Indian Students Accepting ACCA Membership to Work in Leading Global Markets

By Manu Sharma
When it comes to education, Indian youngsters are still holding on to what’s traditional option for them and choosing something that seems familiar to them, like choosing CA to ACCA. However, today’s youth are looking for better prospects in their career and what’s better than a lucrative career in leading markets across the globe.

ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), which has been responsible is shaping many youth’s career has suddenly looking up in India. Today over 10,000 student in the commerce stream are taking to ACCA fundamental courses to raise in their career. What’s more is that 400-500 students are adding each year.

Talking to the media, Sajid Khan, Head of International Development. ACCA says, “Over the last two or three years have become active in India and investing through our Approved Learning Partner (ALP). Interestingly for us southern states like Kerala, Tamilnadu and Karnataka amount to 50% of the ACCA students doing fundamental courses in India.”

ACCA has also announced a major step forward in shaping the future of accountancy by unveiling major innovations to its Master’s level qualification. The new, ground-breaking design of the qualification draws on an extensive, two-year review and consultation with members, employers and learning providers.

On the professional front, according to Khan, 7,400 approved ACCA members are presently employed in leading organisations and banks globally. India has over 1,100 qualified ACCA members and the numbers are slowing gaining number by adding about 100 over the last two years.

ACCA membership is not accepted not just in the United Kingdom but also in Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Singapore, Malaysia, China etc.

In April 2016, India chose the path of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) convergence and introduced Ind-AS (Indian Accounting Standards). Ind-AS is modelled along the lines of IFRS, which is internationally accepted accounting standards, and it upgrades India’s accounting standards to an international level. This has created the necessity for a new, modern day accountant who can understand the dynamic nature of Ind-AS and can successfully implement it.

“The ACCA qualification combines local relevance with international best practice. We are excited to bring these developments to India, as it now stands at the cusp of financial transformation, in order to plug existing skill gaps by providing a truly global qualification,” said Sajid Khan. “By supplementing the accountancy profession with skill sets that have been devised keeping in mind the dynamic nature of the profession and drivers of change like automation and globalisation, we are creating finance professionals who are capable of supporting and driving India’s economic growth.”

Raymond Jack, Executive Director, Finance and Operations added that the new emphasis for the qualification is a major step forward for the future of accountancy. “Today accountants are increasingly being called upon to demonstrate that they are strategic forward-thinkers as they play senior executive roles in business. ACCA has responded accordingly with a qualification that offers the complete and essential blend of technical and ethical accounting competencies mixed with strategic leadership and professional skills required to turn students into the confident, inspiring and trusted business partners that employers need.”

“We’re delivering a qualification that meets the demands of professional accountants in the 21st century, while maintaining the rigorous standards of technical, ethical and professional skills that has established ACCA as the international benchmark for accountancy qualifications,” said Judith Bennett, FEDS (Flexible Exam Delivery Programme) Programme Director, ACCA, at the event.

New developments

ACCA’s latest innovations to the top level of its qualification are new Strategic Professional level exams which will replace the existing Professional level exams in September 2018 and a new Ethics and Professional Skills module, which will be introduced in October 2017.

The redesign enhances the breadth and depth of the qualification, with greater focus on employability and the practical application of core skills in the contemporary workplace and includes:

·         Strategic Business Leader – an innovative case study exam, based on a realistic business scenario. This gives students the skills and technical expertise required by modern business where decisions need to be made, measured and effectively communicated to the wider organisation.

·         Strategic Business Reporting – a new exam exposing students to the wider context of finance and business reporting, giving them the vital skills needed to explain and communicate to stakeholders the implications of transactions and reporting.

·         An Ethics and Professional Skills module - making modifications to the existing ethics module, which ACCA was the first professional body to offer to students in 2008. This new module will equip them with the professional skills that are needed in the modern workplace.

Indian Students Accepting ACCA Membership to Work in Leading Global Markets

When it comes to education, Indian youngsters are still holding on to what’s traditional option for them and choosing something that seems familiar to them, like choosing CA or ACCA. However, today’s youth are looking for better prospects in their career and what’s better than a global career in leading markets across the globe.

ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), which has been responsible is shaping many youth’s career has suddenly looking up in India. Today over 10,000 student in the commerce stream are taking to ACCA fundamental courses to raise in their career. What’s more is that 400-500 students are adding each year.

Talking to the media, Sajid Khan, Head of International Development. ACCA says, “Over the last two or three years have become active in India and investing through our Approved Learning Partner (ALP). Interestingly for us southern states like Kerala, Tamilnadu and Karnataka amount to 50% of the ACCA students doing fundamental courses in India.”

ACCA has also announced a major step forward in shaping the future of accountancy by unveiling major innovations to its Master’s level qualification. The new, ground-breaking design of the qualification draws on an extensive, two-year review and consultation with members, employers and learning providers.

On the professional front, according to Khan, 7,400 approved ACCA members are presently employed in leading organisations and banks globally. India has over 1,100 qualified ACCA members and the numbers are slowing gaining number by adding about 100 over the last two years.

ACCA membership is not accepted not just in the United Kingdom but also in Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Singapore, Malaysia, China etc.

In April 2016, India chose the path of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) convergence and introduced Ind-AS (Indian Accounting Standards). Ind-AS is modelled along the lines of IFRS, which is internationally accepted accounting standards, and it upgrades India’s accounting standards to an international level. This has created the necessity for a new, modern day accountant who can understand the dynamic nature of Ind-AS and can successfully implement it.

“The ACCA qualification combines local relevance with international best practice. We are excited to bring these developments to India, as it now stands at the cusp of financial transformation, in order to plug existing skill gaps by providing a truly global qualification,” said Sajid Khan. “By supplementing the accountancy profession with skill sets that have been devised keeping in mind the dynamic nature of the profession and drivers of change like automation and globalisation, we are creating finance professionals who are capable of supporting and driving India’s economic growth.”

Raymond Jack, Executive Director, Finance and Operations added that the new emphasis for the qualification is a major step forward for the future of accountancy. “Today accountants are increasingly being called upon to demonstrate that they are strategic forward-thinkers as they play senior executive roles in business. ACCA has responded accordingly with a qualification that offers the complete and essential blend of technical and ethical accounting competencies mixed with strategic leadership and professional skills required to turn students into the confident, inspiring and trusted business partners that employers need.”

“We’re delivering a qualification that meets the demands of professional accountants in the 21st century, while maintaining the rigorous standards of technical, ethical and professional skills that has established ACCA as the international benchmark for accountancy qualifications,” said Judith Bennett, FEDS (Flexible Exam Delivery Programme) Programme Director, ACCA, at the event.

New developments

ACCA’s latest innovations to the top level of its qualification are new Strategic Professional level exams which will replace the existing Professional level exams in September 2018 and a new Ethics and Professional Skills module, which will be introduced in October 2017.

The redesign enhances the breadth and depth of the qualification, with greater focus on employability and the practical application of core skills in the contemporary workplace and includes:

·         Strategic Business Leader – an innovative case study exam, based on a realistic business scenario. This gives students the skills and technical expertise required by modern business where decisions need to be made, measured and effectively communicated to the wider organisation.

·         Strategic Business Reporting – a new exam exposing students to the wider context of finance and business reporting, giving them the vital skills needed to explain and communicate to stakeholders the implications of transactions and reporting.

·         An Ethics and Professional Skills module - making modifications to the existing ethics module, which ACCA was the first professional body to offer to students in 2008. This new module will equip them with the professional skills that are needed in the modern workplace.

Indians Rank High in Terms of Falling Prey to Ransomware: Norton

About 33 percent Indians have either experienced ransomware themselves or know someone who has. Of those who have experienced ransomware, 83 percent of the victims did so in the past one year alone, indicating a steady rise of this menace. 27 percent of these victims actually paid the ransom to gain access to their files, said the report on India finding announced by Norton by Symantec.  The report which sheds light on the truth about online crime said that in these kind of cases proving that paying the ransom is no guarantee, 26 percent victims paid ransom, but could not retrieve their files or data.

