Scotland to help Chinese accountants

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Source: CCTV.com | 01-22-2008 08:43

China's Institute of Certified Public Accountants has agreed to step up cooperation with Scotland's Institute of Chartered Accountants. The move is a bid to improve a wide range of areas in China's accounting profession.

The Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland signed an MOU of cooperation in areas such as professional education, examination and technical exchanges.

Expanding cooperation in the financial services sector was one of the agreements reached between China and the UK during the recent visit by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

And a breakthrough has been reached on in the accounting service sector between China and Scotland.

On Monday, the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland signed an MOU of cooperation in areas such as professional education, examination and technical exchanges.

Liu Zhongli, president of CICPA, said, "ICAS is highly experienced in education and enjoys a strong global reputation. Cooperating with ICAS can improve how we educate accounting professionals, and exposing them to international expertise."

ICAS is the world's oldest professional accountancy body, and has been in operation for more than 150 years. It has over 17,000 members worldwide. ICAS sees huge potential in tapping into the world's fastest growing economy.

Anton Colella, Chief executive of ICAS, said, "China's financial market will be one of the strongest financial markets in the future Strong economies, strong financial market depend on strong accountants."

China currently has more than 140,000 locally certified accountants. That's far less than the estimated 300,000 that the country needs. As China integrates more closely into the world economy, the country needs to build up a huge pool of accountants with international expertise.

Editor:Zhang Ning