Accountants to get financial analytics and consulting skills boost

Fourthrev a digital education developer and ACCA, the global body for professional accountants, have announced the launch of a new programme’ to provide newly qualified accountants with sought after skills in financial analytics and consulting.

The online programme is designed for integration into the curriculum of accounting and finance degrees and can also be used standalone by recently qualified accountants. It involves 150 hours of study guided by financial experts with industry collaboration on business projects.   

Discussions with accounting firms including EY, Baker Tilly, KPMG, and Tech Mahindra have revealed that the accounting profession is fundamentally changing as big data, technology and AI automate traditional finance activities. Accountancy positions require graduates to act like business partners: questionning, evaluating and interpreting business information and providing insights to stakeholders, informed by wider industry knowledge. 

Mark Lester, Chief Partnerships Officer for FourthRev commented: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with ACCA and our work together to build up the new skills needed for the future of the finance and accountancy profession.  Across the globe the role of finance and accounting professionals is fundamentally changing, leaving many of today’s graduates less equipped for an increasingly advisory and consulting role. For a successful career they now require a whole new set of skills. This programme will align graduate skills with the future of accounting and prepare learners for the changing world of work.”

Lalit Katyal, CFO – Enterprise America Business Unit at Tech Mahindra said: “We are strongly supportive of the skills being developed by this programme for the benefit of the wider industry.  The programme will provide newly qualified accountants with the human skills that are most in-demand today. Crucially it will do so in the context of real-life projects and case studies which we are excited to develop alongside ACCA and FourthRev. It is essential that we address the employability deficit in accounting and finance graduates at universities across the world, and this programme is a huge step towards that.”

Debbie Talbot, Global Partnerships Lead at ACCA said: “Accelerated digital transformation has vastly increased the amount of data and information available to us. With this influx of data, we can generate new insights and support effective decision making, and so it is essential that ACCA members are equipped for this analytics revolution. The ACCA Qualification prepares our future members for a digital future, and this programme is an excellent addition to our offering. Accountancy is a cornerstone profession of society and addressing this ongoing skill need is therefore imperative.”

The programme is taught with authentic analytical projects which will provide students with concrete outputs that showcase their ‘human’ or soft skills at an interview setting. Learners will also gain confidence and capabilities on several leading enterprise tools and technology. The pilots will open in the first half of next year with several universities and full rollout following shortly thereafter.

For further information on the Financial Analytics Programme, please contact Debbie Talbot.