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Dubai, United Arab Emirates: The importance of soft skills such as the ability to make decisions by applying judgement was highlighted at the first regional event jointly organised in Dubai by Manchester Business School (MBS) Middle East Centre and ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) at Dubai World Trade Centre on March 31st.
Professor Bob Ryan, Senior Honorary Fellow at Manchester Business School and a renowned finance educator, told the audience of 70 senior finance professionals that financial analysts needed a range of 'soft skills' in order to achieve superior professional performance, and that those skills could be developed and enhanced. He added that professionals needed to recognise that rigour in judgement is a key skill like any other, which requires practice.
The finance professionals event was the first to be organised jointly by MBS Middle East Centre and ACCA after they signed an MoU in January 2015, which aims to enable more people in the region to have an opportunity to study accountancy, enter the finance profession and influence wider business.
As part of the MoU, both organisations agreed to encourage networking across their large and growing professional communities in the region, and to support and encourage ongoing professional development by creating privileged access to programmes and events, of which this was the first.
Randa Bessiso, Director - Middle East, Manchester Business School, said: "ACCA and MBS complement each other very closely in the Middle East and we see great opportunities to create mutual benefits, such as this joint educational experience. Finance professionals are making an increasingly strong impact in business at senior levels and they are often very well equipped to make the move into general management and broader business leadership. However, soft skills are now in demand and a requirement for anyone leading and managing people in organisations. This is where MBS and our experts in finance and business management can help equip these professionals for management."
Lindsay Degouve de Nuncques, Head of ACCA in the UAE, said:
'In an ever competitive work environment making sure our members continue to develop the skills required by employers is essential. This joint event with Manchester Business School provided an excellent opportunity to focus on soft skills in the context of enhancing business performance. Soft skills are a key area that can often get neglected under the pressures of the modern business. They form a key part of the ACCA qualification but it's important that members continue to develop and enhance them throughout their careers."
ACCA supports over 2,500 members and more than 15,000 students and affiliates working and studying in the Middle East; MBS Middle East supports more than 1,800 part-time MBA students in the region, where MBS also has around 2,000 alumni.
About ACCA
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 support our 162,000 members and 428,000 students in 173 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. We work through a network of 91 offices and centres and more than 8,500 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through our public interest remit, we promote appropriate regulation of accounting and conduct relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.
Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. We believe that accountants bring value to economies in all stages of development and seek to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards. Our values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and we ensure that through our qualifications, we prepare accountants for business. We seek to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating our qualifications and delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers.
Manchester Business School
Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year Manchester Business School (MBS) is the UK's first and largest campus-based business and management school and is ranked 35th in the world (Financial Times 2015).
It has six global centres in the US, UAE, China, Brazil, Hong Kong and Singapore and its prominent alumni include Sir Terry Leahy, former chief executive of Tesco; Sir David Varney, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and Andy Duncan, chief executive of Camelot.
Our programmes include:
- Full-time MBA and Global part-time MBA
- Tailored executive business education for clients such as Tesco, BP and JCB
- Specialist Masters
- Doctoral (PhD) programme (ranked 1st in the world, Financial Times, 2012)
- Undergraduate
MBS is also one of the UK's leading centres for business research - according to the government's most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014.
Media contacts:
Vana Mastromichali,
Marketing manager for ACCA Middle East
vana.mastrom@ae.accaglobal.com
Manchester Business School Middle East Centre
Jonathan Walsh, WPR, Dubai
e: jon@wprme.com
m: +971 50 4588610
© Press Release 2015