Addressing the media, Ritesh Chopra, Country Manager, Norton by Symantec says, “Cybercrime isn’t going away and consumers must reject complacency to adequately protect themselves. By adopting a few basic behaviours, we can make big strides in mitigating cybercrime risk.” added Chopra.

In 2015, India was ranked way down at 12^th place in ramsomware attacks this year has moved up to number 4 position globally in the number of attacks. Likewise, among Asia countries, India remain at number 2 position for the number of ransomware attacks.

As a starting point, Norton recommends the following best practices:

Avoid Password Promiscuity: Protect your accounts with strong, unique passwords that use a combination of at least 10 upper and lowercase letters, symbols and numbers to help keep the bad guys at bay. Make it difficult for attackers to access your information by changing your passwords every three months and not reusing passwords for multiple accounts. That way, if a cybercriminal gets your password, they can’t compromise all of your accounts. And if it’s too overwhelming to keep up this practice, use a password manager to help!

Don’t Go On a Phishing Expedition: Think twice before opening unsolicited messages or attachments, particularly from people you don’t know, or clicking on random links. The message may be from a cybercriminal who has compromised your friend or family member’s email or social media accounts.

Do Not Pay the Ransom and Backup: Backing up important data is the single most effective way of combating ransomware infection. Attackers have leverage over their victims by encrypting valuable files and leaving them inaccessible. If the victim has backup copies, they can restore their files once the infection has been cleaned up.

Be in Control When Online: Entrust your devices to security software to help protect you against the latest threats. Protect all your devices with a robust, multi-platform solution, like Norton Security.

Know the Ins and Outs Of Public Wi-Fi Networks: Accessing personal information on unprotected public Wi-Fi is like broadcasting your entire screen on TV – everything you do on a website or through an app, could potentially be exposed. Avoid anything that involves sharing your personal information (paying a bill online, logging in to social media accounts, paying for anything with a credit card, etc.)

Tidy Your (Dis) Connected Home: When installing a new network-connected device, such as a router or smart thermostat, remember to change the default password. If you don’t plan on using the Internet feature(s), such as with smart appliances, disable or protect remote access when not needed. Also, protect your wireless connections with strong Wi-Fi encryption so no one can easily view the data traveling between your devices.

Cybercrime Continues Due To Unsafe Behaviour

Similarly, the report found that consumers who were victims of cybercrime within the past year often continued their unsafe behaviour. For example, while these consumers were equally likely to use a password on every account, they were over twice as likely to share their password with others, negating their efforts. Further, 79 percent of consumers know they must actively protect their information online, but they still share passwords and engage in other risky behaviour. Additionally, close to one in five (18 percent) consumers have at least one unprotected device, leaving their other devices vulnerable to ransomware, malicious websites, zero days and phishing attacks. While quoting various reasons for not protecting their devices, 36 percent said they don’t do anything “risky” online, and 23 percent believed security measures would slow them down.

“Our findings show that people are increasingly growing aware of the need to protect their personal information online, but aren’t motivated to take adequate precautions to stay safe,” said Ritesh Chopra, Country Manager, Norton by Symantec. “While consumers remain complacent, hackers are refining their skills and adapting their scams to further take advantage of people, making the need for consumers to take some action increasingly important.”

Indians Love Public Wi-Fi but Underestimate the Accompanied Risks

Amongst those surveyed, a vast majority (85 percent) of Indians have Wi-Fi in their homes. Proving that thinking about cyber security doesn’t mean you’re secure, people who experienced cybercrime within the past year were more likely to be concerned about the security of their home Wi-Fi network (79 percent vs. 70 percent non-victims), yet less likely to password protect their home Wi-Fi network than non-victims (28 percent vs. 10 percent of non-victims have unprotected networks).

Only 56 percent of consumers knew how to determine whether the Wi-Fi network they are using is secure; this is of concern especially since 22 percent of respondents agreed to have used their neighbour’s Wi-Fi network without their permission. Additionally, when it comes to public Wi-Fi, one in four (27 percent) regularly use public Wi-Fi connections available at airports, coffee shops, etc. Further:

• Nearly two out of three consumers (59 percent) believe entering financial information online when connected to public Wi-Fi is riskier than reading their credit or debit card number aloud in a public place (41 percent).

