ACCA launches new Ethics and Professional Skills module to meet future market needs

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has launched a new approach to ethics in its latest innovation to the top level of the qualification with the introduction of an Ethics and Professional Skills module in Sri Lanka recently.

ACCA Sri Lanka Vice Chairman Member Network Panel, Suren Rajakarier, said: “What we firmly believe in is the value and importance of ethical behaviour – both as a necessary part of being a professional accountant and as a driver for sustainable organisational performance.”

In his presentation at the launch, he explained that ACCA’s new Ethics and Professional Skills module focuses on developing vitally important ethical behaviour and judgment to ensure finance professionals are equipped with the skills needed to support exam success.

Additionally, the new module revisions will ensure all members have the broader ethics, communication, commercial, innovation, analysis and evaluation skills which are essential for shaping the future of business.

Referring to an ACCA global survey, he mentioned that more than 8 out of 10 accountants were of the view that strong ethical principles and behaviour would become even more important in the evolving digital age. With this innovation he was confident that the new Ethics and Professional Skills module is designed to increase employability and, while providing the well-rounded skills employers need, it prepares a professional for a successful and rewarding career as a trusted and confident professional accountant.

The new Ethics and Professional Skills module also develops the full spectrum of advanced ethical and professional skills, exposing students to realistic business situations .It comprises six interactive units that cover ethics and professionalism, personal effectiveness, innovation and skepticism, commercial awareness, leadership and teamwork and communication and interpersonal skill.

Through developing and demonstrating a high standard of these ethical and professional behaviours alongside the strategic and technical expertise acquired through the ACCA qualification, ACCA professional accountants will be able to make an immediate impact in their workplace. The Ethics and Professional Skills module also develops skills in negotiation, conflict management and thinking commercially to integrate with realistic business situations to improve the employability and career success of both their students and members.

Skills Development and Vocational Training Minister Chandima Weerakody, the Chief Guest at the function, commended ACCA on this initiative and stated that both small and large financial businesses alike must behave ethically for their own benefit, for their customers’ benefit and for the benefit of the economy as a whole. 

With finance being at the centre of any business and being a vital factor in facilitating economic growth and development, it was important that finance professionals are guided by ethical principles and demonstrate high standards of integrity. He congratulated ACCA for taking a leadership role in giving ethics the importance it deserved in the industry.

ACCA Sri Lanka Head Nilusha Ranasinghe said: “Ethics is an essential skill for finance professionals. It is important for us at ACCA to ensure all students and members understand what it means to work and act professionally and ethically in the workplace and uphold ACCA’s reputation and brand promise of the technical and ethical standards expected of them. To behave ethically and instil trust in a digital age, professional accountants need to learn new information relatively quickly and to apply their judgment to this information, often in situations they may not have seen before. It is also essential that all those involved in professional education have a duty to make sure those whom they teach are equipped to apply the highest standards of ethical judgment throughout their careers in this fast-moving world. This latest innovation to our qualification reflects our core value in upholding ethics as a key component to influence businesses and the finance industry and also reinforces the fact that ACCA members are those who deliver the right values to the profession.”