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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) has launched a new syllabus and a new way of learning to train its accountancy students.
According to ICAS, the new syllabus will make sure that the chartered accountant (CA) qualification remains relevant in an evolving global business landscape and from 22 March, ICAS students will learn through a UK first training model.
The new syllabus was created in response to demands from the accountancy profession for a qualification that meets their challenges and helps them attract the “best talent”.
It includes future-focused themes of sustainability, technology, and business ethics, alongside the core technical accounting skills that the CA qualification is globally renowned for.
The new ICAS syllabus also empowers CAs by providing them with practical skills and knowledge to collaborate, communicate and provide leadership on sustainability issues, helping boards and management understand the link between those issues and financial performance.
New courses cover topics such as data analytics and business intelligence, and students learn directly on the digital platforms, such as Xero and Power BI.
Scheduled across four terms each year, employers can choose how quickly their students progress and how often and when they’re in the office focused on work and clients.
Additionally, unique to ICAS, employers and students can see their course schedules three years in advance, and new electives provide opportunities for specialisation and role-relevant learning.
The syllabus also features in-person workshops, pre-assessment drop-in sessions and ICAS’ first ever UK-national induction event, which will be held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 9 September.
For the first time in the UK, accountant trainees and their employers can see what they’ll study for the entire three-year period and will also be able to choose when they study certain subjects and specialties.
Training with ICAS will also mean that students can study online, but also access in person workshops and tutor time.
Gail Boag, executive director of learning at ICAS, said: “The introduction of the new syllabus and learning delivery model is the biggest leap forward yet in the way we train CAs. It allows us to keep pace with the influence of global socioeconomics and technology on business today.
“Firms were calling for greater flexibility in how we train students, and now thanks to our new model this is possible. While we have always updated our syllabus to reflect global developments to make sure that each generation of CAs remains relevant, this change is more significant, reflecting technological and other geopolitical factors that both enable and disrupt the profession.”
She added: “The qualification focuses on so much more than finance and equips students with the skills that they need to be business leaders of the future, incorporating ethics, sustainability and use of technology as part of the syllabus…”
Bruce Cartwright CA, CEO at ICAS, added: “Throughout our 170-year history, ICAS has constantly reinvented itself to remain relevant in an ever-changing world. The introduction of this new syllabus represents one of the biggest changes we’ve ever made. We believe it goes beyond the numbers, to foster the ethical mindset, technical skills, professional knowledge and practical experience that will establish CAs as the business leaders of the future.”