• 70 percent say public Wi-Fi is useful for checking emails, sending documents, and logging into accounts on the go, and 80 percent of the business travelers agree.
• 45 percent of consumers connect to a Wi-Fi network using VPN regularly; others can potentially allow a hacker to steal data as it travels on the network.
• Despite half of respondents believing they are likely to have their identity stolen after entering account or personal information on public Wi-Fi, in order to gain access to public Wi-Fi consumers are willing to give in to actions such as answering a survey question (58 percent), installing a third-party app (35 percent), provide access to files while online (21 percent) or even turning off security software (19 percent).

E-Commerce Player Flipkart Slightly Impacted by Demonetisation Drive

By Manu Sharma

Flipkart, India’s leading e-commerce player has been slightly impacted by the Prime Minister’s Demonetisation drive. Sachin Bansal, ‎Exec Chairman and Co-Founder at Flipkart addressing the Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) 2016 in Bengaluru says, “The move slightly impacted us but not very much. We have always seen a 50:50 ratio between cash and digital payment and with this move, all transactions are now on digital payment. So our customers, who were paying cash on delivery are now gone for digital payment. We have been pushing our new payment platform - UPI - and anyone with a bank account can set up our UPI in just 5 minutes and start transacting.”

PhonePe Internet Pvt. Ltd, owned by Flipkart, aunched its Unified payment interface (UPI) platform earlier, as it seeks to take on the likes of Paytm and Freecharge for a piece of India’s fast-growing digital payments business. 

Bansal was addressing a questions raised by Vikram Chandra, Consulting Editor at NDTV on impact of monetization in India, Bansal says the Jan Dhan Yojana has opened a number of accounts in rural India but not many have left any money in their accounts. But the growth of smart mobiles in the country will help the Indian e-commerce industry grow. The government should give subsidiary on smart mobiles to the poor. Also the fast growth of technology has enabled the mobile prices to drop considerably for someone with an small income can now afford a smart phone, he said.

If the e-commerce bubble with burst?
Reacting to Vikram Chandra’s question If the e-commerce bubble with burst?, Bansal says micro level shopping will also go digital but is still small in India, compared to China and US with 10%-12% growth in online shopping while it is only 2% in India but the efficiency and management principals are much better here and we will attract a lot more consumers shortly. Presently, we are thriving on technology which is an integral part of our company and so will continue to invest in data science and artificial intelligence going forward.

MNC Players Don’t Scare Me

MNC players like Amazon, Alibaba are here to stay but we are not scared of them. They are catering to the elite high income group. But in India localization is important. Like I always say don’t follow the NASA model but follow our own Indian ISRO model going forward. This is the way to success in India.

Microsoft & Telangana Inks MoU To Explore Use of Cloud, Mobile & Machine Learning

The Government of Telangana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited. Under the MOU, Microsoft will help the Government explore cloud, machine learning and mobile based solutions to improve citizen services, education, healthcare and agriculture in the state.  

The Government of Telangana has been an ardent promoter of ICT solutions, particularly in the fields of agriculture, citizen service delivery, education and healthcare. Having crossed the magical figure of 7 crore online transactions through MeeSeva, the Government of Telangana is miles ahead of other states with its robust citizen service delivery platform. The State has also launched an innovative ICT enabled solution for government schools called TS-CLASS (Telangana State Computer Literacy and Skills in Schools) to revolutionize the way students are taught. Additionally, the Government, in collaboration with various partners, has deployed IoT enabled solutions such as healthcare teleconsulting for remote geographies and online marketplace cum support platform for farmers.

Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary, ITE&C, Government of Telangana, said, “The Government believes that ICT is the key to building not only a stronger economy but also an efficient and effective governance system. Through this partnership of ours with Microsoft, we are confident about bringing in advanced solutions pertaining to our initiatives under Digital Telangana program.”

Microsoft India will work with the Government of Telangana to support the development of cloud and mobile-based solutions and support the use of machine learning and advanced visualization to help solve challenges in the fields of education, agriculture and healthcare.

