ACCA helps Beijing's service platform

China plays a vital role in contributing to a global economy "where everybody needs to be included and prosper", in the face of a tumultuous international landscape marked by intensifying geopolitical tensions, a senior executive told China Daily.

"China has been and will remain highly significant as an economy to the world," said Helen Brand, chief executive of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

"China is now leading globally on various economic issues such as green energy, electric vehicles and technological innovation," Brand said. "When I first visited China in 1993, it was more about bringing in best practices from all over the world to enable China to become that leader and innovator."

Today, the innovation happening in China offers tremendous opportunities to the world. It is only a question of finding the right mechanisms to allow innovation to flourish even further, Brand said.

Beijing launched a global high-end professional service platform on Thursday, of which ACCA has been appointed to lead the accounting services subgroup. The initiative is aimed at exploring innovative and efficient approaches of matching financial institutions in Beijing with global professional service providers.

"What we bring is a global perspective which is relevant to and can be applied to Chinese circumstances," Brand said. "By pooling different perspectives, we can find solutions together to enable Chinese businesses and organizations to succeed."

In particular, ACCA can help Chinese regulators, policymakers and businesses gain better access to international standards and framework, therefore reducing frictions and allowing for greater openness, Brand said.

Over the years, ACCA has built a global professional community spanning over 250,000 members, with a significant portion of this being accounting talent from China, according to Brand.

ACCA is now working with the Beijing National Accounting Institute on research projects, curriculum design and continuing professional development, to ensure that high-end talent is being rapidly upskilled and becoming even more relevant to their organizations.

"Moving forward, I think there is great potential using technology to increase the level of education attainment. AI has been talked about enough in terms of its potential to educate and train people," Brand said. "We're investing in pilots and learning how that might be used to accelerate competence as well."