Arab Region Requires 100 Times More Certified Accountants
05 May 1994The requirement of the Arab region for certified accounts is approximately 500 thousand accountants. It’s a number that is 100 times more than the current number of available certified accountants, namely 5000. This is the number that currently carries an educational qualification that is recognized by international accredited bodies.
Adnan Jaber from Riyadh, met with Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman of the Arab Society of Certified Accountants (ASCA), and member of the board of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) in London, member of the International Committee for Auditing in New York and member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in New York. He discussed ASCA’s most important plans and programs to develop the profession of certified accountancy and prepare qualified cadres in the Arab region, in addition to talking about some global accounting issues.
The number of registrants for the examinations of ASCA -which is headquartered in London- reached 1000 Arab accountants, in order to become Arab Certified Public Accountants (title of ACPA), within the ASCA program for accounting education and qualification to create Arab cadres proficient in the Arab accounting profession.
Chairman Abu-Ghazaleh said that the society will organize an Arab conference next April in Amman, in order to research the accounting education curricula in Arab universities, and define required specifications of the Arab economic society, in addition to attempt to fulfill the requisites of Arab economic growth.
It is believed that the Arab region requires 500 thousand Arab certified accountants, according to the estimates of developed world. There currently are 5000 certified accountants in the region that carry educational qualifications from accredited international bodies, such as the British Society of Certified Accountants and the American Society of Certified Accountants.
The ASCA examinations include programs and accounting material that were Arabized from international societies, in addition to laws and Arab tax systems based on the agreement that was concluded with the IASC. The IASC prepares the examination programs for British certified accounting societies. With this, the opportunity is now available for the Arab accountant to become certified without the need to travel abroad. He or she can sit for the exam in any of 16 centers distributed throughout major Arab cities.
Annual report of the society
ASCA had recently released its annual report for the past year, which included a revision of its examinations program to be compatible with the new directives of the IFAC, in accordance with the system of exams for American qualification. As such, the exam topics of the entire old program were merged into a new program that includes six topics, such as theoretical accounting, practical accounting, auditing, laws of companies and commerce and taxes, financial administration and the English language.
The report included the accomplishments since 1985, which is the year the society was established. Some of these accomplishments were membership in four international bodies, translation and publication of five accounting books and nine general references, organizing three conferences, graduating two batches of students and signing agreements with various universities and academic/vocational institutions such as the University of Jordan, the Omani Institution for Professional Growth and the Palestinian Alnajah University.
Reasons for choosing London
Abu-Ghazaleh says that by choosing London as the headquarters for the society, is to give it the taste of independence, far from Arab particulars. This will assist it in doing its job in isolation of any Arab sensitivities, a matter that will lead to the development of the profession.
As for the recommendations of the U.N. Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting which recently convened in Geneva, they included four major points which included: creating international standards for the qualifying exams of certified accountants to determine a minimum set of requirements for anyone who carries the certified accountant title, and creation of a system to issue certified accountant licenses under the supervision of the UN and per certain standards such that the internationally certified accountant title will be used in the UN registry of accounting experts.
Additionally, the recommendations included establishing a comprehensive plan supervised by the UN and the IFAC in collaboration with the World Bank and other financial institutions to raise the level of accounting education in developing countries, and convening a seminar to discuss the auditor’s responsibilities and commitments in light of what is called the expectations gap. This is the disparity between what the certified accountant considers his/her responsibility and what the economic community considers the responsibility of the auditor.
According to what appeared in the final recommendation, one study prepared by a specialized British institute estimated the amount of damages in lawsuits against major accounting forms worldwide to be approximately 20 billion dollars.
The issue of an international conference
Abu-Ghazaleh mentioned that the IFAC is currently discussing the set-up of an international conference in Paris, after numerous suggestions were presented. One of the suggestions for the conference title was “The Certified Accountant and the Requirements of Economic Growth”, which was forwarded by Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh as the ASCA representative during the last IFAC board meeting last March in Venice, Italy. At the time, France’s representative suggested the title “The Certified Accountant and the Challenges of the 21st Century”.
The IFAC board formed a committee to discuss the topic and prepare for the conference before the end of September of this year, and to begin sending out invitations for attendance.
The IFAC meeting included the acceptance of the Saudi Bureau of Certified Accountants to its membership, while other societies and bodies were rejected membership. The Saudi bureau had fulfilled all prerequisites necessary for membership.
On the other hand, the ASCA Chairman expected that Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International (TAGI) - which the Aldar Auditing Office in Saudi Arabia is a part of – will acquire revenues reaching 32 million dollars during this year, which is an increase of 35% from last year’s revenues of 24 million dollars.
Activities of TAGI
TAGI conducts its activities in the Arab region through 40 offices, in addition to liaison offices in Beijing, London, Paris, Washington, Tokyo, Munich and Los Angeles.
The company is associated by a membership agreement with Grant Thornton Int. to serve its clients, ensure its technical requirements and utilize its resources in training through 350 offices the group owns worldwide.
Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh occupies various professional positions in committees and organizations specialized in industrial property protection and legal services such as the Founding Committee of the Arab Union of International Arbitration, the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva and the Arab Society for the Protection of Industrial Property.
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