Speaking on the occasion, Anil Bhansali, Managing Director, Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt. Ltd., said, “Over the past year we have experimented with cloud, mobile and machine learning based solutions for better citizen connect as well as to help students, farmers and patients in India. We are delighted to bring many of those learnings to Telangana and explore new use for these world-class technologies. We believe technology should empower every Indian, and today’s MOU will take us further in that journey.

Mastercard and Ratnakar Bank Launch QR Code Payments in India

Mastercard has announced the Indian launch of Masterpass QR, a safe and secure Quick Response (QR) mobile payments solution. Masterpass QR enables mobile banking users to safely pay for face-to-face purchases using their smartphone or feature phone. 

Shoppers can make fast, simple and secure digital payments at any place where Masterpass QR is accepted, which means that they no longer need to carry cash or their physical bank cards to make payments. Ratnakar Bank Limited (RBL Bank) is the first bank in India to integrate the Masterpass QR service into the OnGo digital wallet, its mobile platform powered in conjunction with India Transact Services. The OnGo wallet will host a virtual prepaid Mastercard that customers can use for cashless transactions, including for paying taxi and auto rickshaw fares.

Masterpass QR’s low cost and easy-to-deploy technology is designed to ensure that even the smallest merchants can participate, whether they are in a major city or a remote area. This offering is a reiteration of Mastercard’s commitment to support the Government’s vision of a less-cash society, while working to ensure no one gets left behind in digital adoption.

“The digital payment industry is fast transforming and continuously evolving in India. Our focus is to innovate new, safe and secure technologies that bring the benefits of electronic payments to even more merchants, banks and consumers.” says Porush Singh, Division President - Mastercard, South Asia. He further adds, “With Masterpass QR, we are advancing the use of cashless payment methods to limit the flow of cash in the economy and take decisive steps toward realizing the dream of Digital India.” 

Ravi Goyal, CMD, AGS Transact Technologies Limited and Chairman, India Transact Services Limited said, “Ongo and Mastercard’s joint initiative further strengthens our brand’s commitment to provide end-to-end capabilities for enabling seamless payment solutions. Given the Government’s impetus to cashless economy and its digitization, our association will bolster the way consumers transact. We are extremely delighted to present such a first-of-its-kind global integration product with Mastercard.”

Sujatha Mohan, Head, Digital Initiatives, RBL Bank said, “At RBL Bank, we have always strived to be at the forefront of cutting-edge digital payment solutions for our customers. We are bullish on products that simplify the payment process and eliminate the need for cash

Participate in its Samsung’s Global Tizen Mobile App Incentive Program to Win $10,000

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has announced the launch of the Tizen Mobile App Incentive Program, Samsung’s first initiative to support Tizen’s global developer community and expand its mobile app ecosystem. Developers are invited to submit Tizen mobile apps for an opportunity to win $10,000 or more.

“As a committed leader of the Tizen platform, we strive to further benefit, expand upon and evolve the Tizen ecosystem,” said Woncheol Chai, VP of Global Product Management, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. "We’re excited to launch this new incentive program to help develop and bring the best of mobile apps to the Tizen community as well as provide customers with a better mobile experience.”

The new program will run from February through October 2017, and developers who create mobile apps for Tizen, such as gaming, social and lifestyle apps, are eligible to apply. Every month, each of the top 100 apps downloaded from the Tizen store and pre-registered to participate in the Tizen Mobile App Incentive Program will win $10,000. 

Apps already available in the Tizen store, as well as new apps, can be entered to win. All developers must do is ensure they register their apps for participation by visiting incentive.tizenstore.com. Individuals can begin applying to participate in January 2017. The winners will be notified on the 10^th of each month starting on March 10, 2017 and ending on November 10, 2017.

The announcement was shared today at the NASSCOM Game Developers Conference, India’s largest confluence of game developers. For more information on the new incentive program.

Tizen developers can also monetize their apps through mobile advertisements with the InMobi Ad Software Development Kit (SDK). Developers can learn more and download the SDK at developer.tizen.org.