ACCA Engage - answering members' questions

On the same day that student engage took place, ACCA chief executive Allen Blewitt, and immediate past president Gill Ball, took part in ACCA Engage, this time answering members' questions in another live webcast. As you work towards becoming an ACCA member, find out about some of the issues concerning current members by viewing the full broadcast on the website. Some of the questions answered during the event are highlighted below.

Maintaining standards

Fawad Tariq from Pakistan wanted to know what ACCA is doing to maintain the standard of students and the ACCA Qualification.

In response, Blewitt said: 'ACCA is deeply committed to maintaining standards. Without high quality standards, our reputation would not be what it is now. The ACCA Qualification is independently validated. We have an independent reviewer and an independent senior examiner, who make sure that the standards are identical from year to year. But, being an ACCA member is not just about exams. It’s also about practical experience, supervision, and maintaining your CPD.'

Benefits of membership

Sherri-Ann Miller from Jamaica wanted to know what members received for their subscription fees.

Ball highlighted the fact that, as a not‑for‑profit body, value for money was extremely important: 'We're very sensitive to members' needs and we do not wish to make it prohibitively expensive. All our members have the same global qualification, the same access to many of the global resources, and can benefit from our unrivalled spread of national offices too.'

Global recognition

Chris Wills in Germany raised the issue of ACCA’s global recognition especially as other bodies become more internationally active. He wanted to know what ACCA was doing to protect its status.

Blewitt outlined the three broad areas in which ACCA builds its brand. 'First, we look for statutory recognition. Second, we go for market awareness by working with a range of stakeholders to say that the ACCA Qualification is valuable. And, finally, we want our members to be our advocates. We want them to stand up and be confident about being an ACCA member, because that will spread the word.'