I recently had the privilege to interview Mr Vinod Bussawah, manager of ACCA Mauritius. Since my registration as an ACCA student, the local office has been supportive towards my examination achievements.
I have considered two blog postings about the ACCA Mauritius office, and the aims of these are to explore the support that the branch offers; the role that ACCA is playing to ensure the delivery of high calibre finance professionals for sustaining the growth in the Mauritian financial sector; and how ACCA has gained its reputation as a highly regarded professional qualification among employers and various stakeholders.
I was inquisitive about the trends and reasons why Mauritian students register for ACCA. ‘ACCA is the fastest growing professional accountancy body in the world, and has maintained a consistent growth in its membership and student growth over the past years,’ Mr Bussawah says. ‘In 2007, global student and affiliate numbers grew by 10%. Mauritius, despite being described a mature market for ACCA, has recorded a growth of over 5% over the past five years, and the trend looks to continue upward,’ he adds.
Mr Bussawah continues: ‘We work in collaboration with the department of career guidance from the Ministry of Education in assisting secondary level students in their career choices. It is worthwhile to point out that students do understand the fundamental difference between a professional and academic qualification, and as such they are more prone to opt for the former one. This is where ACCA comes in.’
‘ACCA’s policy towards accessibility and openness of the course, the cost involved, the benefits of employment, and market adaptability of the ACCA professional qualification results in its great demand. The attractiveness of ACCA is based on key criteria such as open access policy, the credibility and integrity of the course structure and the way in which examinations are held, and also the revision of the syllabus itself at regular intervals, in order to meet the requirements of today’s professional accountant,’ Mr Bussawah states.
I was pleasantly surprised to know that ACCA has been present in Mauritius since 1960. ‘ACCA’s professional qualification has proved itself through the dedication and hard work of its members. Members occupy highly ranked positions in the government bodies and agencies (for instance Director of the National Audit Office, Accountant General, and Mauritius Revenue Authority, to mention a few) and also CEOs, CFOs, and Senior Audit Partners in the private sector. As such, ACCA students can foresee their career path as to where this qualification will bring them to,’ adds Mr. Bussawah.
‘The ACCA Mauritius office was established in the year 2000, and we offer our services to the ACCA community, our various stakeholders, and also the public at large. We have a library attached to our premises and we have extended this facility to five different local municipal libraries throughout the country. Thus students will have a greater access to updated study materials. Among our team of five members, we have a dedicated student advisor who provides guidance to our newly registered students about the various study options and how to achieve the right blend of working experience,’ explains Mr Bussawah.
I recalled those challenging phases prior to my ACCA final exams in June 2007. I had the opportunity to attend crash courses organised by ACCA Mauritius with the support of lecturers from the UK. It proved that my first attempt for the three final examinations was also the last attempt!
My next posting will delve into the role ACCA Mauritius is playing with local authorities, support being offered to ACCA affiliates and members, and the social activities of the office.
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