Scottish accountant part of international delegation to China
Hamish McKay, Chief Internal Auditor at Edinburgh University, has just returned from a Council members’ trip to China, along with the 35 other global Council members, organised by his professional body ACCA. ACCA represents the professional interests of around 450,000 members and students across 170 countries.
McKay, who has been a member of ACCA since 1986 and is a former president of ACCA Scotland, has sat on its Council since 2006. He joined Edinburgh University in 1999 and previously held senior roles in finance and internal audit with Ernst & Young, the NHS and various parts of the civil service.
He says: “I was fortunate to be part of this fascinating trip and witness some of the country’s extraordinary achievements. It was fascinating to see at close hand how much Chinese people value quality education and professional studies. It was particularly gratifying to field enquiries from senior officials and business leaders on what Edinburgh University, and Scotland generally, has to offer.”
This is the second time that ACCA’s Council has met outside Europe, demonstrating the importance ACCA places on the Chinese market. After 20 years of development, ACCA today has 3,000 members and 18,000 students in Mainland China and a total of 60,000 members and students all over China, including Hong Kong SAR.
The highlight of the trip was a ceremony which took place in the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing to host the Chinese deputy finance minister. Leaders from the Ministry of Finance, China National Audit Office, China Securities Regulatory Commission and CICPA, along with representatives from universities and colleges, research institutions, tuition providers and employers attended. They were joined by 200 guests, including ACCA Council members and staff representatives from Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong SAR.
At the celebration, Richard Aitken-Davies, ACCA President, paid tribute to the outstanding achievements made by China since the country began its reforms and made the decision to open its markets to the world and praised the considerable progress achieved by China’s accounting and auditing profession during the past two decades. He also recalled the journey taken by ACCA in the past 20 years, linking ACCA’s success to the reform and the greater openness policy initiated by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.
Aitken-Davies said that ACCA’s development in China was linked to the country’s economic growth and he was proud ACCA had the opportunity to provide a large number of talented young people with the opportunity to qualify with an internationally-recognised qualification, which will enable them to contribute to China’s economic development.
During the delegation’s visit to China, ACCA also hosted a grand cocktail reception at the St Regis hotel in Beijing where it presented ACCA achievement awards to ACCA members, students, tuition providers, universities and colleges, accounting firms and enterprises which have made a contribution to ACCA’s development in China.
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Notes to editors:
1. ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. We have 325,606 students and 122,426 members in 170 countries worldwide.
2. ACCA has worked with governments, national organisations and development agencies in emerging economies for over 20 years –promoting the accountancy profession, to create value for the communities, businesses and individuals it serves.
3. ACCA believes that globalisation of business means that one set of reporting standards is essential. We favour the principles based IFRS.
4. ACCA understands the real issues facing businesses as 63,000 of our members work in SMEs or small partnerships worldwide
For further information please contact:
Lyndsey Black, ACCA Scotland phone: +44 (0)131 247 7513 email: lyndsey.black@uk.accaglobal.com