Dubai, UAE, 14th February 2008 - ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the world's largest and fastest-growing professional international accountancy body, has recognised PepsiCo International (Dubai) for qualifying as an ACCA Approved Employer - professional development. This status acknowledges the high standards of training and development which PepsiCo International provides for its employees.

The ACCA Approved Employer programme complements ACCA's global Continuous Professional Development (CPD) scheme ACCA Realise.  Under the scheme, workplace learning, e-learning via the internet or other multimedia, writing and presenting business articles and attendance at courses and seminars are all recognised as CPD activities.  CPD is the process by which accountants keep their skills and knowledge continuously updated, after qualifying.

Stefano Sartoretti, Region CFO of PepsiCo International said: "Human Resources is our biggest asset and training and developing our executives is a top priority.  Every year all our executives are given the opportunity to undertake relevant training that aims at making us better at what we do.  Improving as professionals is part of our annual performance objectives.  We are proud that a highly prestigious organization such as the ACCA has recognized our training and development processes and qualified PepsiCo International (Dubai) as an "Approved Employer" for its Continuous Professional Development program".

As part of the programme, employers whose training schemes meet ACCA's rigorous criteria can become ACCA Approved Employers under the professional development stream, and are rewarded with a broad range of tools to help implement their staff development programmes. These include e-learning resources such as online courses, a CPD planning tool known as the professional development matrix and a knowledge library, an internet based research resource tool.

Deepak Chainani, ACCA Country Manager - UAE & Qatar, said: "Increasingly, the provision of comprehensive training and development is seen as an important factor by employees when considering which employer to choose.  ACCA's approved employer programme provides a benchmark of good practice to employers around the world and gives PepsiCo International public recognition for the quality of support and training they invest in their employees."

-Ends-

Notes to editor
ACCA is the largest and fastest-growing international professional accountancy body and has over 115,000 members and 296,000 students in over 170 countries.

ACCA experts are available for media comment on all aspects of UK and international accounting, auditing, tax, small business, environmental reporting, corporate governance, business law and public sector finance.

The ACCA Realise products and services are the result of consultation with over 10,000 ACCA members and employers around the world, reflecting cultural differences and recognising the many ways people learn and focus on work tasks, business objectives and personal development, rather than the traditional 'clocking up' of hours on CPD courses.

Issued on behalf of PepsiCo International by Hill and Knowlton, Dubai.

For more information, please contact
Deema Termanini,
Tel: +9714-3344930,
Fax: +9714-3344923,
email: deema.termanini@hillandknowlton.com

© Press Release 2008