In conjunction with the successful conclusion of The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the Accountants Institute conducted a Press Conference at the Beijing University of Science and Technology on 19th of May to announce its maiden entry into China for the provision of training of Registered Qualified Accountants to support the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.

At the press conference, George Thomas, chairman of the Accountants Institute, mentioned that the current rapid development of the world economy faces great challenges. The Belt and Road Initiatives which is an economy development strategy suggested by China, enables the realization of globalization of economy, with multi development trends that will be able to promote a higher degree of market integration with a deeper dimension of cooperation. David Liu, director of the Accountants Institute China office, added that local accounting training standards can be further enhanced and more qualified global accounting professionals is required. The Belt and Road Initiative provided Chinese accounting industry and professionals the great opportunity for internationalization.

The Accountants Institute will be working closely with Chinese tertiary institutions and training providers across China to provide learners with convenient access to the Registered Qualified Accountants qualification training.

Ewan Tracy, subject leader for accounting and finance at the University of Northampton, explained that the UK has one of the most developed systems of professional qualifications. The British qualifications and credits framework allows transfer of credits from Accountants Institute professional qualifications onto academic programs such as Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in various universities including the University of Northampton, thereby facilitating learners’ progression for further studies and achieve substantial savings in cost and time.

The Accountants Institute was established in 2004. It is a modern and progressive professional qualification examination and membership organization. The Accountants Institute supports and adheres to the standard and spirit of International Federation of Accountants. Its qualifications have been approved and recognized by the Financial Services and Skills Council, Financial Services Partnership and the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation.

The Accountants Institute and the Professional Business Accountants Society of Canada have in place a mutual recognition agreement. Learners who have successfully completed and passed the Accountants Institute qualification would be able to apply for credit exemption and join as PBA international members.

At the press conference, the Chairmen of Accountants Institute George Thomas and the President of Professional Business Accountants Society of Canada Angel Meinecke went on stage to unveil the signboard for the China Office. Membership certificates were also issued to the first batch of fellow members from China.

More than 100 guests attended the press conference including representatives from the Central University of Finance and Economics, People’s University of China, The China National School of Administration, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing Language and Culture University, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the China Minsheng Banking Corporation, Golden Concord Holdings Limited, Shanghai Jian Qiao Group, CCTV, Phoenix TV and many other global companies and partners.