Accounting body working to further tap Belt, Road

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants is actively collaborating with Chinese partners to drive high-standard, sustainable international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, which ACCA believes provides significant opportunities for the accounting profession.

"Professional accountants with their ethical perspectives, capabilities and entrepreneurial vision will be among those seeing opportunities as a result of the BRI," said Helen Brand, chief executive of ACCA, a London-based global professional accounting body.

"There will be a significant need for not just compliance work, but advisory and consulting work, as well as tax and audit skills," Brand said, adding that professional accountants play an integral role in feasibility assessments, risk management and investor protections related to BRI infrastructure projects.

By taking an active part in BRI projects, professional accountants will help the projects maintain high standards, high quality and high rewards, thus contributing to the sustainable development of BRI cooperation, Brand told China Daily.

ACCA has been readily facilitating professional accountants to seize opportunities offered by the BRI, Brand said. Most recently, ACCA signed an agreement with the China International Contractors Association in May to cooperate on training international accounting talent for China's overseas contracting projects.

Back in 2017, ACCA built a research center with the Shanghai National Accounting Institute to develop thought leadership in the fields of accounting and finance between China and other countries taking part in the BRI, with a focus on ensuring ethical standards in BRI project investment and operation.

"ACCA's global reputation for qualifications, curricula and the UK's higher education and training have made these particularly strong areas for current and future collaboration," she said.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the BRI has become an international public goods platform and is increasingly pursuing sustainable international cooperation as global debt levels increased while low-carbon transition accelerated.

ACCA now has a global community of approximately 241,000 members in 178 countries and regions, and the number is expected to hit 250,000 this year as more accountants qualify in key countries such as China.

Brand said that ACCA is working to further enhance its influence in China and meet the rising demand for finance and accounting talent with expertise in the digital field amid the rapid development of the country's digital economy and artificial intelligence technology.

"Digital transformation will also be a focus of ACCA in the next few years. ACCA will provide more professional support and training in this area to adapt to future changes in work," Brand said, adding that China's digital economy is expected to continue to develop rapidly in the coming years.

The country's digital economy reached a size of 50.2 trillion yuan ($7.04 trillion) last year, remaining the world's second-largest and making up 41.5 percent of the country's GDP, official data showed.

Brand said digital skills will be "cornerstone capabilities" for finance professionals of the future as emerging AI tools will enable finance teams to reconfigure how they work and share information as well as help accountants to better position themselves as data-centric advisers.

"This (AI) is an area of huge importance to us. We are working hard to ensure that we provide opportunities for members to increase their skills and that we keep the ACCA qualification up to date for our students as AI and other technologies develop," she added.