KNOWLEDGE OF ACCA QUALIFICATIONS AMONG THE STUDENTS OF THE CERTIFIED “ACCA ACCOUNTING” PROGRAMME

The article presents the results of the research on the students’ awareness of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and other professional organisations’ brands, carried out at the University of Gdansk in 2015, in the national and international perspective. The full research project is titled “Research on the students’ knowledge of the brands of professional auditing and accounting bodies”. This paper presents the outcomes from the first stage of the research concerning identification of the ACCA brands’ knowledge among full-time accounting and finance graduate students at the Faculty of Management of the Gdansk University in Poland. The study’s objective was focused on obtaining a realistic picture of the students’ actual familiarity with the ACCA brands. The study was undertaken as a consequence of a successful accreditation process carried out at the faculty, with the aim to acquire the ACCA’s acceptance of the university’s curriculum for the Fundamentals level of qualifications.

A direct questionnaire survey was applied as a research method. The questions were given to a group of 29 students attending the first accredited ACCA Accounting programme offered by the University of Gdansk as a full-time master of science.
The main findings emergent from the research are as follows:
- 89% of the questioned students are aware that the ACCA-accredited curriculum provides them with the possibility to pass all F1-F9 Fundamentals courses during the MSc studies;
- 82% of those students are conscious of being granted exemptions from examination fees;
- 71% of the questioned participants acknowledge that alumni with certified ACCA qualifications can count on higher remuneration in their professional carrier, compared to those without such certification;
- only 34% of the respondents envisage expansion of their education from the Fundamentals level to the Professional Scheme, after MSc graduation;
- 89% of the surveyed students link their carriers with various professions in the field of accounting and finance.

Three basic limitations resulting from the very idea of this research ought to be noted. First of all, due to the prime and original character of the accreditation process being offered to the university by the ACCA, the study is of a pioneering nature to both the Faculty and University. Secondly, only one group of students - the first one in history constitutes the subject of this study. Thirdly, this group consists of only 31 members, 29 of whom responded to the survey questions. Therefore, the above-mentioned results do not attempt to represent anything more than an initial viewpoint on this issue. Those limitations make the obtained results the basis for further systematic research in this area, specifically on the accredited post-MSc curriculum and on the Professional Scheme programme offered by the University of Gdansk in cooperation with the ACCA and the BPP.

The study provides valuable information about a prospective harmonization of the universities’ educational offer with the changing demand on the labour market. Additionally, it reveals the state of the students’ knowledge of accounting and auditing professional organisations as well as young people’s expectations in terms of getting valuable, respectful and highly remunerated positions in their professional carriers.