USW Lecturer Presents At ACCA Conference In Zimbabwe

Nicola Gilbert, ACCA Course Leader at the University of South Wales was recently invited to attend and present at ACCA’s Sub-Saharan Africa Learning Providers’ conference at The Elephant Hills resort, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The theme of the conference was “Partnerships” and the conference was attended by over 120 delegates and ACCA staff from Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

ACCA is the global body for professional accountants. Their aim is to offer business relevant, first choice qualifications to people around the world who are seeking a career in accountancy, finance and management. The organisation has 178,000 members and 455,000 students in 181 countries. They have a network of 95 offices worldwide. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The ACCA course at the University of South Wales has over 300 students and is an ACCA Platinum Approved Learning Provider. Nicola was asked to share her experiences of running an ACCA course in a university environment, where, as a professional course, there are significant differences and challenges from a standard undergraduate or postgraduate course. During her time at the conference, Nicola also ran a workshop for delegates on ACCA’s Financial and Performance Management papers and was a member of a panel debate where delegates were invited to discuss “The value of partnerships in developing professional accountants Sub-Saharan Africa needs” with panel members. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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Other speakers at the conference included Sanjay Rughani (CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania), Professor Ademola S Tayo (President & Vice Chancellor of Babcock University Nigeria), Ngoni Sanangura (Director, Premier Business School, Zimbabwe), Jamil Ampomah (ACCA Director Sub-Saharan Africa), Judith Bennett (ACCA Programme Director for flexible exam delivery) and Subusiso Vilane (the first African person to summit Mount Everest & the seven summits). ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

All speakers followed the partnership theme, looking at how the ACCA qualification provision could be increased in Sub-Saharan Africa, the future of the ACCA qualification and the support provided for students. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

During the three day visit to Zimbabwe, Nicola was also able to visit the magnificent Victoria Falls and spot local wildlife as well as sampling local delicacies such as Mopani worm, crocodile and warthog. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​