation.
　　
　　'But to gain new potentials, we need to offer jobs that are attractive for both the young generations and for experienced professionals, for men and women, a work environment that allows flexibility and work-life-balance. Work can and will need to be delivered in real-time, because technology enables business to always be online, immediate and connected. At the same time, accountancy work does no longer need to be carried out in an office or during fixed working hours. When searching for new potentials, we also need to be aware that the times of standard CVs are over, career changers can bring a lot of potential.'
　　
　　Panel discussions were held on issues such as the challenges and opportunities education professionals face in light of digital transformation; the challenges and opportunities faced by international accounting researchers and showing the relevance of this research to those unfamiliar with the issues; and the future of finance and accounting education with the advent in technology, research and job market expectations.
　　
　　Professor Donna Street, IAAER (International Association for Accounting Education and Research) director for research and educational activities, also affirmed in one of these sessions, that there is a need to incorporate real life issues in the curricula and has used some of ACCA’s reports in the classroom. Investing in and mentoring emerging scholars and providing more workshops to senior academics on teaching methodologies, whether on IFRS or using new technologies, could help create the bridge between education and employment.
　　
　　Professor Street added: 'Although jobs for accountants are at an all-time high in the US, employers are not able to fill positions as they believe many candidates do not possess the skills-set they need. There are challenges to change mind-sets whether in an academic department or as part of a company culture.  Incremental steps and cooperation are necessities. Not all skills needed to become a successful accounting or financial professional can be gained in a four or five year degree programme. Accounting and finance professionals of the future need to follow a coherent pathway and will need support along the whole journey.'
　　
　　Magda Krupa-Hernandez, ACCA’s head of emerging Europe, said: 'The challenge of securing future generations of well qualified finance professionals is critical for Poland – to ensure it can continue to enjoy economic development.
　　
　　'This is why we wanted to bring together education providers, employers and ACCA, to talk about ways to develop synergies between traditional academic approach and practical competences that would enable future graduates to deal with complex issues and guide businesses through challenging economic conditions.'
　　
　　View a video of the conference via the 'Related Links' section, left of this article.
　　
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